Welcome, Guest. Please Login
SLINGING.ORG
 
Home Help Search Login


Page Index Toggle Pages: 1
Send Topic Print
Slings in Guam (Read 9632 times)
David Morningstar
Slinging.org Moderator
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 3419
UK
Slings in Guam
Aug 31st, 2008 at 11:32am
 
http://www.guampedia.com/category/22-ancient-guam/entry/380-slingstones

This is a great article. Some choice highlights:

One account by Father Peter Coomans in The History of the Mariana Island Mission for the 1667-1673 period describes the weapons as such:

Their offensive weapons include the sling, which they aim very skillfully at the head. Out of small ropes they weave a sort of net-bag, in which to carry stones with an oblong shape, some formed out of a marble stone, and others of clay, hardened in either the sun or fire. They whirl and shoot those so violently. Should it make an impact upon a more delicate part, like the heart, or the head, the man is flattened on the spot. Then, if envy would make them want to burn a house from a adistance, they would stuff the perforated side of it with tow burning with a very ferocious fire, which, with a swift movement became a flame, and sail away to seek shelter in enemy houses.

...

The vast majority of Marianas slingstones are hand sized, weighing from 40 to 80 grams, though a few exceed one kilogram in weight. These are thought to have been ceremonial but perhaps some served utilitarian purposes, such as as canoe breakers as seen in Tahiti and Hawaii.

...

Guam, however, is the world’s only political entity that features the slingstone on its seal and flag.

...
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
funda_iucunda
Senior Member
****
Offline


Watt den een sin Uhl is
den annern sin Nachtigal.

Posts: 317
Germany (north of Hamburg)
Gender: male
Re: Slings in Guam
Reply #1 - Aug 31st, 2008 at 3:40pm
 
Interesting "4 times split pouch"! The sling stones are really exotic. At least some of them seem to be made of a harder kind of stone. They must have spend much time on it.

funda iucunda
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
David Morningstar
Slinging.org Moderator
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 3419
UK
Re: Slings in Guam
Reply #2 - Aug 31st, 2008 at 5:53pm
 
These sling stones from New Caledonia pre 1900 AD were also in the Manchester Museum. They are seriously big and pointy! The net/bag thing looks very like the description in the text of the article above. They have a full set of Kiribati coconut fibre armour as well.

Back to top
 

slingstones.jpg (63 KB | )
slingstones.jpg
 
IP Logged
 
David Morningstar
Slinging.org Moderator
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 3419
UK
Re: Slings in Guam
Reply #3 - Sep 26th, 2009 at 5:33pm
 
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Mr. Boss
Funditor
****
Offline


Slinging Depleted Uranium!

Posts: 631
Re: Slings in Guam
Reply #4 - Sep 27th, 2009 at 1:38pm
 
Good find. Interesting, how big are those stones? And what do u think about the part that say the ''man is flattend on the spot'' what does it mean.
Back to top
 

Slings can be more powerful than a 45.&&&&┌∩┐(◕_◕)┌∩┐&&&&
 
IP Logged
 
David Morningstar
Slinging.org Moderator
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 3419
UK
Re: Slings in Guam
Reply #5 - Sep 27th, 2009 at 3:45pm
 
Mr. Boss wrote on Sep 27th, 2009 at 1:38pm:
Good find. Interesting, how big are those stones? And what do u think about the part that say the ''man is flattend on the spot'' what does it mean.


I means killed instantly.
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
funda_iucunda
Senior Member
****
Offline


Watt den een sin Uhl is
den annern sin Nachtigal.

Posts: 317
Germany (north of Hamburg)
Gender: male
Re: Slings in Guam
Reply #6 - Oct 2nd, 2009 at 3:47pm
 
On the third picture shon with the Guampedia article are shown 4 biconic stones. One has a longitudinal groove and the other three have a groove around their "belly". Such a groove is not necessary for the aerodynamics o f a sling stone. They rather look like bowls of bolas which had been tied by a cord fixed in theese grooves. Are bolas known from Guam history?

Funda iucunda
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
David Morningstar
Slinging.org Moderator
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 3419
UK
Re: Slings in Guam
Reply #7 - Oct 3rd, 2009 at 4:27am
 
I reckon at least one of them is a squid-hook sinker. There is this description: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=WOdrGIP3zksC&lpg=PA46&ots=NK7Z-VPCvV&dq=Hawai...

"The sinker was an elliptical shaped stone carved to have an inner flat surface and an outer rounded surface with a longitudinal groove in the median line of the longest diameter"

The others could be net sinkers: "Hawaiian Squid-Hook Sinkers and Sling-Stones", by J. Edge-Partington
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
funda_iucunda
Senior Member
****
Offline


Watt den een sin Uhl is
den annern sin Nachtigal.

Posts: 317
Germany (north of Hamburg)
Gender: male
Re: Slings in Guam
Reply #8 - Oct 5th, 2009 at 4:01am
 
Sinkers sounds quite reasonable. But why sinkers have to have such elegant and biconic form. That is much work for just getting a stone that sinks down in water. At the Baltic Sea I once found a "sinker" which was rather flat and irregular and with a weight of 1 or 1 1/2 pounds. It was probably made for a bigger net. What made me thinking that it is a sinker was the fact that I found it directly at the shore. Is there given an information about where these sling stones/sinkers have been found.

funda iucunda
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
TN.Frank
Funditor
****
Offline


Throwin' sticks and stones.

Posts: 682
Crossville, TN. U.S.A.
Gender: male
Re: Slings in Guam
Reply #9 - Oct 5th, 2009 at 9:07am
 
That's the same style of sling bullet that I'm making out of the kitty litter and I can attest to the fact that they fly great. The way I release I get em' to fly point up and point down so I guess you'd say they're flying on their side and they cut thru the air just fine. I got a good 130 yrds out of a 26" Split Pouch sling that I made and I"m only a beginner to slinging. I can imagine what a good slinger could do, probably 200 yrds. easy.
Back to top
 

SANY0145.jpg (237 KB | )
SANY0145.jpg

Judges 20:16 "Out of all these troops, the best 700 were left-handed. Each could sling a stone at a hair and not miss."&&&&http://www.glockforum.com/forum&&
 
IP Logged
 
David Morningstar
Slinging.org Moderator
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 3419
UK
Re: Slings in Guam
Reply #10 - Oct 5th, 2009 at 9:57am
 
Try this, its easy and it launches point first every time when you use a wide grip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2atj_FM0AjA
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
TN.Frank
Funditor
****
Offline


Throwin' sticks and stones.

Posts: 682
Crossville, TN. U.S.A.
Gender: male
Re: Slings in Guam
Reply #11 - Oct 5th, 2009 at 12:47pm
 
That's very close to my Greek Style with 2 exceptions. 1) I start with my right hand in front of my face instead of over my head and 2) I'm probably 45 deg. more to the Horizontal so I'm half way to Horizontal and half way to Vertical, strange isn't it.  Same basic top end motion for my Byzantine but I start with the sling having  then bring it up and over and still have the same 45 deg. release point.  I guess I should work on being more vertical or something.  Wink
Back to top
 

Judges 20:16 "Out of all these troops, the best 700 were left-handed. Each could sling a stone at a hair and not miss."&&&&http://www.glockforum.com/forum&&
 
IP Logged
 
Page Index Toggle Pages: 1
Send Topic Print
(Moderators: Masiakasaurus, Rat Man, Curious Aardvark, Chris, Mauro Fiorentini, Bill Skinner, David Morningstar)