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For the Awiakay the most important animal hunted is wild pig (Sus scrofa). There are several different ways of hunting it, the most frequent being tay yawa ‘sago trap’ whereby a pig is lured to an opened sago trunk where it is speared at night by a hunter in a hide built of sago leaves. If the wounded pig escapes, it is followed by dogs and killed when it weakens. Just like in the case of the cassowary, hunting for pig is likened to a duel. There have been several cases of wild boars tearing a hunter’s skin and one of the most important ways for a boy to prove his manhood is to kill a pig. There are several taboos around the hunter, his dogs, and the pig. In the past, magic was used to make one’s dogs better hunters, and spells were cast upon the hunter’s bow and arrows. The hunter was not supposed to eat his own kill, but was obliged to distribute it among his kin. However, in recent years, hunters tend to smoke the meat and keep it for selling, in which case none of their relatives receive any of the meat.
Unsurprisingly, pig plays a very important role in Awiakay cosmology, featuring in most myths and songs. Two Awiakay clans are named after two different types of pig.
Images:
02: ‘pulling out pig’s testicles’: a stage in making the string figure called ‘pig’
03: yay ‘pig’ string figure, final design
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