Papua New Guinea native firemaking with string

[bryanr]

In the following link a Papua New Guinea native tribesman "mudman" demonstrates how to make fire using a piece of string and tinder. I was curious to find out if anyone had accomplished this skill or had any hands on with the technique?

Photographs Copyright © Hoani Hipango.

http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/fire.html

[Galemys]

In the following link a Papua New Guinea native tribesman "mudman" demonstrates how to make fire using a piece of string and tinder. I was curious to find out if anyone had accomplished this skill or had any hands on with the technique?

Photographs Copyright © Hoani Hipango.

http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/fire.html

Bryanr,
as far as I know, the method is called the fire thong and there isn´t much info to be found on the internet about it. I have seen it done in a holiday video (also shot in papua new guinea) and it looks amazing! Maybe Storm has conducted some of his experiments? see the following link

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community...ighlight=thong

Tom

[Woodland Spirit]

I saw this method used in Malaysia. Unfortunately, it was about 6 years ago & I had no knowledge of bushcraft back then. Boy would I have asked more questions if I was there now. Took the guy less than 2mins to get flames (in a humid jungle) by rotating the 'string' which from my poor memory was ratan cane.

[redcollective]

A recent article I haven't read:
Keegan, B., Making and Using a Fire Thong Apparatus. The Bulletin of Primitive Technology, 29. 2005

[edit cos this took some time to dig out]
However I have read an old article which covers the spectrum of fire thong techniques known at the time of writing; it's a kind of collection of accounts of the techniques in use across south east asia and beyond:

Balfour, H., Frictional Fire-Making with a Flexible Sawing-Thong. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 44. 1914), pp. 32-64

[match]

The simplest way I have seen this done is to take a large bundle of tinder and place it on the ground where the fire is to be made. A piece of dead wood, such as a dry fallen log, is placed directly over the tinder bundle, and a piece of thonging (often leather, sinew or rough fibre, such as cane) is hooked under the log, so that the point it is in contact with the log is over the tinder. The person then stands over the log (with a foot on it to keep it in position) and pulls up alternately on each strand, so that the thonging 'saws' up against the log. Eventually, the heat and dust generated is such that the falling coals ignites the tinder - at which point the log is moved and a fire is built on the burning tinder.

Fire plough and fire saw information will be being added to http://www.pyrology.org.uk over the next few weeks...

[Toddy]

[QUOTE=match]The simplest way I have seen this done is to take a large bundle of tinder and place it on the ground where the fire is to be made. A piece of dead wood, such as a dry fallen log, is placed directly over the tinder bundle, and a piece of thonging (often leather, sinew or rough fibre, such as cane) is hooked under the log, so that the point it is in contact with the log is over the tinder. The person then stands over the log (with a foot on it to keep it in position) and pulls up alternately on each strand, so that the thonging 'saws' up against the log. Eventually, the heat and dust generated is such that the falling coals ignites the tinder - at which point the log is moved and a fire is built on the burning tinder.
QUOTE]

Thanks Match,
Now that makes so much more sense than all those guys hanging onto the bamboo. Much more feasible as a technique.....rotten wood huh? I've got two, dead four years, dry and brittle but still standing, geans in the woods right alongside my back fence
Going to see if HWTHMBLT wants to play. I think the thong is going to be more of a problem to get right. I've got some 1cm sisal four strand somewhere though.

Cheers,
Toddy

[match]

Having done a bit more reading, the other main technique seems to be a split-branch one.

Take a dry branch, and begin to split down from one end, at least 2-3 inches. Tie cordage around the split base to stop it spreading, then stuff tinder into the split just above the cordage, then stuff a small stone or wooden wedge into the top of the split to keep the two halves separate.

Put the branch on the ground, with the split running horizontally (i.e parallel to the ground so you don't see it), thread some cord through so its under the top half of the split near the tinder, place a foot on the branch and saw as before. The dust/coal ends up being caught in the split, goes straight onto the tinder, and you end up with a small piece of burning kindling which you can thrust straight into a fire.

