Woods employed by Gran Chaco Indians to make fire drills

ARENAS, PASTOR; SUÁREZ, MARÍA EUGENIA

CANDOLLEA

CONSERVATOIRE ET JARDIN BOTANIQUES VILLE GENEVE

Lugar: Ville de Gèneve; Año: 2007 vol. 62 p. 27 - 40

0373-2967

The aim of this research project was to study the materials and the techniques used by Gran Chaco Indians to make fire drills, as well as their use. Men and women from nine contemporary indigenous peoples were interviewed on fire drills, and an extensive bibliographic investigation of historical, ethnographic, and ethnobotanical sources was also conducted on that topic. The resulting documentation informs of the plant species and the characteristics of the instruments used, as well as details on the methods of fire drilling. Twenty-two species were recorded as raw material, including bushes, trees and lianas, all of them typical of the Gran Chaco flora. Fire drills were used by Gran Chaco Indians until the 20th century, but are now obsolete.