Boys and young men all over the Northern region love to hunt for bush meat during the dry season. They hunt for rats, mice, grasscutter, chipmunks, squirrels, and anything else that moves. To catch them, they light large areas of the bush on fire to flush them out. They then beat them to death with either sticks, hand hoes, or cutlasses. It is actually a very destructive practice, but it was a lot of fun to watch.
First they set the fire and wait for the little critters to run from the fire.
The chase is on...
That is our night watchmen E.D. screaming in the background.
Finally the kill. Our friend Fatauo, who just got married, takes home the prize.
One of the local boys with his catch.
Hi Scott and Jennifer! I just found out about your blog and I enjoyed the videos of the burning/hunting. That's pretty cool that you got to see first-hand ecosystem maintenance through a traditional use of fire.
ReplyDeleteLots of fires going on there. You get to be around the cutest kids. And beating animals to death sounds tasty. I'm in cali right now. I found a decapitated rat in our yard and during the full moon the coyotes were partying it up.
ReplyDelete