[Galemys]

A recent article I haven't read:
Keegan, B., Making and Using a Fire Thong Apparatus. The Bulletin of Primitive Technology, 29. 2005

[edit cos this took some time to dig out]
However I have read an old article which covers the spectrum of fire thong techniques known at the time of writing; it's a kind of collection of accounts of the techniques in use across south east asia and beyond:

Balfour, H., Frictional Fire-Making with a Flexible Sawing-Thong. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 44. 1914), pp. 32-64

Redcollective,
do you still have access to the Balfour-article and if so, would you be so kind to share the highlights of it with us?

Is there anyone out there who has read the Keegan-article?

Match,
thanks for your input, it's always good to have a pyromaniac around! Internetsite looks very interesting as well.
I have to try this split-log thing sometime in the near future with a piece of string. I did try it once with a piece of bramble (de-thorned off course...) as a thong but it was too dry & broke before I even came near heating things up.

Tom

[match]

I've got a copy of the articles that RedCollective mentions (access to University Library where I work) - I'm currently in negotiations with several journal publishers, for rights to reprint sections/illustrations from these (as they're mostly still under copyright) - if I get them they'll end up on my website...

[Brian Curnel]

I have tried this metod and works well with Rattan but is not a native product here in the US, so youhave to sacrifice a chair to get a piece. I don't know of any other method like match was speaking of but eager to try it now.

[redcollective]

Redcollective,
do you still have access to the Balfour-article and if so, would you be so kind to share the highlights of it with us?

If match gets permission to reprint the article that would be brilliant, however I will summarise the main points tonight and post as soon as I can.

Stu

[george]

I've seen it done on many ocassions in Irian Jaya (west papua) where I've spent some time.

The locals would often just use a bowstring, which is made from a single piece of split rattan and they would carry dry tinder in their koteka or penis gourd - when you don't wear any clothing it's difficult to keep things dry!

In the photo of the Dani warrior on this site: http://www.seed.slb.com/en/scictr/watch/trek/trek.htm

You can see both the koteka and a bow strung with rattan.

There is a bowstring currently on it's way to Match who is going to try a few experiments.

I'm sure he'll post the results here.

George

[Pappa]

This may be wrong, but I think I remember reading that the fire thong can be done by passing a (possibly spruce) root through a notch cut into a peice of wood.

Pappa

[rich59]

With my luck the cord would break long before I got fire.

[redcollective]

Apologies if this summary is a little expedient - I'm intellectually lazy! I think I can safely quote verbatim from the article where it needs it. Please note there are extensive illustrations, however this article is pulled from a database with a user agreement, and I believe I can't reproduce them without permission. I'll try to list the techniques that differ significantly from each other.

Frictional Fire-Making with a Flexible Sawing Thong.
Henry Balfour
The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
Jan-Jun 1914, pp.32-64

Summary of techniques described:

The General Principle

A piece of bamboo or wood is held in a fixed position and a flexible band or thong of cane or similar is looped around it. By pulling with a sawing motion on both ends of the thing enough friction is generated to create a mass of dust, which if hot enough, will ignite and smoulder. This smouldering dust is then brought to flame with a more combustible material.

Regional variants:

Naga Hills, Assam method
"a long piece of cane passed under a dry log and pulled (i.e, the ends) alternately by the right and left hand, so as to ignite some tinder placed in a hollow or split underneath" Balfour describes a Naga fire-making set in further detail, with a 'billet' of wood made of lime, split open at one end and wedged apart with a stone. the thong is a narrow sliver of bamboo. Tinder is also bamboo shavings. the billet is put on the ground and held down with the foot. The illustrations suggest the tinder was placed down first, then the thong on top of that and the the billet on top of the thong. From the description I can't imagine what happens to the punk - does it fly out everywhere or end up in four little piles on either side?

Chittagong Hills Tipperah method
"a piece of dry bamboo about a foot long, split in half, and on it's outer round surface cut a nick or notch, about 1/8th inch broad, circling round the semi-circumference of the bamboo, shallow towards the edges, but deepening in the centre, until a minute slit about a lone in breadth pierces the inner surface" - a flexible strip of bamboo is used, first rubbed with fine dry sand and looped around the outside edge of the stick, sitting in the notch. The stick is then held by both feet on the ground while the thong is worked back and forth. Then punk collects in the notch on the inner and uppermost surface of the bamboo and once ignited, transferred to the tinder.

