Bolas or bolases (singular bola; from

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and Portuguese ''bola'', "ball", also known as a ''boleadora'' or ''boleadeira'') is a type of throwing

weapon A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, used to capture animals by entangling their legs. Bolas were most famously used by the gauchos, but have been found in excavations of

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

settlements, especially in

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

, where indigenous peoples (particularly the Tehuelche) used them to catch 200-pound

guanaco The guanaco (; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids, the other being the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The guanaco ...

s and rheas. The

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...

and the Inca army used them in battle. Mapuche warriors used bolas in their confrontations with the

Chilean Army The Chilean Army ( es, Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade. In recent years, and ...

during the

Occupation of Araucanía The Occupation of Araucanía or Pacification of Araucanía (1861–1883) was a series of military campaigns, agreements and penetrations by the Chilean army and settlers into Mapuche territory which led to the incorporation of Araucanía into Ch ...

(1861–1883).

Use

''Gauchos'' used ''boleadoras'' to capture running

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

or game. Depending on the exact design, the thrower grasps the ''boleadora'' by one of the weights or by the nexus of the cords. The thrower gives the balls momentum by swinging them and then releases the ''boleadora''. The weapon is usually used to entangle the animal's legs, but when thrown with enough force might even inflict damage (e.g. breaking a bone). Traditionally,

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territorie ...

have used bolas to hunt birds, fouling the birds in air with the lines of the bola. ''People of a Feather'' showed Belcher Island Inuit using bolas to hunt

eider Eiders () are large seaducks in the genus ''Somateria''. The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The down feathers of eider ducks, and some other ducks and geese, are used to fill pillows and quil ...

ducks on the wing.

Design

There is no uniform design; most ''bolas'' have two or three balls, but there are versions of up to eight or nine. Some ''bolas'' have balls of equal weight, others vary the knot and cord. ''Gauchos'' use ''bolas'' made of

braid A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strande ...

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...

cords with

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

en balls or small leather sacks full of stones at the ends of the cords. ''Bolas'' can be named depending on the number of weights used: * ''Perdida'' (one weight) * ''Avestrucera'' or ''ñanducera'' (two weights, for rheas) * ''Somai'' (two weights)Blair, Claude and Tarassuk, Leonid, eds. (1982). ''The Complete Encyclopedia of Arms and Weapons''. p. 92.

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

. . * ''Achico'' (three weights) * ''Boleadora'' (three weights) * ''Kiipooyaq'' (

name for ''bolas'' with three or more weights) ''Bolas'' of three weights are usually designed with two shorter cords with heavier weights, and one longer cord with a light weight. The heavier weights fly at the front parallel to each other, hit either side of the legs, and the lighter weight goes around, wrapping up the legs. Boleando nandues la pampa 1905

Other unrelated versions include ''qilumitautit'', the ''bolas'' of the

, made of

sinew A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...

and bone weights and used to capture water birds.

References

External links

{{commonscat, Bolas
Boleadoras
Ancient weapons Argentine folklore Throwing weapons Chain and rope throwing weapons Chilean folklore Culture in Rio Grande do Sul Indigenous culture of the Southern Cone Indigenous weapons of the Americas Lithics Uruguayan folklore Hunting equipment Gaucho culture Primitive weapons

Use

Design

See also

References

External links