Cherokee Traditions: Atlatl

[@offyarocka]

In Australia, we used the woomera, very cool!!!!

[@j.b.4340]

Here in Louisiana, one of DeSoto’s men(Spanish soldier) was injured, in the 1700’s, by an atlatl dart hurled from the bank of the Mississippi River, while they passed in a boat.

[@blainehillis1921]

Wow awesome! Thank you for typing.

[@CitrineFaeryFire]

How about all who viewed this all run the likes up. Beautiful. Wado for sharing 🌹

[@daffodil815]

Wado for sharing

[@brucenovotny5924]

Lovely...liked & subscribed...🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@snarflatful]

But can you hit a target?

[@robertmclean9737]

Spinning makes a Arrow fly straight your Darts wobble like crazy. Have seen the World Champion throw several times. Gary Fogelman I don't think you know what your talking about.

[@roguerangerroger]

Does the world champion throw using atlatl?

[@terryschiller2625]

OSIYO That was very interesting oginalii. Wado

[@Shellbelleboykin]

My sons atlatl is coming in the mail today. You inspired us to give this a try. Wado!

[@ped832]

I just finished mine recently-an atlatl kit and darts from Thunderbird Atlatl. It took me several attempts to figure it out, but I'm still learning. Just remember, you're not throwing a spear, just manipulating a lever. If you've ever cast a fishing pole, you already have the concept needed to figure out this device. I started by watching my dart hit the ground sideways at about 10 feet a couple days ago. Today I figured out "fishing pole" and had several 100' distances. I know I can get better now. Give atlatl's a try, even if just to give kids something to enjoy.

[@FyremaelGlittersparkle]

I remember my first throw with an atlatl, which was one I made when I was in college. It was a pretty atlatl, but crude by what standards and methods I learned working with them for years afterwards. That first throw with a dart made of dowels from the home improvement store joined with a short length of PVC pipe and fletched with duct tape went 77 yards on a football field that I snuck onto to try the thing out. I was hooked from that day onwards.

[@runingblackbear]

Some people don't have a clue on Cherokee tools 😅

[@starman2671]

I have been throwing for awhile. I saw the 4 foot darts and they fly well to long distances, but I am looking for less distances with good accuracy. I would like to know how accurate the 4 foot darts are at 10 to 20 yards. I'd like to know your experience , meanwhile, I'll try experimenting with shorter darts.

[@notmefrfr]

Stick with 5 to 6 foot, 3/8 inch darts. Make them slim but kinda thick and sturdy. His darts were bending like crazy and would probably snap if they hit a shoulder blade. I recently saw hunt primitives video where they hunted a bison and used half in and thicker spears to hunt it thinking the weight would penetrate through but that's a misconception. Think 45 stopping power vs faster 9mm penetrating. Flint knapped spear and arrow points were razor sharp. They didn't need the weight to punch through they needed the speed and accuracy to slice through and because of their heavy spears they didn't get much penetration and the ones that did were the thinner darts. But again not too thin like this guy's video.

[@runingblackbear]

There no extra weight on the thrower😅

[@forkshootertb96]

Good job! Thanks for sharing!

[@samuelm.hodnettii.2768]

What kind of glue would have glue would have been used back then to secure the hook for the atlatl

[@waxhawcreek1717]

Hide glue or pine

[@charlesmorehouse2260]

Awesome

[@Lions_D3N]

how can I get one made?!

[@draven3838]

The hunter gatherers use the atlatl not the caveman, your knowledge is wrong in some aspects

[@j.b.4340]

Thank you Danny.

[@chicodecoster]

Wado for sharing.

[@tinyyellowtree4076]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge, always appreciated.

[@thomasbryson2757]

Very well put together vid.

[@stereostudd2026]

your ritght on Bro! thank you for telling them whats and, how to eat :)

[@CalvinsCorner72]

Yes a connection to their reasoning for having Mae them.

[@FeralMina]

“Atlatl” is a Nahuatl word. It has only two syllables, not three. The “tl” sound is actually pronounced pretty similarly in Nahuatl as it is in Cherokee. Here is a video on how to properly pronounced “atlatl”: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaTZpplsoZaXo5Y

[@fallinginthed33p]

Nahuatl becomes na-wat, so atlatl should be at-lat.

[@FeralMina]

@@fallinginthed33p Kinda. Did you watch the video I linked? A person who speaks Nahuatl (and who even has the “tl” sound in his name) explains how to pronounce the Nahuatl “tl” sound. He pronounces two versions of “atlatl”, kinda a beginner pronunciation and an advanced/fully correct pronunciation. Yes, the beginner pronunciation would sound similar to “aht-laht” with extra hard Ts. A Cherokee speaker should be able to make the proper “tl” sound for the fully correct pronunciation, since it’s very similar to the Cherokee “tl” sound. I think it’s super interesting how many of the languages indigenous to the Americas share similar sounds but use them in such different and wonderful ways.

[@fallinginthed33p]

@@FeralMina good video there, it's not an easy sound to make because it combines multiple sounds. For me, it's like a "tlh" sound, pushing air like a soft hiss with the tongue pushed up against the top of the mouth, just behind the teeth.

[@starman2671]

I saw that video. atlatl like anything else may have regional pronunciations, and it's a silly thing to point out , AND suggest people watch a video by some guy who professes to be the only person who knows how to say it. I saw a guy doing a video who pronounced woomera in a different way than I've heard on the Aussie videos, but it's no big deal to me. I can't understand what motivates somebody to make a comment like that.

[@FeralMina]

@@starman2671 If we disagree, that’s fine. :) But here are my thoughts… My motivation is to try to be respectful of a minority language, culture, and people and share my thoughts about it. This is especially important, I think, when it’s an endangered language like Nahuatl. I imagine that if a loan word from Cherokee were taken into English, I would hope that its original pronunciation would be honored. I think it would be upsetting, possibly insulting, for a Cherokee to hear a Cherokee word appropriated then carelessly mangled and misused by English speakers. So I try to treat other native languages as I would want Cherokee to be treated. For me, I think that if the English language is going to borrow words from minority cultures, it should try to be respectful by honoring their accurate pronunciation. I don’t think minority languages are mine to do with as I please, and I’m trying to decolonize my use of loan words from minority cultures by learning to say and use them accurately.

[@bobbylong4443]

Cool thanks for sharing your old ways

[@thomasbryson2757]

If I can make a good throw at 20 yards I would be happy.

[@starman2671]

YUP, me too.

[@romesweetrome8407]

There is no energy stored in the atlatl when the thrower brings their arms back. Pretty sure accuracy was always important. There are multiple research papers on distance tests for atlatl and there is good data there. There’s no ‘argument’ about distance. ‘Football’ field long, what strange measurement is this? Do you mean USA football or international football? There are many inaccuracies in this video.

[@toddharcher8529]

Usa football field

[@hananokuni2580]

The energy from the arm movement is transferred to the dart through the atlatl. The atlatl functions like an extension of the launcher's arm.

[@roguerangerroger]

"Waaa, there are inaccuracies! I can't sleep now!😭😭😭"

[@romesweetrome8407]

@@roguerangerroger guess learning is beyond your comprehension