Annam (China?) Mois method
Same as Tipperah method with addition of toggles on the thong at each end. the author specifically notes the use of green bamboo 'rind' for the thong, which must be produced in large numbers, as 30-40 thongs are quickly expended to get a coal. These people apparently usually carried fire, or used the fire piston.

Malay Peninsula
Employed a billet of wood again, "split ... at one end so as to form a cleft of about 6 inches. In this he inserted a small stick, which formed a peg separating the two halves and standing above the surface of the billet". Tinder 'palm scurf' [which I read as palm fibre?] was stuffed into the cleft between the peg and the thong at the base of the split. The thong is rattan, with sticks fasted at each end.

Then there are described several regional variants of this technique.

Borneo method
The billet or stick of soft fibrous wood (the illustration looks more like a carved stick) is slotted instead of split. Bamboo is again used for the thong. The stick is held down on the ground with both feet on top of a bed of fine wood slivers. A couple of variants are described, including an illustration showing the stick being used in a vertical position, apparently lashed to a tree at top end, with the operators foot applying pressure to the base of the stick.

Again, more regional variants

Moving on to Papua New Guinea, where he describes a variant split stick with stone peg idea, but which is actually two sticks lashed together and then forced apart at one end with a stone. This variation is widespread. Flexible rattan cane used for a thong: "The thong saw is a very long strip of rattan, which is kept neatly coiled up in a thick ring. The tinder is usually a piece of the fibrous sheath of palm-shoot, or a piece of dry moss. The tinder is placed in the narrow part of the cleft, behind the stone".

Lots for variants on this theme - two stick, one split stick, lots of short thongs, one long coiled thong etc...

On to a slightly different New Guinea method found in the Koiari people, where (this is hard to describe) the thong, instead of being just looped around the split stick, is passed right around again so that two friction notches appear on the underside of the stick. In variants of this the stick is held down by the knee.

Jumping to Africa now... the evidence the author had to hand gets a little hazy... quickly moving on to Sweden (see i warned you I was intellectually lazy!)

Sweden and the flexible fire *saw*:" a length of rope, willow strip or strap is passed completely round a log of wood, and the ends are pulled alternately by two men until a spark is generated, and can be caught upon a piece of tinder" or "a bast rope is is wound twice round a dry branch of birch or aspen, on which the bark remains, or else round a dry tree-stump. The cord was pulled by two men" . Either way the illustrations look like hard work and might make an amusing diversion at a BCUK meet! A one man version is also described when the loop is only half way around the log.

An interesting swedish variant - the thong, material not specified, is stretched taught (one end fixed to something and the other held by a second man) and the stick is sawn back and forth with both hands.

Author then digresses into cord saws and thong drills and a lengthy description of the dispersal of these techniques around the world.

I'm sleepy now. Hopefully Match will get permission to reproduce it on his site, so you can see the illustrations. If you've a serious interest PM me.

[Galemys]

Apologies if this summary is a little expedient - I'm intellectually lazy!

Apologies accepted!
Thanx for putting it all down for us so quickly. Now I have some ideas to play with!
I wonder if the swedish examples originate from the Sami people or from Swedish expatriates returning from asia. In either case I now know what kind of natural material I can be looked for here in these climes.

Tom

[rich59]

I could not quite follow the idea about a split or a joined piece of wood. Any enlightenment much appreciated.

[redcollective]

I could not quite follow the idea about a split or a joined piece of wood. Any enlightenment much appreciated.

Sorry the pictures would be so much better. just imagine a thin tree branch, which your partially split down the middle with an axe, then they ram a stone or another stick in the crack to keep it open.

