Today I will try to do a battle between an Amazonian Huaorani Tribesman vs. a Fiji Warrior. Between these two exotic warriors we will have exotic weaponry that has stood the passage of time.
First up the Mysterious
Amazon Huaorani Tribesmen
Facts and Brief History of interactions :
Between the Napo and Curaray Rivers are 600,000 hectares of land that is the home of the Huaorani, feared warriors of the Amazon Rainforest. These warriors are known and feared by their neighbors for their ferocious grudges, made particularly worse by their unpredictable and moody nature. Apparently there is nothing they love more than the idea of Vengeance, as they are famed for their paybacks and retributions on aggressors. Most of the conflicts were solved by spearing the other party, and then the family of the victim would seek revenge, thus leading to a never ending cycle of revenge. Nice kind of society to raise your kids in. Apparently it’s not just the neighbors who agree with their assessment as the first outside contact, Oil Company named Shell was driven off their drilling land by the fierceness of these people. Many missionaries who were encountered later were similarly killed. Eventually they were forcibly moved by the government of Ecuador, as the oil companies had had enough and were willing to send armed forces in to take it from them. Huaorani reaction was mixed, some were in favor , some not. Some of those extremists who didn’t want to move still live in the ancestral land, where it is reported they are still killing trespassers. Truly a warrior culture if there ever was one. They are also Xenophobic as they call themselves, Huaorani which means "human beings" or "the people," and refer to everyone else as cowode or "non-humans" or "non-human Cannibals”. The Huaronia Are a lanquage Isolate meaining no other lanquages in the area are related to them. . Edit : I wanna make it clear that they are not "savages" or at least complete savages comprising of nothing but warfare. If you scroll to the bottom, click on the second link( PAY NO ATTENTION to the pictures) you can read about their happy talkative culture, where women are equal and the natives are very economically minded(unlike neighbors they know that if they have to many kids they will drain the natural resources around them). The reason I included this part is that i felt it
would be a great injustice not to.
would be a great injustice not to.
Stature: The Huaorani are not tall, but they have impressively strong bodies. With thick calves, buff torso, and sturdy hands, they are a pack of muscles.
Long Range 1: Bow:
(too piyæ¿ka-i¿-wæ¿)
First off those weird letters that you see under it are what the natives would have called it according to theIntercontinental Dictionary Site (second link is for Huaorani entry) .
The Amazonian bow is one of the biggest bows I have ever seen, measuring at 66 inches! The bows are made out of beach palm, a dense heavy wood and fires arrows that are as big as javelins! Nowadays it is used for recreational hunting, but previously it was a weapon used in times of war. Great time and care is put into making these bows and arrows and many are decorated with markings or feathers. Now admitably other than it existing in their lanquage i havnt found any other reference Huaorani bows However they have in the past waged war frequently, and almost certainly with the large Yanomani tribe that IS well known for their bows. Many victorious tribes take the loser tribes bounty-women, valuables, WEAPONS. So For this i will assume the Huaorani took some bows when they defeating the Yanomani.
Its arrows are made out of mostly bamboo with the arrow head made from bamboo or bone, with the tail end being covered in feathers. The arrowheads are then sharpened to present jagged or sharpened edge. Some particularly creative Amazonian artists have the ability to make a specialized arrow with three arrowheads! That’s three times the pain, three times the poison.These arrows can be seen here(spike wont let my upload the arrows onto this blog for some reason, can someone help me on how to upload pictures?) Since it won't let me upload arrow heads can be seen halfway down the page.
Bonus: Curare
In addition to this some arrows were known to have dipped in poison from the Curare, large venomous vine. Curare, while known in medicine as a anesthesia, is deadly in the jungle and the battlefield . In low doses it first affects(paralyzes basically) the muscles of the toes, ears, and eyes, then those of the neck, arms and legs, and finally, those involved in breathing. In fatal doses, death is caused by respiratory paralysis. Curare must get into the blood system for it to work. It doesn't hurt to eat something killed by a poisoned curare arrow, for instance, which is why they use it, doesn’t poison their dinner. While the good news is that the effects of curare wear off fairly quickly (10 to 20 minutes), the bad news (for the Fiji) is that you may not be alive in 10 to 20 minutes. Time it takes to start to start to take affect naturally depends on where it enters your blood stream.
Long Range 2: Cerbatanas (Blowgun) (or possibly the umena)
The Cerbatanas is around 3 meters long made of and are armed with Curare tipped darts. It is made of “chonta” wood and is very heavy and very dense. The blowgun is almost a sacred weapon for the Amazonian tribes and much time and effort is put making one sometimes taking as much as THREE days . The darts themselves are made ofinayugapalm, which is a plant that bristles needles and thorns. The tips are then sharpened by a piranha jawbone.
There are also additional attributes. From the site:
” The dart tube and the cotton-holder are tied together with rope spun of chambirafibers, and worn across the back. A piranha jaw is also tied to the kit, and it is used to make a small dent around the tip of the dart, so when the dart penetrates the victim’s body it breaks, leaving the tip inside. Before inserting the dart in the cerbatana, cotton is rolled at the blunt end, making it stay in the cerbatana tube and helping it gain speed, when blown.”
As you can see a quiver will hold a lot of them. For info about the specifics of making a blowgun click here.
Mid Range: Huaorani spear:
“tapa”
The first picture shows the serrated end of one of the spears. The second picture shows the length of the spear and that it is indeed sharpened on both sides (if I had to guess 9-10 feet? Any one with better math skills say differently). Oh and if you notice how he is not in tribal gear, well this is the only good picture I could get of the spear without DICKS being involved. Sorry! Like the blowgun it is likely made from heavy Chonta wood. From the Hourani site
“The Huaorani are known for their spears, which are long, with both ends sharpened. One of the ends is carved with sharp barbs. Once the spear enters the body, there is no way of taking it out without tearing the flesh and causing more damage.”
The spear is one of the two weapons that the Huaorani are famous(infamous?) for, the other being the blowgun . Recently they have threatened to attack encroaching oil companies with “spears on all sides”. Clearly they have the means to carry that threat out.
Close Range : Stone axe
“dika-bæ”
This and the club are without a doubt the hardest weapons to find information for. I have found many sources that say “up until four decades ago still used stone axes and….” But none that would actually tell me anything on the axe. Finally I did manage to find one source on the axe.
This axe is (all calculations converted to inches/feet) 2.5 feet long, the width of the stone is 3.7 inches, and the length of the stone is 5.9 inches. The blade was often grinded against a rock for daysto make it sharp enough to hunt. Is this the exact axe that the Huaorani used? No. Did the Huaorani use axes? Yes. Did they use them for war? While the spear, bow and blowgun were without a doubt more preferred there are some indirect sources that suggest its use in combat by Amazonians
Rare Range : Borduna
(ka¿ta”)
Out of all the weapons I have looked up thus this has been one of the hardest to find information for This is a four foot long heavy club that looks to be of the same tree as the other weapons , the Chonta . Kind of resembles a baseball bat in a way. Due to its wood composition I imagine it is quite heavy to carry around. The Korubos “head smasher” tribe is most known for this weapon. See the bow for why the Huaorani would have this.
Armor: No Armor, No Clothes, No Problem?:
They don’t wear clothes, much less armor, yet this doesn’t seem to bother them. One of the reasons we wear clothes is to protect ourselves from outside elements (I said ONE of the reasons) , yet they seem to have immersed themselves fully to the heat, cuts and bruises produced by the jungle. In my opinion this merits a pain toleration bonus(at most this will get a small .5 rating, but at least it's something) . I WILL NOT POST A PICTURE FOR THIS :) Edit :will not let me fix the font here, perhaps it really wanted me to post a picture?
Tactics, rules, & motivations: Night Attacks, Poison, Fanatical Revenge Killings, No Down Kills, Anti-Cannibal hysteria,Emergency Leadership, Ambushes
I will describe these in order. First pertains to their preferred time to attack, at night, preferably a moonless one, preferably while the enemies are sleeping. The Huaorani do not consider this cowardly, it minimizes their losses and stops the enemy from recognizing them so they could take their own revenge. Note that I will not have them killing the Fiji while they sleep, but they will have a advantage from fighting in the night if this turns into a night battle. Second refers to Curare which is used with the blowgun and bow. This will greatly increase the amount of the amount of bow kills and will be responsible for ALL the blowgun kills. The Huaorani are famous for their revenge killings, in one instance slaughtering another tribe for an offense committed ten years prior. This doesn’t apply just to outsiders; in the 1940s it is estimated that 60% of the Huaorani died from intertribal warfare. They are also peculiar in their belief that a moribund victim should be left be. Once he’s down they no longer care what happens to him, even if he were to recover they would not care. More than anything else they HATE cannibals. From what little they have shared about their history is that they migrated from down river long ago “fleeing the cannibals”. The word Cowode means “non-human cannibals” . The Traumatic experience of having to flee from their homes is likely the reason for their xenophobia. How will this affect their battle with the Fiji, who ARE known for cannibalism? Authors Note: while I did not know this when I chose this tribe to do, I have now realized that I couldn’t have picked a better choice to fight the cannibalistic Fiji(or at least known for cannibalism) .The Huaoroni usually have no formal leadership, but in case of emergency a “chief” may be selected. At the duration of the crisis leadership is given up.Lastly the Huaorani are famous for their ambushes on the oil companies, some of which are on their enemy’s home turf and against gunpowder enemies.
