Hunting: A virtual tour of some ancient hunting techniques, a happy blend of religion, necessity and tradition.
Browsing through the ancient hunting traditions, which in some cases still survive today, always gives some new points of reflection on what is now called hunting ethics. Behaviors that the modern observer does not share, he calls illegal or immoral, find instead a rather simple explanation that takes the name of religion and even more deeply of food necessity. Browsing through the hunting tradition allows us to sink our gaze back to that era in which hunting was not a simple distraction, not even a demanding and passionate sport, but rather a practice with a broader and deeper meaning, a survival tool.
Hunting by deception. Today some would not consider it the best way, yet there was a time when it was the only way. The time was when people hunted to bring home animal proteins and in which the cartridges were not there to be given away. In some European countries, in its easternmost extremities there are those who still practice this hunt, aimed at large animals, the ibex, which are pushed with the use of greyhounds on rocky spikes.
The animal that knows more than the devil in terms of agility is entrenched in impregnable fragments of rock, gazing at the dog with disdain. It is at that point that the hunter approaches who without great difficulty knocks him down. Today one would think that this is not a fair challenge, yet once upon a time the need for food paid little attention to these details.
Small game: tradition and ethics. Immoral hunting? There are those who will surely think so, but these kinds of hunting coming directly from ancient traditions need to be observed better, and today's hunter is not necessarily forced to judge them. Knowing them yes, this is a pleasure and a duty. One of the most talked about cases is that of wood pigeon fishing. That's right, it is a hunt practiced in the Pyrenees. Religion and ancient practice mix pleasantly, so that the night during which the nets are placed is a real celebration, sacred yes, but also profane. That's right, wood pigeons are hunted with the use of nets and although it is commonly believed that there is nothing elegant or moral about hunting birds with nets, this practice has been going on for centuries. Here, in the Pyrenees, i wood pigeons exactly as it is done further south with sardines, in an endless traditions that celebrate the life of man, respect for divinity and love for nature.
A similar case is that of the coot, once caught with tines, a practice now prohibited by law. Although the aquatic is in more than one circumstance snubbed by those who love to go to swamps, this fabulous slow-down is particularly appreciated by those who live not far from the lakes. In these European locations (and not only) it is a more valuable aquatic than the duck itself: the reason is to be found in several factors. It is a sedentary animal and therefore decidedly fatter, feeding on lake shoots, the meat is decidedly tastier and not infrequently it is hunted still and therefore without the use of any cartridge. Also in the case of the coot, moreover, the mixture between the sacred and the profane is remarkable, not only a papal bull authorized its consumption even on days of obligation, but also among Muslim countries, which do not consume birds, the meat of the coot is food. allowed. A poor hunt, therefore, devoid of cartridges but which uses human ingenuity (according to some deception).
It is a kind of hunting that in the past was not accused of immorality (well desired also by religion) because it was dictated by necessity, the same that united Christian and Muslim peoples, and all those who lived close to wetlands. In the past, it could rather seem immoral to waste cartridges for hunting birds: they were expensive, they should not have been wasted and they were used for hunting large game. Bird hunting was considered a noble hunt practiced by doctors, lawyers or pharmacists. It required a great deal of money and if the game was brought home the amount of meat available to the family would be rather reduced.
It is perhaps no coincidence that in Armenia during the hunt for rock partridges, according to tradition, the use of the rifle is not foreseen. This is reserved for the capture of mouflons, Armenian Sheeps, and in general for the killing of large mountain wild animals. How are Armenian chukar caught? They are attracted by large festoons, all colored with a religious subject. These are placed on the snow and the birds gather on top of them. At that point, those who would be called mountain fishermen cast their nets and catch the wild. They will be consumed with songs, dances and prayers. All to worthily honor a hunting trip according to tradition.