Some men armed with clubs stand
upon a platform which slopes up at a low angle out of the water and
rests upon the fence. Big fish come leaping upon this platform and
are clubbed by the men, who have to exert their agility to avoid
the spikes with which some of the fish are armed. Large quantities
of fish are sometimes taken in this way; what cannot be eaten fresh
are dried and smoked over the fires in the house.
While the TUBA fishing is being arranged and the preparations are
going forward, great care is taken to avoid mentioning the word TUBA,
and all references to the fish are made in oblique phrases, such as
"The leaves (I.E. the fishes) can't float over this fence." This
precaution is observed because it is believed that the birds and the
bats can understand human speech, and may, if they overhear remarks
about the preparations, give warning to their friends the fish, whose
magician[51] (a bony fish called BELIRA), will then make rain, and, by
thus swelling the river, prevent the successful poisoning of the water.
Tickling is also practised with success, the men standing in the
edge of a lake among the grass and sedges, where the fish seek cooler
water in the heat of the day.
All the methods of taking fish described above are practised by most
of the peoples, except of course the use of the drag-net in the sea.
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