For more info on the Huaorani way of war, read here in the chapter of “Warfare, History and Kinship” , although honestly the entire book is pretty interesting(no I haven’t read it all but I will)
Martial Arts: Huka-Huka wrestling:
I’ll admit it is a bit of stretch to include this. However technology and traditions do spread through the Amazon so it’s probable the Huaorani at least encountered it, perhaps taught it at a rare festival that they were invited too or through direct combat with its practitioners ? Huka-Huka is the native wrestling hosted by the Xinguano tribe. Each year they invite contestants far and wide to participate in a ceremony. At the end of the ceremony a Huka-Huka tournament begins. The objective of the Huka-Huka wrestling is to force someone down to the ground either threw throwing or wrestling them down. . The Wrestlers can either start standing or kneeling. They are also taught many ways to throw someone down to the ground, like grabbing them by the knees, physically throwing them, ect. For more information click here.
How this will affect the battle: First some clarification. When I said “no down kill” I meant that they won’t kill an enemy who is unconscious or lying on the ground dying. It’s perfectly acceptable to kill one who is thrown to the ground about to try to attack you again. Now how it will affect the course of the fight: Throwing an enemy to the ground is a good move for disarming them and making it so your own weapon has an easy blow. While this martial art won’t kill by itself it is a GREAT assister.
Additional Factors: Experience and Training:
The Huaorani are very skilled with their weapons, more so the spear and blowgun. Having initially been trained to hunt animals, they now hunt the people that wronged them. These Huaorani have been in a fight many of times before this one(note will only be partially be graded in that, due to the Huaorani fantascism for those weapons, the spear and Cerbatanas will get a skill boost. Other than that additional factors will not be grading).
One last final note: Not all the # of weapons in each cateogry will be equal. For example for midrange while the Huaorani have the spear the fiji may have the throwing club and a spear. This doesnt necesarily mean two weapons will get the edge, just that there are two weapons competing against one. The Amazonian's impressive spear may still get the edge(great probability of that).
Suggestions, Hate, ideas, Please comment!
Now each of the following numbers will have links to one of my sources. I decided to do this because actually posting sources made it impossible to update blog.Be wary for at least one of these as it may contain some naughty content.
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Now Introducing the Mighty
Fiji Cannibal Warrior
Brief Facts and History:
The Fiji Archipelago comprises of around 330 islands, of which 110 are subject to permanent habitation, and 500 islets, or very small islands. The islands have been inhabited since at least 1,000 B.C., when according to the Fijians at leastthegreat chief Lutunasobasoba led his people across the seas to the new land of Fiji Since then Fiji has been the site of many tribes, chiefdoms, kingdoms and quite possibly the Tu’I Tongan empire (this is before British came here). Since that alleged empire’s alleged fall (not all are completely sold on whether it deserved the title of empire), it has also been the site of countless battles and endless warfare, warfare that resulted in an almost endless stalemate. As in some many other lands the balance was tipped once the Europeans arrived. Although first sited in the 1600s by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, it wasn’t until James Cook’s famous voyages (1770s) that they took an interest in the archipelago. While they didn’t establish permanent settlements till much later in the 1820s, they did trade with the Fijians, resulting in some tribes getting guns and steel weapons. All of the sudden the war wasn’t so deadlocked, and some tribes took over entire islands. The conflict escalated when the neighboring Tongan people, inhabitants of a neighboring island chain, also armed with European weapons and having recently unified their own lands, made increasing incursions into the Fijian islands. After a confusing century characterized by threats of Tongan and American annexation (the most powerful warlord, later “king” of Fiji apparently owed a huge debt to the latter), defeat of native cannibalism by Christianity, disease outbreaks, chaotic warfare, and settlement and increasing political and economic dominance of the Australian community (they paid off aforementioned kings debts) , Fiji asked the British Empire to annex it, which they did in 1874. Unlike a lot of British colonies this one actually seemed to be harmonious, with the British deigning to protect, rather than suppress the Fiji culture (the most disdainful aspect of it, cannibalism, had been wiped out in the 1850s). It later became independent in the 1970s. For more information about Fiji ancient culture, warfare and history , click here.
My chief source will be Fiji and the Fijian, Volume 1: Of the Islands and their Inhabitants by Thomas Williams and edited by his friend James Calvert, which is also the link above. I can’t emphasize enough how invaluable this book has been, as the author, a missionary during the 1840s and 1852, is not just quoting what was related to him by his converts and Fijian contacts , but also what he has seen firsthand. His artistic skills and writing style are capable of filling the imagination, and to be truthful I wouldn’t have been able to do an article on the Fiji warrior without him. So, by all means check him out!
Before we get started there is one last thing that needs to be addressed …
CLUBS!!!!!!
Simply put the Fijians were obsessed with them. According the Polynesian Society the Fijians used eight different types of them, each of which are then classified into additional types. There were the Striking clubs, the crushing clubs, the cutting clubs, the piercing clubs, the missile clubs, the dress clubs, the ceremonial clubs, and the dance clubs. Right off the bat I can eliminate the latter three, as they were not used for battle. Now it’s said that the missile club (ula) was the most feared instrument in Fiji to the musket armed Australian settlers. So that is defiantly in. But how many others? That we will have to see, possibly to better show the diversity of Fijian clubs, one of each. According to the Society, what determines which club is used is the owners personal choice and preferences.
Now onto Weapons!
“The arms chiefly used by the Fijians are the club, the spear, the battle axe, the bow, the sling and the musket. “ -Thomas Williams
Right off the bat I am taking out the musket. Each warrior will ONLY use their traditional weapons, or else to be fair I would have had to give the Huaorani the twelve gauge shotgun. Battle axe will also be taken out if I find that it’s steel.
Long Range: The Fijian Bow
"dakai titi"
*Due to the difficulty I am having in finding good English-Fijian translators i will only translate when i can, please forgive me.
It is hard to find a source describing just the bows of the Fijian. Even Thomas Williams doesn’t go into too much detail. Finally after searching their culture group, Melanesian, I got this from this most excellent source. (which I highly recommend for those doing matches with lots of bows). “The Fijian self bows are made from mangrove and feature elegantly curved nocks. The bow is 170.2 cm long, 2.6 cm wide and 1.9 cm thick at mid limb.” Converted into standard the bow is 5 feet long, 1 inch wide and 0.74 inches thick. Much to my great disappointment I have been unable to get an exact Fiji bow picture, however what you see above is a Papua New Guinea which is in the same family as the Fiji one and would be quite similar.
The arrowheads come in many interesting and downright painful shapes, like the Huaorani. The arrows may be slightly smaller, but no less deadly and still described as “spear like”. To see some of them look at this link.The bow has one more significant use, as reported by Williams, in that they would occasionally use fire arrows to burn enemy fortifications to the ground. Now we saw how dismal one of these did against Vlad in plate armor, but I tend to think it would better against an unarmored warrior.
Long Range 2: The Fijian sling:
“laga sere”
Regrettably this is not the Fijian sling. This is the Hawaiian one, which is the closest I can get to Fiji (Hawaii was Polynesian, and traded with other Polynesian who traded with the Melanesians, like Fiji). The lack of accurate pictures is hurting me and in order to get this picture I had to go to Slinging.org and search the forums. By the way you guys are getting so many good sources out of me for your own matchups, seriously first a book on archery and now a slingers paradise. Anyway i digress. Thomas Williams wrote about the power of the sling and its projectile, noting that he once saw a musket hit by a swung stone. The musket was now inoperable, and bent half an inch in length. If it could do that to a musket, what would it do to a human,especially one that has no armor ? Luckily, during the pause after typing this, I found two more great pictures of slings, this time in the closer locale of New Caledonia. Since it wont let me post them in picture form,I'll post them here, here and here (the latter is the bag to hold the stones)
Mid Range 1: Ula
The Ula club was a throwing club used by as a preferred method of assassination and as a close range projectile. Two of these clubs would be worn at the girdle in the same fashion as old American cowboys. The Ula could be described as a short stick with a large knob at the end. It ranged from 15 to 18 inches long, with its head diameter being about 4 inches. According to the Polynesian Society, this was the weapon settlers were supposed to be fear most, due to no matter how you threw it; the club end would always find its target, in addition the handle itself could penetrate deep(but not in the way the Kapinga can!). It could be thrown at great speed precision and accuracy, and it was very hard to dodge at the distance that it was normally thrown. . For every kill that the weapon made, a tooth was taken from the victim to be implanted into the Ula. Some were said to have as many as 40 teeth.
Mid Range 2: Sokilaki
The Sokilaki spear was about 11-12 feet long and had a multitude of tips. Some were stingray, some were barbed (like what you see here) and others were made of wood that bursts when moist, so it is unable to be distracted. The one seen here multi-barbed, widening as you go down the shaft. The purpose of such weapons was to incapacitate. The point would pierce the belly and the barbs would tear and stretch the flesh to cause internal damage. This would not necessarily cause death so a club would deliver the killing blow. This spear was thought to come from Tonga before Fiji, but it was used often in Fiji warfare as either a stabbing instrument for the above purpose (of course you could still use it to kill too) or as a thrown javelin. They are often given affectionate names, on example being “the priest is too late”.
