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From the Horn of Africa (Read 5402 times)
shabundi
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From the Horn of Africa
Feb 10th, 2007 at 12:00pm
 
I mentioned slings in a conversation with my father and he sent these from Djibouti. My father remembers them quite clearly from his childhood and mentioned that they were used primarily by shepherds, and were made out of palm leave fibers. It seems that they’re still in use because two of the slings (the colorful ones) I believe are made of nylon, and look like something that might be mass produced. The other two of natural material seemed quite flimsy, which was rather disappointing because I would’ve imagined the craftsmanship to be a little better then that. However, when my brother and I tried them out, they seemed to do the job quite well…in fact, eventually my brother preferred the natural fiber ones. If you notice there is also a small sling that I made using medical tape and string as suggest on this website. This is by far my favorite since not only can it handle the larger rocks just as well, but it can also send out the smaller rocks quite a distance.

One last note, I was surprised at how similar the traditionally made slings looked like the one found in ancient Egypt.
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« Last Edit: Feb 18th, 2007 at 10:06am by shabundi »  

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Re: From the Horn of Africa
Reply #1 - Feb 10th, 2007 at 8:33pm
 
GREAT PICTURE Shabundi!! Thanks for sharing and welcome to our forum. Smiley
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Re: From the Horn of Africa
Reply #2 - Feb 11th, 2007 at 3:25pm
 
Welcome Shabundi, great picture! The slings really look like the ancient Egyptian one from Lahun. In a way it is amaising how close the technical solutions of sling making are to each other all over the world and throughout history. In what way are the pouches of your slings braided?

funda iucunda
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Taiki
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Re: From the Horn of Africa
Reply #3 - Feb 11th, 2007 at 4:21pm
 
Great picture and welcome to the forum

i didn't even notice it was so Big Shocked but those slings look great how about some info on how you made em??
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Re: From the Horn of Africa
Reply #4 - Feb 11th, 2007 at 5:13pm
 
Welcome to the forum!

Not only are the slings nice, the rocks are making me drool too!  They look smooth and egg shaped.

I use the medical tape sling design too.  Never judge a sling by its looks! Wink
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Re: From the Horn of Africa
Reply #5 - Feb 11th, 2007 at 5:28pm
 
I am longing for a detail showing one of the tradional pouces. To see how they are made.
And I agree with Tint, those rocks rock!

Willeke
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Re: From the Horn of Africa
Reply #6 - Feb 11th, 2007 at 8:45pm
 
Can we please see some more pictures of that sling???
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Re: From the Horn of Africa
Reply #7 - Feb 12th, 2007 at 1:12am
 
Welcome back shabundi.

Great slings you have there. Perhaps you could take some pictures of each sling individually and post them here so all of us could see them in some more detail.

Coenie

PS. Where are you from?
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Re: From the Horn of Africa
Reply #8 - Feb 12th, 2007 at 5:13am
 
Thanks for all the responses, and I’ll try my best to answer your questions.

Funda Iucunda,

I have no idea about braiding in general or the different styles that are used. After having prowled this site for a while, my guess would be that Willeke could probably figure it out from this picture I just attached. Both natural fiber slings came tapered on both ends with no finger lop or release knot, and therefore, I’m assuming that it is left for the final owner if they want to.

Tint,

Currently I live in Egypt, and just a few minutes drive outside Cairo you find hills covered by those river rocks…along with seashells. The variation in size of the rocks was due to the fact that we had no clue what size to bring back with us. I got the impression that many on the site prefer fist size rocks, however I eventually found the ones slightly smaller then egg-sized to be idle (especially for my shoulder).

Africa_Slinger,

My father is an Afar, and their land is in current day Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. I haven’t been there myself, however my father is very knowledgeable about his people’s history, and was able to provide me with the names used for the sling in the various parts of the region.
My mother is from Egypt, however unfortunately I don’t have a large enough social network here to find out whether slings are still used in the country or not. In the few years that I’ve lived here on and off, I have never seen one.
And where are you from?...Do they still use slings there?

Several months ago I posted a question regarding the aerodynamics of the sling cords, and now that I actually went out and tried it I’ve realized how irrelevant that question was. In any case, the experience we had the other day definitely did not disappoint, and God willing, my brother and I will go on another slinging session soon.

Thanks again for all the comments, and I apologize for not being able to shrink down the pictures further.

