Hunting 18

The Pari people are known as brave and clever hunters. The most attractive animals are the buffaloes. Wild pigs, waterbucks and other antelopes, occasionally elephants, zebras and seldom giraffes and rhinos. “Lions take cows, leopards take goats and young calves, hyenas take goats, elephants spoil grain fields”, and may also be killed.

During the last part of the dry season, the rivers are drying up. All the villages have their cattle stables in the same area, as this the only place where open water is available for the livestock.

The area of open water also attracts wild animals.

Into the dry season (November) the hunting season is opened by a big ceremony called ‘nyallam’.

Big game hunting is organized by the age groups. Spears are the only weapons used for hunting. Different hunting strategies are used. Controlled fires are set to burn old grass to attract animals to new, fresh grass where they have nowhere to hide. Fires can also be used to force animals toward waiting hunters.