Close Range 1:Fijian Thali “Gunstock club”
So called because of their resemblance to the butt of a gun, they are actually have no relation to rifles or muskets, and predate their appearance. The spurred or gunstock club is around 34 inches. It could be described as a dueling club as it could be used to parry, and then bring the bladed end down on its victim. Another trick the Fijians would use is to pin them down by the neck with the crook of the club and then snap. Out of all the Fijian clubs this was described as the most popular.
Close Range 2: Bowai
The Bowai is the Fiji version of a mace, or naturally its club version. It is a striking or crushing weapon, and was still used even after muskets were introduced to the islands. This particular one is about 2 and half feet in length, and in addition to being used in war was also viewed as a work of art, a mark of rank, a symbol of manhood, and a repository of accumulated 'mana'. Mana is the life-force or energy in a person’s body, and was sacred to the various Oceanic cultures. The Fijians have clubs of every size, sort and shape so in addition to being able to stab, parry and throw; they can now smash and crush too. They even gave their clubs pet names such as “the Weeping”, “The disperser”, and “Damaging beyond hope”. Defiantly the most of clubo-philic culture I’ve ever seen.
Bonus: Bamboo Foot trap
(the bamboo trap does to your foot what this does to cars tires)
I’ll admit that my main basis for including comes Thomas Williams admit ably brief description, “Bamboo spikes are set in the approaches to the fort, and burnt crosswise so as to break off at the foot. Sometimes they are planted in a shallow trench, and then lightly covered with earth.” To clarify these aren’t the man killing spikes of the Vietcong, they were designed to cripple the enemy. While he is not dead, the enemy is going to have a tough time fighting with one or both of his feet practically useless. He could even bleed to death.
Armor: Iri Masei the War fan
I'll admit my sources for this are scant and hard to find, so I will have to keep this description brief. The Iri Masei War fan was used to wave and slap to make a frightening display, and could also parry enemy arrows, which in Fiji were light and flimsy. While it may have been able to parry arrows, it is doubtful that it would parry heavier chonta Amazon arrows. It probably could stop blowgun darts, if it can see them. Only used by chief. The fan in the above picture is right behind th tip of the Sokilaki.
Tactics, rules and motivations: Always armed, Club Oriented, Divinely motivated, absolute leadership, No specific warrior class, Use of Cannibalism to intimidate, Single combat oriented, Surprise attacks, “Netting”, Valor and glory fixated.
The Fijian warrior comes from a dangerous culture where violence is the norm rather than the exception. As such they are always armed, whether it is for a stroll, going to the market, talking to neighbors, hell they probably sleep with the clubs next to them in bed (speculation). While the Huaorani’s favorite instrument of war is poison, the favorite of the Fiji is the club, and their rules of engagement dictate a club kills whenever possible. Also prior to going to war there was always a bi showing at the native village where the priests would give the warriors their god’s blessing, greatly increasing their confidence. The chief’s orders were followed without question, no matter how heartless they could be. In one example a group of women and children were clubbed to death for violating a no trespassing zone, one that was just declared moments before and of which the group had no warning about. In times of war warriors are recruited among the populace, at the close of said war they return to their occupations. Recruited warriors can be of all shapes, ages and sizes. During a lot of Fiji battles they will often shout out who they seek to challenge on the opposing side and will engage one on one deal with those on the other side. They are relived when they express that they are tired. They are not above unchivarlous acts like surprise attacks and the “netting’ tactic. They are known for surprising rival or even “friendly” tribe villages or scout parties and massacring them when they least expect it. Also they use the net tactic where they would feign retreat, get them disorganized and then counterattack. Lastly they seek to kill a person a specific way or do something abnormal in warfare. In Fiji society this would grant them titles such as “dog” or “Annihilator of” or “depopulator of”, ect.
Martial Arts: Veisaga
Veisaga ‘was a sport practiced in some parts of Fiji on a large scale. A group of men and women would assemble on a hill top to wrestle. If a man closes with a woman, he will attempt to throw her and on succeeding they both roll together. Minor injuries would often occur from this, but they were concealed by the participants as a matter of pride. If pain was shown then intense ridicule would follow.” Wikipedia definition is basically the same as Thomas Williams. All in all this just gives you basic wrestling experience. Nothing much else is known about this.
Additional Comments: The Fiji warriors are very club fixated and will, when given the choice, more often than not kill with clubs before they kill with anything else. This gives them a skill bonus. Also i know you guys wanted to look up Fijian cannibalism and post more info on it, but i ran out of time. Please read Fiji and the Fijians to search for descriptions of it, and look at this link.
Update 4: Fiji precolonial warrior completed , Amazon tactics updated to include ambush. My next update will hopefully be my last and will inlude battle, edges and scoring, and results. Here is how i will grade it and how much each category will be out of
Long range 1: Amazon bow vs Fijian bow . /10
Long range 2: Cerbatanas blowgun vs Fijian Sling. /10
Mid range: Huaorani double sided spear vs Sokilaki spear and Ula throwing club. /15 (I had a long debate about what amount of points i'd put this under but eventually decided on 15)
Close range 1: Amazon Stone axe vs Thali gunstock club /10
Close range 2: Borduna club vs Bowai mace-club /10
Bonus: Curare poison vs bamboo spike traps /10
Armor: (this is going to be a joke) /20 (the standard amount ill use for all my matches....in thi case the highest i can see either getting is a three)
Tactics: Huaorani tactics vs Fiji tactics (to long to list at 2:00 am) /20
Martial Arts; haku haku vs Veisaga. /5 (will be worth more in other matches, just that neither seems prominent nor effective)
So now that I am done listing everything i'd like to hear your input while i type up my match. This is just a curiosity thing about who you all think will win and why(I will do a independent analyses of these weapons that wont necessarily be dictated by your opinions, at least initially. If you find something to fault after i finish and you point it out preferably with sources, I will fix it.)
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Battle simulation:
It had been two weeks. Two weeks since the strangers had butchered his village. The Cowode, for they were Cowode in the purest definition of the word, came late in the evening when he and four others were out hunting tapir. The bloodcurdling screams of The People could be heard even where they were, many miles away. The hunters with speed rivaling that of lightning, never once stopping for breath, flew back to the da¿-di ke¿we¿-yo¿bo¿, only to find it in flames. Their village, their life, their families, in the spate of two hours, purged forever from this Earth. The bodies, of THE people, not them were all found mostly with their heads cracked open. Every now again he’d find one with the tell tale signs of being clubbed, namely heads bashed in. Others were found with the tell tale signs of spears or arrows(the strangers took their spears and arrows with them, but the signs were still there), stabbing with some sort of shorter weapon, or even in the case of adolescent with a rock embedded in his forehead . He wanted to bury them, but it had not rained in a long time, and the fire was now unstoppable. The hunters reluctantly left, with a thirst for revenge even more then water.
Now they tracked the we¿dæ (demons), responsible for this. He had discovered two of them, as he was leaving, with darts in their neck, lying near the hut of the elder shaman. It seems he had not gone down without a fight. The bodies were of a strange sort. Their clothes were made of some kind of reeds, and were of a darker complexion then regular Cowode. They also had strange marking all over their bodies. As he was looking over them, he realized that these were not just strange Cowode, but stupid also. They had forgotten to cover their tracks. With the lack of rain the tracks would remain as they were, for a skilled hunter to follow, until he found his prey.
The Cowode had a lead however, and he and his men had to rest. His village was not the only one ransacked, and many a village he came across of his sister tribes had few people, and which ones that did usually pointed the direction that they traveled in, so the trail was never lost. One of them was even helpful enough that she gave a massive club to the group, while another older chieftain personally taught him how to take a man down to the ground, during their brief stay under their hospitality. The chieftain also told him horrifying tales of these strange Cowode. Some of them were spotted not only taking the valuables of the slain, but also their flesh, in other words eating them. These must have been from the tribe that drove the Huaorani out of their homeland so long ago. Rage coursed through his veins when he heard this tale. He would find them and make them pay, not only for his tribe but for all The People. He had been told that tale a week ago. Now after two weeks, during which they had traveled farther than he had ever traveled before, to a land that he was reasonably sure no people had ever been. They had just spotted a campfire, on an island across the river, that he was positive was them. He could feel it in his gut. He was Mincaye Enquiedi, emergency leader of what was left of his tribe. The hunter turned chief looked around, contemplating his men. There was Moipa, an older warrior who used his tribe’s favorite weapons, the cerbatanas and tapas spear. Mincaye approved, as he also bore those weapons proudly, although in addition to that he carried a stone ax, considered antique even by Huaorani standards, in case things get to personal. Kimo Yeti was always the odd one in the group and he carried that giant club that woman had given them, the borduna she called it. Dyuwi Tani was the third to carry a spear, and the second to carry an ax. Last came Nenkiwi, and upon thinking about him Mincaye felt a massive headache coming on. Carrying the group’s only bow with four arrows he was also the group’s trouble maker. So much so in fact that if the village had not been burned down Mincaye was positive he would have been speared. Two of his wives have been killed, one by his own hands and he was already seeking another wife. But he had to put that aside for now, he was approaching the camp.