Shihab
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« Last Edit: Feb 18th, 2007 at 10:08am by shabundi »  

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shabundi
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Re: From the Horn of Africa
Reply #9 - Feb 12th, 2007 at 5:57am
 
Here is a picture of Wadi Delga (Degla Valley), which although is only a few kilometers away from my home, is now considered a protectorate and so you have to pay in order to get in. Still the location is worth it I believe, since it is very forgiving for begginers.

After an hour of slinging and getting the hang of it, at least being able to sling in the general area that we’re looking at, I was able to send off two shots which really impressed my brother and me. I marked a red X where we were slinging from, and as a reference for distance I underlined an oil barrel used for garbage, in the middle of the picture. I am guessing that the barrel was roughly 60-70 meters from our location and three meters lower then us since we were standing on top of a mound.

Anyway, using the medical tape sling, I was able to hit the cliff that was on the other side of the track (numbered 1). Honestly, I don’t know why it went as far as it did since I really didn’t put any more effort into the throw then usual…since I always sling as hard as I can that is! I would like to think that it could’ve been because the rock flew like an American football, however chances are that a gust of wind a little higher up helped the rock travel further. The second shot went slightly even further (labeled number two on the cliff). We could see where the two shots landed because of the dust that picked up from where they hit.

Well, for me those two throws were like making a hook shot from center court and that you just have to tell someone about. My guess is that they were close to traveling over 200 meters… what do you guys think?
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« Last Edit: Feb 18th, 2007 at 10:09am by shabundi »  
 
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Re: From the Horn of Africa
Reply #10 - Feb 12th, 2007 at 6:14am
 
excellent pictures - but perhaps you might reduce them a little before posting in future. I got quite seasick scrolling back and forwards over the pouch pics :-)

if you're not sure how pm me and I'll give you me email address so you can send them over for reduction :-)
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Re: From the Horn of Africa
Reply #11 - Feb 12th, 2007 at 7:14am
 
These are great pictures, and I have to join those who admire your collection of stones. What length are these slings?

The pictures of the sling pouches are fascinating. I wonder how long before Willeke or Matthias tells us all how it's done? Wink.

As far as distance on your last picture.. you are obviously a natural! I can only dream of throwing that distance.

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shabundi
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Re: From the Horn of Africa
Reply #12 - Feb 12th, 2007 at 3:28pm
 
I just measured the slings…
The nylon ones are roughly 3ft8in (1.12m) from the center of the pouch…coincidentally that is also the length of the medical tape sling I made.
The natural fiber sling are almost 4ft (1.2m), however without finger loops or release knots and which would shorten the sling several inches.

As for the river rocks, they use them here in construction to mix in with cement, and we had a hard time finding them at first. When we were finally led to the hills just outside the city we were really impressed with the view…hopefully I’ll take a picture from there next time I go.

And about the distance, I believe maybe part of the reason why there is such a difference between how far people on this site can sling, as mentioned before has to do with the lack of a standard in sling length, and more importantly size of ammo that we all use. We had a hard time sending some of the larger rocks 50m…Anyway, as much as I’d like to think I sent a couple of those rocks 200m+, it isn’t really confirmed.
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Re: From the Horn of Africa
Reply #13 - Feb 12th, 2007 at 4:27pm
 
Thanks Shabundi,
I can now really see the pouches.
I never thought about making a sling like this, but now I see it it seems logical.

The cords are twisted, (laid rope) and the loop is either made in the start or later spliced in.
The red, (blue, yellow) sling shows the details beautifully, it is harder to descibe them.

The strings  are not connected, they are only attached by the weave of the pouch.
One red string goes from the yellow string to the blue string and back, and the weave in between the strings is shaped, and my hands itch to copy the work.

The natural fibre one looks like it is made the same way, but it is not as nearly as easy to see.

I will try to tell about this sling at an other time, for now I just add the photos to the sling collection on my computer.

Willeke
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shabundi
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Re: From the Horn of Africa
Reply #14 - Feb 12th, 2007 at 6:04pm
 
Willeke,

You're right the strings are not connected and are only attached to the weave of the pouch like you mentioned. It's actually a lot more pronounced on the natural fiber ones when you get to hold it, and that's why we thought it might end up being too flimsy.

With all the designs I've seen on slinging.org, I'm surprised that this could still be one more different way of braiding a sling!

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