Amappo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An amappo (アマッポ; lit. 'thing that is set up') was a traditional bear and deer hunters' trap of the Ainu people of the northern Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. Traps similar to amappo were also used by ethnic Japanese matagi hunters.
Mechanically, the amappo was a simple crossbow of elastic yew wood set in a notch at the top of a short post or tree stump. A stump prepared for this purpose was called a kútek (クテｸ). A release mechanism actuated by a tripwire was strung across a game trail.[1] When an animal traversing the path disturbed the tripwire, a loaded arrow was released. These arrows were wrapped in birchbark to protect them from rain, marked with an ikashishiroshi (イカシシロシ), or family symbol, to indicate ownership of the kill, and coated with a paste of surku (スㇽク), a lethal poison derived from aconitum ground in a mortar and pestle specially set aside for the purpose.[1] This style of trap originated in eastern Siberia.[2] On the Japanese archipelago, amappo are believed to have been in use since at least the Neolithic period.
In the early Meiji era, the setting of amappo was banned by the Kaitakushi in favor of hunting by firearm.[2]
Use
Hunting by amappo was usually carried out in spring and autumn, when dense foliage made sighting prey more difficult and cold weather slowed the decomposition of carcasses.
The elevation of the tripwire was adjusted depending on the animal being targeted in order to improve the chance of the arrow striking the heart. For example, a tripwire for deer would be strung roughly 10 cm (3.9 in) higher than that for a bear.[3]
A number of methods were developed to prevent passersby from inadvertently tripping an amappo. For one, the tripwire was typically allowed a degree of slack so that the trajectory of a released arrow would pass behind the thigh of a standing person.[1] Another technique was to carve images of bows and arrows into nearby tree trunks to warn about the presence of an amappo.