This forsaken land knew not the word of hospitality. Every village they went into so far had tried, with varying degrees of success, to kill them. It didn’t matter that the indicated prior to entering the camp that they had peaceful intentions, they were still attacked. When this expedition started he had a hundred men soon that number had dwindled down to six, and then five within the last hour. After a particularly nasty battle where he lost twenty-seven of his men, he gave up trying to play diplomat with these savages and chose to merely surprise attack every village that he came across. He has lost considerably less since instituting that policy, but the numbers of his warriors have still declined from all that fighting, disease, and nasty encounters with the beasts of this accursed land, one of which was a serpent three times as long as a spear. Now he was almost ready to leave after spending the last day building the Drua (Fijian canoe). He had chosen to stop and build it on this peninsula, from which he hoped to launch it out until the river, follow it upstream to the barely visible sea, and then, hopefully if the gods were with him, go back to his home country, which was out…..somewhere beyond all that water. That was tomorrow however, as it was unsafe to go at night, and the sun would soon depart from view.
He had decided to set up camp in the middle of a clearing for the night and have one last feast, about a mile from the Drua, after making sure there was a bamboo trap on the one safe path that led to it. Can’t be too cautious, although we will have to remember where it was less they fall victim to their own trap. They had killed one of the ferocious beasts of this land, a graceful spotted animal that had killed there six man only an hour earlier. They had heard his screams from the Dura, and had found him, dead from a hole in his head, with the beast feasting on him. In revenge they had speared and clubbed it, and were now feasting on it. It seemed that he had finally turned the tables on a forest that had vexed him for a month. His name was Rokolewasau whose name meant "power to rule over the people “and he was undisputed chief, ruler, of this small collection of warriors. His right-hand man wasNaivalurua or “two wars” and he was a veteran, although given this misadventure he would probably rename himself “three wars”. There were also two more warriors with the two odd names of Kasanita ("strike wood together to make fire") and Madraiwiwi (“sour bread”). “Their mothers and fathers must not have liked them much” he thought, “either that or been drunk at the time of their birth”. Lastly there was Avenall who was an absolute giant in figure, but not so much in mind; he couldn’t even remember what his name meant. All were armored, as was custom, with their favorite weapons. Avenall was armed with two Bowais, Naivalurua with the group’s bow and yet another yet another Bowai, Kasanita with a sling and a sokilaki, Madraiwiwi with yet another sokilaki and a Thali club, and finally the chief himself, with two ulas on his girdle, a Ira Masei and the last spurred club that they had. As they conversed tensely about what they would do when they got home, none of them noticed the shadows beginning to surround their camp, in the bushes.
Nenkiwi was getting impatient. They had finally, after two weeks of tracking caught up to the cannibals, and now they were going to wait until nightfall to murder them in their sleep? What kind of plan was that?!?! Mincaye couldn’t honestly expect him to wait all evening and night, watching them eat the sacred animal, only to cowardly murder them in their sleep, when they clearly could have taken them right now? No he refused to follow that plan, “Mincaye may like to pretend that he is leader, but he wasn’t Nenkiwi’s leader” he thought while stringing his bow with his special three-headed arrow that he had made, all heads covered in poison. The rogue Huaorani noticed the rest of his tribe giving him murderous glances over his shoulder, but what could they do without alerting the foreigners? “Nothing at all” he reckoned taking aim at the biggest brute there, “this is going to be fun”. With a happy thought and a smile on his face, he let the arrow fly.
Avenall roared in pain. They were under attack. It was time for the chief to earn his name in battle, as he immediately ordering all his warriors into cover, behind the surrounding trees and bushes. All obeyed except Avenall who now frenzied. Despite the chief’s urgent orders to return he charged into the area where the arrow had come from. Looking back he saw what Avenall was bolting for. A young native with a bow was out in the open exposing himself to all who dared to try to end his life. Rokolewasau was no stranger to gambling so he decided to take him up on that bet, even as he was being made aware of movement elsewhere in the bushes. Summoning Kasanita and Naivalurua to him he quickly told them his plan for taking out the archer…
“Stupid idiot boy! May the spirits curse him forever for what he has done here today! Not only has he put all our lives in danger by not waiting, he didn’t even have the decency to warn us so we could load our cerbatanas” Mincaye thought. He swore to the spirits he would spear him if he survived this, as he hurriedly loaded his blowgun. Looking around he noticed that Moipa doing the same. “It seems even experience toils in vain against pure stupidity” Now turning his attention back to the front he saw the giant that Nenkiwi shot was charging at him, pissed beyond belief and still apparently, unaffected by the poison. Nenkiwi, panicking had already loaded his bow again, but fear caused his fingers to waver and instead of hitting a vital area, only hit the outside of the giants left arm. Roaring in pain, he continued forward with even great resolve. “It would serve him right to let him die given all the bloodshed he has just unleashed upon us, but no I can’t let him die, at least not yet, we’ll need his bow to win this” Mincaye reasoned. With accuracy and calm of a true hunter, he aimed and fired at the beast’s neck. He stumbled but miraculously kept going, gasping now. Moipa got another shot in the giant’s neck followed by the panicky Nenkiwi shooting him in the leg, as Mincaye reloaded. The giant collapsed on the ground, as Mincaye shot one last dart, just to make sure into the Cowode’s throat. That fool Nenkiwi shouted a cry of victory, as Moipa and Mincaye took another dart from their quivers to put stick into the cerbatanas.
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For the first time in his life, Avenall couldn’t feel anything. Even when he was clubbed mercilessly over the head in intertribal war and left nearly dead in a trench he still had some feeling, the pain hadn’t completely numbed him. Now he was completely numb, with no feeling in any part of his body. He couldn’t feel his chest rise and knew that he was no longer breathing but he didn’t care, as it no longer hurt. As conscious faded for the final time he felt only pity, pity that not all men were blessed to end their life this way as him.
Amazon Huaorani Indian Tribesmen: 5
Fijian Pre-colonial warrior: 4
“Avenall’s death won’t be in vain”, Rokolewasau told himself, as he hid behind massive over-turned tree. His death had served two purposes. One it had confirmed that the archer was not alone. Two his charge had kept all enemy eyes on him, allowing his men to get behind trees and in bushes and he had been given time to explain his plan to Naivalurua and Kasanita. When the youthful archer raised his hand in victory and turned briefly back to what presumably were his fellows, he put his plan into motion. He signaled to Kasanita on his left, who leaped out from behind his tree and begun winding up his sling. The archer hearing a weird noise, turned around. His eyes widened as he saw Kasanita, but it was too late to dodge, as Kasanita let the rock go. It collided with the youth’s groin, causing him to let out ear shattering screech and fell down to the ground writhing in pain. Sticking his body out above his protective log, he ordered Kasanita back in place and directed Naivalurua to move forward. Naivalurua was prepared, and with the serrated arrow already loaded he shot the arrow at the crying youth’s chest, piercing his right lung, adding a gurgle to his cries. Naivalurua fell back into position. Observing his work, the chief suddenly felt very vulnerable. Moving quickly out of instinct born from one hellish month in this land, he brought hisIri Masei up to his face and neck. He blinked and within the millisecond that it took to do that two thin wooden tips had pierced his fan, luckily stopped from going any further. The chief quickly got back behind cover.
Nenkiwi lay there on the canopy floor choking, drowning, literally in his own blood. His team had ceased caring about his fate, if they ever did, and were now focusing on that Cowode holding a bunch of palm leaves in his hand. What a strange man he thought and started to laugh, before realizing that it was painful as hell to do. As the blood filled his esophagus and thus the other lung, Nenkiwi couldn’t help but wonder, was this what his wife who he drowned felt like? Nenkiwi continued to ponder that as his spirit left this world.
Amazon Huaorani Indian Tribesmen: 4
Fijian Pre-colonial warrior: 4
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Rokolewasau knew that they were going to flank. The position he and his warriors were in was only defensible from the front, the bushes on the side could let them flank with their deadly darts. The chief quickly realized that this position had to be abandoned. “But what to do then?” Rokolewasau asked himself. Then he remembered as a lad his first battle when he served under chief Lanupola, with Naivalurua serving right beside him. It had been a disaster; the enemy had pretending to run away screaming only to double back and slaughter the-then chiefs disorganized force, along with Lanupola himself. Perhaps something similar could be done here? He ordered a retreat back to the Drua, with a bamboo spike trap protecting it and hopefully crippling the savages, he could pull of his net. As his men fall back he saw two natives burst from the bushes on either side. Feeling adrenaline kick in, he now began to flee in earnest.
Mincaye was suspiciously watching the Cowode retreat, now being chased by Yeti and Tani. He did not think they were running away in fear. Nevertheless gathering their weapons, he and Moipa joined in the pursuit. As he caught up to Yeti and Tani he ordered them to try to run in between the now two groups of Cowode, to cut them off. With luck maybe they would spoil their plan.
They were getting separated. As the chief glanced over his shoulder he noticed that the two would-be ambushers had effectively cut off Naivalurua and Madraiwiwi from the chief and Kasanita. To try to regroup would be impossible, as the savages were practically in between them. There would have to be two ambushes. He shouted “net” to Madraiwiwi and Naivalurua with that they began to take different trails. They would go to a secondary clearing that they had designated as second possible ambush spot once they secured the peninsula. Meanwhile the chief would lead Kasanita and whoever else chose to follow to the Drua. Now it was his opponents move.
