Other formats

    TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

Samoan Material Culture

Sinkers

Sinkers

Net sinkers were selected from suitably sized natural stones. They were firmly tied with a special cord and then tied to the bottom rope of the net. Even the small, rounded, waterworn stones seen on casting nets were held firmly by the tying technique. The stone sinkers of ordinary nets were not treated by grooving. Line sinkers do not seem to have been used in former times because the hooks in use were trolled and did not require sinkers.

Sinkers for shark bait and shark nets. Large waterworn stones, used with set nets with big meshes for catching shark outside the reef, had neat funnel shaped holes bored through from either side with a stone pointed drill to complete the perforation for a rope attachment. In a shark bait sinker (ma'afa'amalie) a chipped groove extended from either side of the perforation to meet over the end. (See Pl. XL, D, 1.) Mr. Judd (17, p. 641) was informed that it was used to anchor the bait which was tied to the rope in a position where it would be about the middle of the set net. Another stone, with a larger perforation and a groove cut around the end, was used to anchor nets set for sharks, and was hence termed a taula (anchor). (See Pl. XL, D, 2.)