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Navajo Sling (Read 4046 times)
coyoteslinger
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Navajo Sling
Dec 9th, 2016 at 12:37pm
 
Hello everyone,

A little while back I asked for info on Navajo slings for a university project. Well, that project is done and I thought I'd post my findings here (excerpts of my paper). I hope it can be of some use.

Attached is a photo of the sling I made.

"...also found that the sling was used for hunting small game. The sling was likely given to young boys to practice with missile weaponry and bring food back home to their families. The study does not differentiate between small game and birds, but it is entirely responsible it was used for both."

"Navajo shepherds used the sling to help protect their flocks. The Navajo used their slings in this manner, similar to shepherds world-wide, by slinging rocks at any predators to either scare or wound. And also to direct straying sheep back to the herd by slinging a rock in front of them to scare them back to the safety of the group."

" Navajo used slings for crop protection. The Navajo slingers would work similarly to their shepherd brethren, by slinging stones to keep small game and birds off of the crop fields."

"Some Navajo expressed total disdain at the sling’s effectiveness, comparing it to a toy. This is likely to the lack of length the sling had as interviewed Navajo reported: “if [the sling is] greater than three feet, they are difficult to shoot efficiently.” (Kluckhohn et al. 1971)"

"The Navajo sling description itself it fairly detailed enough. The pouch was diamond shaped, common to all southwestern slings (York and York 2011). The material was deerskin. The cords were deerskin hide no more than one foot long. (Kluckhohn et al. 1971). Taking these lengths into account the Navajo sling likely had a total length of just over two feet, or about two thirds of a meter. This sling would be a bit easier to learn to use than a longer sling, but would be limited to small projectiles and would afford a much smaller mechanical advantage once slinging.
That is the entirety of Navajo sling description. There is no mention of a release knot, or a finger loop or hand-wrap to secure the sling when the stone is slung. From the author’s personal experience, not having either of these features while slinging with hide slings can result in the sling being slung, not the stone."

"As slings generally follow an environmental pattern and not a cultural one, Southwestern slings are the primary model to be followed. In particular, the Apache sling, due to it’s similarities in description to the Navajo sling, the similar locations of habitation and the shared cultural/linguistic heritage.
The finished sling was made entirely of hide. A diamond shaped pouch was constructed. A hole was drilled into each end of the diamond and the cords were inserted and tied off in a manner similar to the Apache sling. Each cord was cut at exactly one foot long, accounting for finger loop length. A release knot was tied onto one cord.
The finished sling looks similar to a shortened Apache sling. To differentiate between this sling and the Apache model, due to the prevalence of sewn finger loops in the Southwest, the finger loop was sewn."

"Testing the Sling and Conclusion:
After construction the sling was tested with various rocks found in northern Arizona. As expected, the sling lacked power, range and speed. The author found it difficult to sling projectiles over a distance of fifty meters. Twenty or thirty meters was a norm.
The sling had trouble handling larger stones. Due to the short cords, larger stones were less stable within the pouch. In addition, the shorter cords lacked mass and stuck or tangled around the rock when released. Also, lacking a large mechanical advantage, the larger rocks often could not reach a significant velocity to achieve stability.
Small, dense pebbles worked best for range. Although tests against split aspen wood scraps showed that they lacked any real damaging power even at ranges below twenty meters.
The shortness of the cords did allow for more room for error during release resulting in more accurate shots. The author used helicopter, Apache, Balearic and whip styles of slinging. Balearic was largely unsuccessful, as the counter swipe at the release often failed due to the short cords being tangled. The whip method worked, but the author found it difficult to sling with any force. The helicopter method was functional.
The Apache method, a method the author is mostly unfamiliar with, involves whipping the sling from rest, overarm and releasing towards the target. Due to Apache use, it is probable that this is the method that the Navajo used. Unfortunately the author is not skilled enough with this method to give any real data on it’s effectiveness.
     All in all, the Navajo sling performed poorly compared to other slings the author has tested (Coyoteslinger 2016). While the ethnographic accounts listed were followed, it is in the author’s opinion that Navajo slings had much longer cords when used. The author believes that with the adoption of the slingshot and firearms, the sling was relegated to even more of a toy role. Thus, it’s cords were shortened for easier use and less danger for children to use.
Further research should look into any defining aspects of a Navajo sling, and cord length. Regardless, having some idea of what a Navajo sling looked like and was used for is a key step towards replacing lost cultural information."

I should have a video about the Navajo sling up on my youtube channel sometime next week.
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walter
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Re: Navajo Sling
Reply #1 - Dec 9th, 2016 at 8:45pm
 
If the cords are 12"; the pouch 5", you have a sling 14.5 " pouch center to release knot. I made one about this length for my grandson. You have a good sling there. Make an adult version 28" pouch ctr to release knot. It is now a weapon. Not a toy Wink
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Bill Skinner
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Re: Navajo Sling
Reply #2 - Dec 10th, 2016 at 1:52pm
 
The sling that was referenced in your paper that you copied.  Is it possible that was a childs' sling?  Or one that had the retention loop or knot broken off and the other side was shortened to match?

It doesn't take much more length for the cords to make a pretty functional sling, only about 4 to 6 inches more to the cord and it should work pretty good.

And throwing large rocks is more how the pouch is formed and what size it is, if the pouch is 5 inches long, it should handle up to a tennis ball in size.  Provided that the pouch is formed so that it has a cup to hold the rock.

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Curious Aardvark
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Re: Navajo Sling
Reply #3 - Dec 12th, 2016 at 2:16pm
 
Quote:
As expected, the sling lacked power, range and speed. The author found it difficult to sling projectiles over a distance of fifty meters. Twenty or thirty meters was a norm.


Unfortunately we get a lot of this sort of thing from historians. It's either down to their total lack of ability or they're just not making the sling properly.

With leather cords, there is a good chance they'd rot and break and be shorter when excavated then during actual usage. 

Apart from very very short cords, it's an okay looking sling. Lacks a shaped pouch, so you'd need to be selective with ammo.
But I reckon I can get a small dense stone around 100 yards with a sling that short. 
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Do All things with Honour and Generosity: Regret Nothing, Envy None, Apologise Seldom and Bow your head to No One  - works for me Smiley
 
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coyoteslinger
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Re: Navajo Sling
Reply #4 - Dec 13th, 2016 at 10:20am
 
Thank you everyone for your replies.

Just to clarify, this was an anthropologist asking the Navajo about their slings circa 1971. I really do think they were just child's slings, but I tested them as described.
I found the sling lacking in range and power, but I usually sling with 2m slings not 2ft slings.

I appreciate the feedback!
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David Morningstar
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Re: Navajo Sling
Reply #5 - Dec 22nd, 2016 at 2:17am
 
When I spoke to a Navajo guy in Monument Valley he said he did not use a finger loop, it was just wrapped around the hand.
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