“What should we do Mincaye?” asked Kimo, “they are splitting up”. “We can’t let any get away, me and you Kimo will follow the bow wielding one and his friend, and Moipa, you and Tani follow the slinger and the chief. Watch out and be careful, the tricky Cowode are probably planning something”. With that the two sets of hunters went off their separate ways. Mincaye was looking forward some revenge and he knew that his fellows were too. He just hoped that the Cowode wouldn’t kill too many of his clansmen, preferably none at all.
Rokolewasau led the strangers on. He and Kasanita were being pursued by two of them now, instead of four.“Please let Naivalurua and Madraiwiwi will survive this” the chief silently asked of the gods, “I’ve lost enough in this inhospitable place”. All the sudden he heard a whizzing sound go right by his ear, almost causing the experienced warrior to jump. Looking around he saw the native closest reloading his weird tube weapon, and thought that maybe he shouldn’t worrying about the others when he’s got his own battles to fight. Such thought occupied him until Kasanita’s voice broke through “My lord be careful, we are approaching the trap”. “Oh gods, it would have been a disaster if I had fallen to my own trap” the chief thought in humiliation. Thanking his friend, he overstepped the little covered ditch that lay between the two parallel trees. Now he just hoped that the enemy wouldn’t catch—a sharp cry of anguish answered his thought. With a satisfied smile, he sped ever onward down the path.
Moipa felt like an idiot. He had actually fought tribes that used such cheap, cowardly trickery and he still fell for it. Now staring at the gore that was his left foot, limping on his right leg, he realized that for the rest of his life, he would never be able to enjoy another hunt, or run through a field. Until the moment his mistakable spirit finally left this world, he would be a burden to his friends and tribe, a cripple. Tani stood by, asking if he wanted help in following them. “No I am useless to you now, leave me”. When Tani protested, the old warrior said I reply “I will try to catch up if I can, I can still kill with the cerbatana as that doesn’t require any legs. GO NOW! I do not want those blasted Cowode to escape.” As Tani turned to resume pursuit, Moipa grabbed his shoulder “Take my Tapas and spear that man with the palm leaves through the chest. Make the Cowode leader pay for our village, for all those of The People he has killed on his path of terror.”
Tani responded grasping the spear “I promise that either this spear will find his heart, or my spirit will find the next life in trying”.
With the oath sworn, Tani ran forward, eyes wary to the ground, to meet his destiny, whatever that may be. A moment later Moipa limped along, following him, cerbatana in hand.
Mincaye followed the bowman and his friend, Kimo by his side. He had no idea how long they had been running only that the sun had almost ended its slow ascent from the sky. Light now only barely permeated thorough the tops of the canopies, his eyes were just now beginning to adjust to darkness. Wanting them to stop he shot a dart at the bowman’s friend. It scored a direct hit.
Madraiwiwi cursed “That savage got me in the leg; it’s going to go numb soon”. Damn, Naivalurua he wasn’t ready to pull it off yet. Knowing the effects of poison, Madraiwiwi couldn’t keep going for long; Naivalurua reluctantly realized he had to fight here. Pulling the string back, he turned around and fired at the man with the giant club.
The archer hadn’t had time to aim properly, and the arrow flew between Kimo’s dragging right arm and stomach, its serrated edges pulling the skin of both, as it flew by. With a great roar of hatred the charged the accursed archer, as Mincaye went after his poisoned prey….
The savage with the club flew at him, seeking to end the fight quickly with an overhand chop to the shoulder. Naivalurua narrowly dodged out of the way in time, dropping his bow and equipping his bowai, thinking in his head that only a fool would choose to have a club duel with a Fijian. The Amazonian then swung it horizontally, which he just barely parried with his shorter bowai. He stole a quick glance at Madraiwiwi who he could see was not doing well…
Mincaye charged at the Cowode with his tapa drawn out, its serrated tip just quenching for cannibal blood. The foreigner took out and….threw it? Mincaye wasn’t expecting anyone to waste such a good spear so it shocked him for a millisecond, but only for a millisecond. He ducked and it flew over his head. Turning his attention back to look at the cannibal, he saw that he had already moved close, to close to spear. Mincaye braced himself as they collided. For what felt like eons they clashed, each trying to wrestle each other down to the floor, so they could then finish each other off with their own respective weapons, which were still held in their hands. For him, his stone axe or tapas, for the Cowode his weird looking club that looked so suspiciously like one of the white man’s weapons…Quickly he saw his opportunity! The man’s leg would be near numb from the poison, and his body was probably feeling the effect by now and would therefore be weak. Mincaye head butted his rival, stunning him. Moving with the speed of a hungry jaguar, he positioned his leg behind the other mans uninflected leg, and tripped him. Grabbing his spear he prepared to finish the fight….
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“Madraiwiwi needs help now” Naivalurua sensed “but I’ve got to handle this idiot first”. With the speed of a man possessed by the need to save his comrade, he dodged the club’s diagonal swing. Positioning himself to his opponent’s side, he struck with his bowai at his opponent’s undefended back. The savage gave a howl of pain, but Naivalurua was not through with him yet. Quickly he hit him again in his stomach, causing him to double up in pain, and hit him again in his knee sending him tumbling down. Not allowing him any chance to recover, he followed him to the ground hitting him over the head, once, twice, three times. All this quickly done in the spate of a few seconds, but never-the-less decisively, his opponent was no more. Looking to his comrade he hoped that he wasn’t too late to save him. Unfortunately he was…
Amazon Huaorani Indian Tribesmen: 3
Fijian Pre-colonial warrior: 4
Mincaye, oblivious to his surroundings and Kimo’s losing battle, gave a Great War cry and stabbed the spear downwards-serrated end first- into the fleshy body below. The tip went through his rib cage, connected with the Cowode’s lung, piercing it and going out the back. As was the Huaorani rule of war, he left his opponent, to die in peace (or as peaceful as you can get being impaled by a spear). He now turned to his opponent, who to his horror had just finished brutally dispatching Kimo, and after failing to find his cerbatanas in the dark picked up his opponents “gunstock club”. He would finish that bastard off with his own kind’s club if he had too.
Madraiwiwi “sour bread” could feel conscious fading. Not only did he have giant spear in his chest but the poison was also taking increasing effect. He supposed the god’s were merciful in having the poison dull the pain, but he would have preferred not to die more than anything. Yet as everything faded he couldn’t help look at the bright side. At least in the afterlife you can get a name change, right?
Amazon Huaorani Indian Tribesmen: 3
Fijian Pre-colonial warrior: 3
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The two warriors stared menacingly at each other, each covered with the others compatriot’s blood. Neither moved and the atmosphere was tense, everything even the animals of the forest, were eerily silent waiting to see who would make the first move. …
Meanwhile on the other side of the forest….
Tani had finally caught up to the slinger who was standing next to a giant canoe, he seemed to have been abandoned by his chieftain and was now going to stand and fight. He began winding up his sling as Tani charged; Moipa’s spear in hand (he had lost his own from tripping in the pursuit), ready to deal with nuisance so he could move forward to the real prize. The Cowode released the sling sending the rock narrowly whizzing past his forehead and Tani continued charging forward, the Cowode was almost in reach-suddenly something wooden wrapped around his neck. That wooden thing then tackled him to the ground; “Instead of Tani finding the chieftain, it seems the chief found Tani” he thought abstractly admiring his opponent’s intelligence for the ambush. He hissed in pain as the chief pulled his head back and then with a violent jerk of crook of the club, snapped poor Tani’s neck. As the oxygen ceased pumping to his brain, his last conscious thought was “Moipa, please forgive me, I was neither strong nor smart enough “
Amazon Huaorani Indian Tribesmen: 2
Fijian Pre-colonial warrior: 3
Moipa, hurrying as fast as his one non- crippled leg would take him, approached the clearing, making sure to stay in the bushes. He then saw the body of his tribesmen, with his weapons laying by the weird canoe, and felt his anger grow, not just at his enemy but at himself. “If only I hadn’t been stupid enough to fall for such a stupid trap, I could have saved him “, the remorse was almost overwhelming, too much for even a veteran warrior like himself, He had to avenge this catastrophe. He then saw the two of them, crowded by the boat looking warily around for the other Huaorani warrior: him. They still have not seen him in the bushes. “I may not have been able to save you Tani, but at least I can avenge you” Moipa, as he began aiming his blowgun, “it time for your reign of terror to end” and with that he fired, aiming for the chief.
Rokolewasau was rudely pushed down to the ground. “How dare Kasanita, I am both his chief and mere moments ago I just saved that ingrate’s life, and here he is betraying me. I swear that I will-“,that thought was cut off the wzzzzzzppp sound of a familiar projectile. All the sudden the chief understood, his comrade wasn’t going to betray him, and rather he took a dart for him, in the neck. Kasanita fell to the floor as the chief with great effort, managed to get back up. Kasanita’s breathing started becoming raspy, and the chief could see he was not long for this world. The chief could see in Kasanita’s eyes that he knew this as well, and without speaking, he handed his lord the greatest weapon he had at his disposal, the sokilaki spear. Rokolewasau took it with rage building in his heart, and went to finish off the savage that did this.