In the two stick variant two sticks are simple bound together at one end, parallel to each other and then forced open with a stone or stick:

|    |   <-- sticks parted fully at this end
| * |    < --stone or stick inserted
|  |
Y     <-- the base of the gap between the two sticks
||      <--- Two sticks in this configuration
||
B     <-- bound to stop the sticks parting any futher
||

sorry I tried to find a picture on the web the search results from the google images search for 'two stick fire thong' were not work-safe LOL

[rich59]

So, if I am imagining this right then the thong runs under the cleft and hot punk is driven up into the cleft vertically . Is that what is being said?

[Galemys]

Found an old picture of the fire thong method (torres strait island, 1921)
http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3312265

Looks like a very short thong though

Tom

[redcollective]

Looking at that picture Tom are you as confused as me about how it works? We need the article which shows how to make and use one.

[rich59]

That is two pictures now of the fire thong from Papua New Guinea. Some things are similar and others different. Both have a split piece of wood with a wedge to keep it open. Both have short thongs. However, one has the split vertical (if I interpret right the picture) and the other horizontal. The vertical one has the advantage in that there is actually smoke. The other one it not showing signs of fire, so it is less certain that it is the exact arrangement that worked.

Here is another one but I can't see any more detail.



Perhaps the unifying thing is that you can't see what is going on! Maybe the pile of tinder is crucial to keep the heat in.

[match]

This might hopefully help:



The stick is split down the middle, and this split is bound at one end to prevent spreading, and a stone is wedged in the other to hold it open. Tinder (yellow) is stuffed into the closed end, and the thong (green) is put between the split pieces, and pulled up and down against the top split part, pulling slightly towards the tinder. Eventually, all the coal /friction causes the tinder to ignite, and then the tinder can be pried out, or the whole stick used as a torch to light a fire.

[Galemys]

Looking at that picture Tom are you as confused as me about how it works? We need the article which shows how to make and use one.

Redcollective,

I wasn't confused (I never am... ) because I have seen a papua doing it in my friends holiday video! However he used a much longer thong which sounds more logical to me because you can build up more friction heat on each stroke of the thong.
That doesn't mean I don't want to see the article, so I will keep an eye on Match's pyrology-site for it to appear.

I have been playing around with a sisal cord and a willow wand as thongs on a lime heartboard but both thongs broke after only a few strokes. The sisal darkened the wood so there was enough build up of heat. The willow wasn't dry enough and caused the wood to shine.

By the way, nice picture Match!

Tom

[redcollective]

The balfour article is less explicit.... I re-read it today and you know what? I get the feeling this chap might never actually have seen anything being used himself, which is not inconceivable! Match do you have a copy of the Keegan article yet? I'm thinking of ordering it.

[Galemys]

Another link with a few pictures, again a very short thong and the wood isn´t split, the tinder is just placed below the point of friction

http://www.caske2000.org/survival/fireIrja.htm

Tom

[rich59]

Nice link Galemys.

I had a go at this today too. "Waxed sash cord " was never likely to get the friction. But it gave me an idea of the setup. The wood did go a bit brown and felt hot.

I think I need somthing like leather for the thong - something that will stand up to the friction?

[Stuart]

there is only one long flexible material I can think of that would withstand the friction required to achieve the necessary heat and that is rattan, which is probably why the technique is restricted to countries in which rattan is readily available.

[Jeff Wagner]

I wonder about vine and also spruce rootlets. Both are very resilient and durable. I have seen spruce roots used as cordage for a bow drill and the wild grape vine growing behind my garage is extremely tough stuff. Perhaps its time for an experiment although I will have to give some thought to an alternative to the usual bamboo piece in which the coal forms. Perhaps a split limb, carved out to make a place for the dust to accumulate, then bound back together.

[match]

Annoyingly I've got both articles, but I've been told I can't explicitly reproduce any of them without consent, and that I've been told can take up to 6 weeks

I'm tempted to try ivy as a thong for this - something like that might be tough and durable enough to withstand the friction. Leather might be a possible alternative. All I do know is that the thonging isn't something that you can expect to be around forever. Rattan is indeed the perfect material, as its like a flexible piece of wood - more like a fire saw than a fire thong. But even this I've been told is traditionally greased with pig fat before use to keep it flexible (presumably not on the part in contact with the friction-generating surface...)