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Samoan Material Culture

Traps

Traps

Both the rat and the wild pig are caught by baited spring traps. In trying to secure the bait, a trigger is moved which releases a running noose by which the animal is secured.

Rat trap (va'a 'iole). The rat is named 'isumu, 'imoa, and 'iole. The trap itself is va'a, and each of the above rat names may be added to va'a as a qualifying word. The name in common use is va'a 'isumu, but in Manua it is va'a 'iole which is held to be the older term. (See figure 292.)

Figure 292.—Rat trap (mailei 'iole):

Figure 292.—Rat trap (mailei 'iole):

a, the trap is made of a section of bamboo (1) large enough to admit a rat. A node partition is left at one end to prevent the rat entering by the back door. A piece of wood (2) is lashed transversely to the under part of the bamboo to serve as a stand to keep the bamboo from rolling. A rod (3) about 14 inches long is tied to the bamboo and the horizontal rod in an upright position. A long springy piece of wood (4) is tied to the back end of the bamboo and the top of the upright to form the spring. The free end is cut off in line with the front end of the bamboo which forms the entrance. b, On either side of the middle line, holes large enough to allow the run of a three-ply braid are bored through the upper surface of the bamboo just inside the entrance (1, 1). A little further in two holes a little apart are bored in the median line (2 and 3). A straight stick (4) is pushed down through the innermost hole (3) to support the bait. A loop of sennit fibre (5) is made and knotted at the end of such a length that when doubled and pushed up through the middle hole (2) it will project above the bamboo to the same height as the bait stick. The loop is prevented by the knot from pulling upwards through the hole. A length of sennit braid (6) is tied to the free end of the spring. The spring is pulled down and tested to find the right tension. At a point opposite the line with the tops of the bait stick and the loop, a slip noose (fig. c) is formed in the braid. A light stick (7) long enough to reach the bait stick has one end inserted in the noose which is drawn taut to fix the stick. The end of the braid (6) is inserted through one of the remaining holes (1, 1) near the entrance, passed around the inner circumference of the bamboo and pushed out through the other hole where it is knotted (8) on the outside and the end cut off. The trap is set by pulling down the spring, passing the stick attached to the braid through the loop (5) and resting its end on the upper end of the bait stick (4). In this position the upward pull of the spring transmitted through the outer end of the braid stick (7) owing to the fulcrum formed by the loop pushes down the inner end of the page 525horizontal braid stick. This is prevented by the bait stick which cannot be pushed downwards. So long as the upper end of the bait stick remains immovable, the spring stick cannot fly back. The braid loop within the bamboo entrance is spread out along the sides and bottom so that a rat entering must step over the loop. The bait stick is baited inside the bamboo before the trap is set.

The baited trap with the spring set is placed in the runways made by rats. If in a good runway, the rat will enter the tube even without the attraction of a bait. On entering the bamboo tube, the rat finds the bait or stick obstructing its way. In getting past or nibbling at the bait, the bait stick is moved to one side. The movement of the stick upsets the balance at its upper end and the horizontal tie stick is released. This allows the spring to fly up. The loop is pulled up from the floor and the rat is caught against the roof of the tube by the tightened loop. For a more elaborately lashed rat trap see Plate XLVIII, A.

Pig trap (mallei pua' a) is still occasionally used in Savaii where wild pigs are to be found back in the hills. The principle of the trap is shown in figure 293.

Figure 293.—Pig trap (mallei pua' a):

Figure 293.—Pig trap (mallei pua' a):

Two upright stakes (i) are driven into the ground a little distance apart, and a horizontal bar (2) tied to them. A lower bar (3) is placed against the back of the uprights but left free. To the back of the crossbar and some distance away in the middle line, a stout pliant sapling is firmly implanted in the ground in a slanting direction towards the bar. It is so arranged that when bent down the end will be directly above the middle of the crossbar. To the end of the spring sapling is tied a sennit three-ply braid rope (4) with a large running noose. The spring is pulled down to get the right tension and a tie stick (5) tied at its middle to the rope at a point below the crossbar. The tie is formed with the same knot as in the rat trap. The rope (4) is pulled down and one end of the tie stick (5) placed behind the crossbar (2). The lower bar (3) which will be termed the trigger bar is raised from the ground a few inches and the other end of the stick placed behind it. The upward pull of the spring on the rope is checked by the tie stick which is braced by the two crossbars. The rope being in front of the upper bar, the lower end of the tie stick exerts a forward pressure against the trigger bar which keeps it in position against the back of the uprights. A number of bars (6) are now placed in front of the crossbars with one end resting on the trigger bar and the other on the ground. The noose (7) is opened out and spread over the slanting bars (6). The trap is now set. The trap is either made over the track used by pigs or some fence made at the sides with a blind enclosure in which page 526a bait is set. To reach the bait the pig must pass over the oblique rods supporting the open noose. When the pig's weight comes on one of the oblique bars, it presses down the trigger bar (3) to below the lower end of the tie stick (5). Immediately the tie stick is released, the spring flies up and the pig is caught by the running noose.