Moipa was not surprisingly angry. The chief’s cannibal friend had jumped in front of his dart, and what should have been a decapitating blow to the leadership of the Cowode turned into a mere wounding one, yes he pretty much killed one of them but not its most dangerous member. Not only that but the chief was now sprinting for him spear in one hand, the other taking out one of those weird clubs from his belt. “I’m only going to get one shot at this, got to make it count” and with great purpose, Moipa reloaded. The next couple of seconds would decide everything. ..
Mincaye stood tall and erect staring down his even taller en enemy, or at least attempting too. Each had a weapon in hand, the stone ax for the Huaorani, the bowai for the cannibal. Neither moved staring transfixed at the other, each waiting for his opponent to make the first move. In the background the bodies of their brethren were taunting each other’s opposite, reminding them of their failures. Finally the Cowode obliged, and with a great battle cry, charged at the hunter’s leader. Mincaye had been preparing himself and quickly picked up and threw his former opponents club; this broke the charge as it forced the cannibal to jump out of the way, only just missing him. Now Mincaye began his charge and swung the axe into the other’s thigh-Blocked! His enemy had moved his bowai in front of it, and although the blade did cut into his skin, it wasn’t deep enough. The retaliated with his free hand, punching Mincaye back. He then followed up with low blow to the knees, this was blocked by the Amazonian’s axe. The Cowode attempted another punch, but the Huaorani had a punch of his own which hit the Fijian mid-swing in the stomach. He backed up, wheezing as Mincaye bolted to him. The veteran Cowode recovered quickly with an overhand chop with his Bowai that was only narrowly blocked, once again putting the Amazon on the defensive. “I can’t keep this up forever” Mincaye analyzed “there is just too much force put into that club, that last one almost dislodged the axe from its handle”.
Naivalurua was also panting; he had to end this soon. Pushing all his might into one last charge, he tackled the savage.
Mincaye met his charge head on, only barely avoiding falling to the floor. The two men struggled, each trying to be the last man standing. Fear was beginning to enter Mincaye’s heart; the Cowode was slowly gaining the edge. The Fijian knew this, and pressed down even harder; Mincaye was now in a perilous position, with the Cowode now towering over him. Then Mincaye had an epiphany, why was he fighting a man with superior strength head on? Use his own muscles against him. With that he quickly positioned his body to the opposite side of where the Fijian was pushing down on him, causing the Cowode to stumble downwards, causing him to release his hold on the Amazons arm. “It’s now or never “he thought and with he plunged his now freed axe into the man’s stomach. Not done yet, he knocked him to the floor on his chest, causing the blade to seep in further. Satisfied he went to check on his clubbed comrade.
Rokolewasau could see the savage reloading his blowgun. He WOULD not, could not let that happen, and threw his Ula at him. With blinding fast speeds it collided with his left shoulder, right as he was lifting up his weapon. The man howled in pain, as the club broke most of the bones in his shoulder, rendering it all but inoperable. He did not give up, switched his blowgun to his right arm and then brought it up to his mouth, with just one hand and aimed at the charging chieftain. They were both mere feet away from each other, and it became a rush to see who was going to kill the other first. He fired his blowgun just as the chief sokilaki reached his chest. Rokolewasau, who had closed his eyes at the last minute, opened them and smiled. While the savage’s dart missed, his spear did not, and went right through the heart pinning him to the tree behind him. The victorious chief went back to tend his comrade’s wounds, to see if anything could be done about them.
Moipa lay pinned to a tree, betrayed by his own unsteady right hand. The bolt had flown right over his shoulder. “If I had two I would have won this exchange” Realizing he was making excuses “Mincaye I am sorry my old friend, I just wasn’t good enough”. With that last depressive thought, a great spirit departed from his body to destinations unknown.
Amazon Huaorani Indian Tribesmen: 1
Fijian Pre-colonial warrior: 3
Mincaye looked at his partner with gloom. He would not be getting up from this. He heard some rustling behind him “really? The gods must be mocking me, he can’t still be-“But he was. The man was slowly getting up and trying to pull out the ax. Mincaye see one advantage he had in that could tell that the cannibal wasn’t aware, the he was aware of his newfound spark of life. He desperately scanned the nearby earth for weapons, his spear was too far and he didn’t want to pull it out anyway. Then he saw his salvation and whispered “Thank you Kimo, you have given me the instrument of our mutual revenge”. He picked up the Borduna and went to finish what he started.
Naivalurua wasn’t finished. “How dare that savage think that a small axe would kill me? I will avenge this slight, and kill that savage with his own ax.” With that he began the excruciatingly painful task of pulling out the blade, seeking to kill the unaware savage with it. After much time and effort, along with tear bringing pain, he managed to accomplish that venture. He looked around “now where did he”- he was never able complete that sentence.
Mincaye saw him finish pulling the axe out, he knew that he would search for him soon. “What they never expect is for the enemy to be right behind him” memories of old tribal battles came back to him, “Now is not the time to feel nostalgic” and with that he silently pulled the borduna back. Just as he was looking around, he unleashed the full fury of The People on him in one almighty blow. Blood and brain matter showered the sky and one enemy of the huaorani would never rise again.
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Amazon Huaorani Indian Tribesmen: 1
Amazon Huaorani Indian Tribesmen: 1
Fijian Pre-colonial warrior: 2
Rokolewasau looked at the body of his comrade, fighting back tears at seeing the man who saved his life slowly suffocating to death. The man’s eyes were pleading, just asking his chief to end all the misery that the poison inflicted. With great reluctance, the chief looked around for the tools to accomplish that task. Finally he saw a tool to accomplish this appalling task, a bow inside the canoe. This had been what was owned by the sixth member, who perished in a beast attack. He may not have been as good as Naivalurua, but he was still trained enough to kill a man at point blank. He selected the sharpest arrow that he could find which wasn’t hard as the only other arrows there were the three incendiary ones. He wasn’t about to set his rescuer on fire, but he made sure to note those for later. Aiming down he said “Thank you for rescuing me, I promise I will look for you in Bulu (paradise), may your journey there be uneventful”, and with that fired straight it into his heart. His fellow Fijians eye widened for a sec, then turned glassy and unseeing. Closing his eyes, he wondered what now was there for him to do? He just hoped that some of the others lived. He would wait till they showed, or until the enemy that killed them did. In that case one final period of bloodletting would decide everything….
Amazon Huaorani Indian Tribesmen: 1
Fijian Pre-colonial warrior: 1
It was now completely dark, only the moonlight was an adequate guide. After picking up his cerbatana he doubled back and began following Moipa’s trail. So far things did not seem good. He had found a lot of blood by some protruding pieces of bamboo spikes. Whoever had stepped on this wouldn’t be able to run and indeed he found slower footprints leading away from it. “Tricky Cowode” he muttered. He continued on.
Rokolewasau sat waiting behind the boat. His grotesque trap was in place, he hoped that Kasanita would forgive him. Destiny would come to him in one way or the other soon….either hw would earn great glory and become known as the slayer of Auca-the savages or he would fall in this harsh jungle. The chief at the moment didn’t care which happened.
Mincaye found Moipa pinned to a tree, by a huge spear. His oldest friend, taken by a bunch of non- humans, he then smelled smoke and looked further down the hill. He saw Tani’s body as well…and then saw one of them sitting in front of the fire, leaning in. He couldn’t see the other, so immediately expecting a trap he looked all around the visible forest, but could not find the other. Cautiously he decided to deal with the guy at the fire first and then focus his efforts on the missing person. He fired a dart at the sitting man only for nothing to happen. Confused he fired again, and this time hitting him in the neck...again nothing happened. Then to his horror he realized what was going on, that man didn’t react because he wasn’t alive! Oh fu- before he could finish that thought he saw the missing cannibal come out from behind the canoe with a bow. Trying desperately to reload he wondered what he was doing why was he sticking the arrow in the… oh fuck!
Rokolewasau shot into the part of the forest where he though the native was, the fire spreading rapidly due to the dry season…
Mincaye narrowly dodged the arrow and got to a different section of the forest. As seen as he felt safe he tried reloading again only to see another flaming arrow soar at him. The fire was spreading at dangerous rate, pretty soon he’d either have to jump in the water and risk sharks and vile evil serpents or stand his ground and face him.
He chose the latter.
Rokolewasau had run out of arrows, but he was pretty sure he did enough. The enemy now would either perish in the flames or come to him now as the forest was almost all gone, time to hope for the first and prepare for the last. He bent down by the fire and picked up the Amazonian axe and the chief’s own Thali, which had been used to prop Kasanita up so it appeared that he was sitting. Sighing and still depressed over what he’s done he turned- and received a massive club to the side as a wakeup call. Staggering back with a broken rib or two he prepared to show the savage how superior Fijians are at close hand fighting. The savage swung the club again only this time the chief launched a well-timed strike with the axe to his left leg, causing the Huaorani to both howl in pain and try a downward strike on the chief. Once again the chief dodged, but not completely as the club came down on his axe hand, shattering it and causing him to drop the axe. Pissed off now the chief slammed his thali’s blade into the Amazon’s upper right forearm, causing his grip to become laxer and weakening his grip on his weapon. The fight was getting closer to the finish now. The savage switched tactics now, instead of swinging, he did the unexpected and stabbed the big club forward into Rokolewasau’s stomach, knocking the wind out of the chief. The Huaorani then attempted to swing the club horizontally to pound him across the face but the chief threw himself to the ground and slashed at his foot leg again. The Amazon was wobbly now, and clearly couldn’t stand much longer.
