Bolas

Indians with Bolas (Hendrick Ottsen, 1603) Gauchos used boleadoras to capture running cattle or game. Depending on the exact design, the thrower grasps the boleadora by one of the weights or by the nexus of the cords. The thrower gives the balls momentum by swinging them and then releases the boleadora. The weapon is usually used to entangle the animal's legs, but when thrown with enough force can even inflict injury (e.g., by breaking a bone). Traditionally, Inuit have used bolas to hunt birds, fouling the birds in air with the lines of the bola. People of a Feather showed Belcher Island Inuit using bolas to hunt eider ducks on the wing. == Design ==

There is no uniform design; most bolas have two or three balls, but there are versions of up to eight or nine. Some, but not all, bolas have balls of equal weight; some vary the knot and cord. Gauchos use bolas made of braided leather cords with wooden balls or small leather sacks full of stones at the ends of the cords. Bolas can be named depending on the number of weights used: • Perdida (one weight) • Avestrucera or ñanducera (two weights, for rheas) • Somai (two weights) • Achico (three weights)) Bolas of three weights are usually designed with two shorter cords with heavier weights, and one longer cord with a light weight. The heavier weights fly at the front parallel to each other, hit either side of the legs, and the lighter weight goes around, wrapping up the legs. warriors using bolas in the 19th century Other unrelated versions include qilumitautit, the bolas of the Inuit, made of sinew and bone weights and used to capture water birds. == See also ==