Now it was the Fijians turn for the offensive. He aimed for an overhand chop that was just barely blocked with the borduna, but that was planned for. He kicked with foot at the Amazons sore legs, causing him to stumble. He then aimed a second blow at the right arm, again blocked but again the chief turned that to his advantage by ramming the Amazon again nearly causing him to fall. The Amazon was fatigued, “just like waves against rocks I am slowly wearing him down, and what an impressive rock this warrior is” thought the chief “not long now at all now”. The chief picked up some dirt in his offhand, saving it for the right moment as he launched a stab, which broke through the club defenses, hitting him in the gut. The Amazon spat up blood, as the chief aimed another hit with the club portion on the Amazon’s right shoulder, dislocating it. Now is the time he thought, and with that he through the dirt in the Huaorani’s face, temporarily blinding his right eye and reflexively bring both hands up to his face. Positioning his foot under the Amazon’s near crippled knees, he finally caused the native to plunge to the ground, and sent the borduna rolling off in a different direction, far out of reach for the now immobile Amazon. Now the chief moved in for a kill.
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In those seconds that followed every moved in slow motion for Mincaye. His body ached and he would have accepted fate earlier, had not the memory of his slain villagers pressed him on. Now lying on the ground, half of his body broken, he really just wanted it to end. “NO! He couldn’t give up, he would die fighting!” but even as part of his mind said that, a different part screamed what’s the use there was nothing left for him to fight with, and he was too tired to even consider Haku. In the end exhaustion prevailed. Mincaye exposed his neck to allow death easier access and spread his hands out to signify that he was done.
“OW!” His left arm landed on something very sharp and barbed. Turning his head slightly as the Fijian began his descent to finish him off he saw what could only be an act of divine providence. It was Moipa’s spear! The good spirits had given him his last shot of avenging his tribe. He had to take it and grabbed the spear just below of the tip. The chief too fixated on his neck failed to notice. Moving with the speed of the fastest puma, he grabbed the spear and thrust up as the chief prepared for the finishing blow.
As the club descended, the spear ascended with even greater speed, entering through the lungs, and piercing his heart.
Rokolewasau face was pure shock, he hadn’t anticipated that. Good play, good play he thought as blackness began taking hold of him. Looking into the Amazon’s determined eyes he tried to communicate“Even if I may have failed my tribe, I can see you did not fail yours. It is an honor to begin my journey to Bulu from the tip of your spear. “. With a smile the chief went to seek the rest of his warriors.
Amazon Huaorani Indian Tribesmen: 1
Fijian Pre-colonial warrior: 0
Mincaye, lay there for a long while until finally he gathered enough strength to get up, the last bit of Adrenaline to get him away from this burning penisnsula. He took the foreigners fine ship and sailed off to the mainland. After three strokes he was unable to continue. Lying down in the raft he thought about those who he lost and passed out. What the spirits did with him now he no longer cared, as the raft drifted lazily down the river into the ocean.
Winner : Amazon Huaorani Indian tribesmen!
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Scoring and Edges:
Now it is time to decide the weapon, armor and tactical edges. The scoring will include factors such as tactics, armor and bonus attributes in the scoring. The scoring will be proportionate to those said factors and not by standards held by those outside the fight. For example the Fiji or Amazonian bows may get 7 or 8s in my scoring, but if either was paired against the Mongol bow they would get a 2(if lucky). Now that that is out of the way let’s begin!
Long Range Category 1: The Huaorani bow vs. The Fijian Bow-
Let’s talk about their similarities first. Both bows are around the same length and with lack sources for draw power I’d have to take that out of the equation (neither has effective armor so a hit is essentially a kill.). Both have relatively small amounts of ammo (4 to 5) due to the lack of quivers and the pure size of the arrows (another similarity). The arrowheads also have similar attributes, like they can be barbed or straight edged, and the unique designs can’t really justify an edge. In the end I had to look at special uses of the arrows. While the Fijian fire arrow is cool and all, it just isn’t practical for ambushing as the smoke and burning smell would give you away if the flames didn’t. It would also be dangerous to use these in a jungle (the neutral setting of both, as they both lived in these). Also the amount of time to light one is also something you have to factor in. The only real advantages that I can see are the fear factor. The Huoarani poison Curare on the other hand is on every one of their arrows, making just about every hit either lethal in most cases or crippling if the enemy is lucky. The war fan is also going to have a hard time parrying these arrows (only for the chief though, his underlings are not so lucky). The advantage of poison in the end gives the Huaorani the edge in the first long range category.
The Huaorani bow -9/10
The Fijian Bow-8/10
Edge: Huaorani Amazon Indian
Long Range category 2: The Cerbatanas (blowgun) vs. The Fijian “Laga Sera” sling
Lets talk about the advantages of the sling first. It has near unlimited ammo, as basically anywhere you can find rocks you can operate the sling. It is also very accurate in a experts hands and is quite capable of smashing bones, steel musket ends, and even heads. It also has a much greater range then the Cerbatanas, out ranging even the bow. If it hits it is pretty much a crippling blow or a fatal one. However it may not be a fatal one right away meaning the enemy can still fight on and win, then die happy. The Cerbatanas clearly has both the tactical and lethality advantage and can be tied in accuracy. This is devastating in a ambush as if used right the Amazons can get half or even all the enemies before they can discern the tribesmen’s location. It is quite an accurate weapon in an experts hands and the Huaorani are naturally skilled with it, preferring it over every weapon save the spear. The Cerbatanas is built to shoot out darts at speeds that make it nearly impossible to dodge, darts that are ALWAYS fatal or crippling if hit due to the presence of Curare. Huaorani are also known for climbing up trees while hunting with it, which would give them a nice snipers perch in battle. The quiver is so large that it is essentially infinite in terms of this battle, being able to kill the five Fijians many times over before getting low. The fan will only be able to block if it is positioned directly in front of the darts path, which will be hard to do. The only disadvantage of this weapon is its pure size that could make it a little unwieldy. So edge goes to the tribesmen from the Amazon.
The Amazon Cerbatanas: 9/10
The Fijian sling: 6/10
Edge: Huaorani Amazon Indian
Mid Range: Huaorani Double edged spear vs. Sokilaki and Ula Club
The Sokilaki is excellent spear and capable of being used as a javelin. However it can’t compare to the Amazon’s spear for three reasons. 1. The Amazon spear is double edged. 2. the Fijians don’t like to kill with the Sokilaki, preferring to do so with the club. As such they are more likely to use it as a javelin (not guaranteed) and try to get in closer with a club, even though the Sokilaki is the same length is the Amazon spear. 3. Amazon Indian prefer the spear as one of their main weapons, and as such train with it, use it more than the Fijians, gaining great skill with it. So spear on spear, the Amazon are victorious. However that isn’t the whole story as the Fijians also have the ula club. The Ula is carried in pairs and would be thrown with great precision and accuracy due to the Fijians natural skill with the club , at a range where dodging is hard. Both the sharpened handle and the actual head itself can be quite deadly. The Ula and Sokilaki get the edge as a combination.
Sokilaki and Ula: 13/15
Huaoroni “tapa” spear: 10 /15
Edge: Fijian Pre-colonial warrior
Close Range: Category 1: Stone ax vs. Fijian “thali” spurred “gunstock” club
I don’t think I need to go into much detail about this. In addition to Fijian skill with clubs, the gunstock club can parry, stab and pin. It could be described as a dueling weapon, a Fijian rapier. The stone ax is slightly shorter than the Thali and was mainly used to finish off a poisoned prey, not warfare, and while it could be thrown there is little evidence of Amazon tribes doing that. So edge Fijian Thali.
Fijian Thali: 9/10
Stone ax: 6/10
Edge: Fijian Pre-colonial warrior
Close range: Category 2: Borduna club vs. Bowai- mace club
Both are going to do a lot of damage if a hit is successfully accomplished. I am talking about bones broken, limbs crippled, probably heads bashed in. The Borduna is like a baseball bat, great damage if it hit but massive recovery time and quite unwieldy. The bowai has little recovery time and massive damage if hit, plus this is clubs we are talking about and Fijians are very skilled with clubs. Although length wise it is at a disadvantage to the borduna, in every other regard it is either at advantage or even.
Fijian Bowai: 8/10
Borduna club: 7/10
Edge: Fijian Pre-colonial warrior
Bonus: Curare poison vs. bamboo spike trap
This category will essentially function like a special weapons category. First let me detail the advantages of the spike trap. It is wonderful in that it doesn’t require a man to operate, it will break off into someone’s foot which will lead to an infection/blood loss and eventually death, and that it will be a great assister for other kills(someone unable to walk will be especially vulnerable to weapons). Despite this it has lot of disadvantages. You have to remember where you put it or else it may backfire. You opponent has step on a very specific spot in the ground for it to have effect, and even if he is crippled he is not totally helpless. He will still be able to fire off his bow and blowgun (in this case) so he is still threatening. Also due to Amazonian Huaorani’s dealings with other tribes that use similar traps means it may be a little less effective against the Amazons then other opponents. And if a Huaorani does fall victim to a trap, the rest will be even more wary. Poison on the other hand there is not much you can do against even with prior knowledge. The Fijians have no armor; even the chief won’t be able to do much with his fan. Every hit either renders them immobile, unconscious or dead. It is twice as effective as the trap, and therefore I feel completely justified in giving it twice the points.
Curare Poison: 10/10
Bamboo spike trap: 5/10
Edge: Huaorani Amazon Indian
Armor: Basically None vs. War fan
The Fijians get the edge in this, as a war fan is better than nothing. The war fan with have a hard time doing much, or hell anything, against hard to see blowgun darts or giant arrows, especially against an enemy that specializes in ambushes and night attacks. I truly don’t feel it will be more then slightly effective in this fight, but hey, at least you can *****slap with it!
War Fan: 1/20
None: 0/20
Edge: Fijian Pre-colonial warrior
Tactics, Rules and Motivations: the Huaorani: Night Attacks, Ambushes. Poison, Emergency Leadership, No down Kills, No specific warrior class, Anti-Cannibal hysteria, Fanatical Revenge Killings
Vs.
Fiji: Surprise attacks, “Netting” , Use of Cannibalism to intimidate, Club Oriented, Always armed , absolute leadership, No specific warrior class, Single combat oriented, Valor and glory fixated, Divinely motivated.
(I have aligned them in order, tactics first then rules and motivations).
More than anything thing else this was the hardest to give an edge too. Ill split this up into three sections.
Tactics: Both the Fiji and the Huaorani are masters of guerrilla tactics, with the Huaorani being better then the Fijians at night but still capable of pulling one off during the day. Netting, or feigning retreat and then counterattacking is also a brilliant strategy, that the Huaorani, lacking an organized command structure will be hard pressed to do. There two flaws with the Fijis tactics that the Huaorani will be able to exploit. One is that their culturally favored weapon, the club, cannot compete with the range and the option given by the Huaorani’s favored substance, poison and more specifically poison darts and arrows. Secondly their use of cannibalism to instill fear in the Amazons is likely to backfire, and will make the Huaorani more pissed and fight harder. Due to the effectiveness of netting I cannot give the edge to either here.
Rules: Although this doesn’t apply 100% percent of the time, most of the time Fiji warriors will seek a one on one duel with their enemies. This puts them at a bit of a disadvantage against the Amazon, who wouldn’t follow this rule. However such a rule will quickly be forgotten once the Fijians realize the Huaorani will not play ball. Neither Huaorani nor the Huaorani tribesmen have a specific warrior class, although both often engage in the hunt so they do have weapon practice. No down kills are defiantly going to hurt the Amazonian, but just a little. Most of the time they do go down and they are dying A. dying from spear/poison or B. Unconscious from said poison. The latter will give the Amazonian enough time to finish his buddies, then come back when he has semi recovered, and the former will be almost dead so little worry will come from them . What this comes down to is leadership, and the Huaorani gets the edge here because of their semi-anarchistic lifestyles. They are able to function better independently then the Fiji, and if there temporary chief is killed then they suffer less a disadvantage then if the Fijian one is killed. Also the loss of a chief would severely affect their tactics, so here I give the edge to the Huaorani.
Motivations: Glory and Religion are great motivators, but then again so is hate and revenge. The Fijian wants to make a name for himself, and believes the gods not only favor him, but want him to complete this task. The Huaorani hates the nonhuman cannibals, and will undoubtedly be seeking payback for past grievances these cannibals have committed against their tribe. I don’t think I can give a definitive edge to either.
Due to a slight Rule edge I have to give this to the Huaorani, but just barely
Huaorani Amazon Indian tactics: 16/20
Fiji pre-colonial Warrior: 15/20
Martial Arts: Haku-Haku vs. Veisaga
I am going to summarize this in two sentences , they are both wrestling styles with nothing particularly different about them. They are both assisters though so they will get some points, but neither will get the edge.
Haku-Haku: 3/5
Veisaga: 3/5
Amazonian Huaorani Tribesmen names: Kimo Yeti, Nenkiwi, Dyuwi Tani, Mincaye Enquiedi, Moipa
Fiji Pre colonial tribesmen names: Rokolewasau ("power to rule over the people"), Avenall, Kasanita("strike wood together to make fire"), Madraiwiwi (“sour bread”), Naivalurua 9(two wars”)
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Results and why
Category
|
Amazon Huaorani Native
|
Fijian Precolonial warrior
|
Long range 1:
|
9
|
8
|
Long range 2:
|
9
|
6
|
Mid Range:
|
10
|
13
|
Close range 1:
|
6
|
9
|
Close range 2:
|
7
|
8
|
Bonus:
|
10
|
5
|
Armor
|
0
|
1
|
T.R.M. (see edges page)
|
16
|
15
|
Martial arts:
|
3
|
3
|
Result
|
70
|
68
|
After an extremely close battle the superior long range weaponry and exceptional midrange managed to snag the Huaorani top spot. This was assisted by ambushes and decapitation strikes (i.e. killing the chief) that ultimately proves too much for the mighty Fijians to handle. However what without a doubt gave the huaorani this victory, without which victory would be impossible, was the Curare poison. This turned almost every single long range strike into a kill.
Now I will try to sum it up in traditional deadliest warrior style out of 100 deaths and battles (which to me never mad sense actually, I mean if you do 1000 battles with squads then wouldn’t you have more than a 1000 deaths)? Oh well if you want you can multiply my results by nine I guess(even though that isn’t exactly accurate as in some possible simulations I was thinking about one side simply ambushed and completely annihilated another, without causalities)
Category
|
Amazon Huaorani Native
|
Fijian Precolonial warrior
|
Long range 1
|
Amazon bow: 147
|
Fijian bow: 97
|
Long range 2
|
Cerbatanas : 211
|
Sling : 59
|
Mid range :
|
Huaorani spear : 102
|
Sokilaki: 94 Ula: 68
|
Close range 1
|
Borduna club : 36
|
Bowai :64
|
Close range : 2
|
Stone ax : 17
|
Thali: 101
|
Bonus:
|
Curare (Applied towards all blowgun and most bow kills, over 300)
|
Bamboo foot trap :3
War fan :1
|
Total
|
513
|
487
|
Weapon Breakdown:
Huaorani:
The Amazon bow scored an impressive 147kills, a lot of which were helped along with curare. Also this combined with blowgun was devastating in ambushes.
The cerabatanas scored even higher than the bow with a jaw dropping 211 kills. This was due to its great accuracy (untrained tourists were able to accurately fire them), curare poison, ambushes, tendency for Huaorani to climb up trees and fire them off, picking off many a unwary Fiji
The spear was the single best weapon for mid range, with its length, lethality and the fact that it is double sided scoring 102 kills.
The unwieldy borduna clubs smashed 36 Fijians. This low number was due to the Fijians being quite skilled with clubs and the Borduna’s own lack of speed.
Stone ax claimed a measly 18 kills, making it the worst of the Amazons arsenal. The reason for the low amount was it was required to get within very close range of the Fijians to be effective, and that’s the range they are best at.
Fijians:
Fijian bow: The bow was great with 97 kills, and against a less long range opponent it would do very well. Against the Amazons and their poison it faced an onslaught which it still managed to do decent against.
Sling: The sling got 59 kills, and a lot more assists. The sling was capable of inflicting devastating wounds on the Amazon with its great accuracy, many that effectively removed them from the fight leaving them either to slowly die or get killed by something else.
Sokilaki was preferred to be used as a javelin or a assister to a club kill, but it still got an impressive 94. The reason being that it would be used increasingly more once the Fijians realized that having a good mid range is to their advantage.
Ula I may have downplayed unfairly in the sim. With its great precision, undodgable speeds and devastating strike power it slayed 68 men.
The Bowai mace bashed in 64 skulls. While it was much quicker than its counterpart it still lacked the range to get more kills. . still very good weapon
The Thali was the tyrant of its range, with 101 kills to its name. The reason for this high amount as it was great at sneak attacks (snapping necks) ,disarming attacks knocking the weapons out of the opponents hands, stabbing attacking and even physical striking attacks. Definatly the best weapon of its range and it also assisted in some of the Bowai and sokilaki thrust kills.
The spike trap caused many assists and three unlucky Huaorani to bleed out. The reason it wasn’t really effective was due to the intelligence of its enemies, preciseness of the trap, and it just simply wasn’t effective as these other weapons.
One man was humorlessly ***** slapped to death, Much to the laughter of his comrades.
T.R.M. helped in a lot of long range kills mostly and led to some close quarter ambushes by the Fijians.
Armor(war fan) took about ten potential kills away from the blowgun and a similar amount from the bow. That’s it.
Martial art is responsible for some of each side’s close quarter’s kills.
I already explained how Curare was effective.
Well with now I am finally done. I tried to include everything that I could from the edges into the matchup. I am two tied currently to write the preview for my next one but you find it on my other blog tomorrow. See you next time for Egyptian warrior vs. Mayan Warrior(will find specific names later).
Fijian sling: http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1341882046/2
ReplyDeleteWow, that's a lot of clubs for the Fiji. And I thought the Maori had a lot of clubs.
ReplyDelete