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Bolas or bolases (singular bola; from Spanish and Portuguese ''bola'', "ball", also known as a ''boleadora'' or ''boleadeira'') is a type of throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, used to capture animals by entangling their legs. Bolas were most famously used by the gauchos, but have been found in excavations of Pre-Columbian settlements, especially in Patagonia, where indigenous peoples (particularly the Tehuelche) used them to catch 200-pound guanacos and rheas. The Mapuche and the Inca army used them in battle. Mapuche warriors used bolas in their confrontations with the Chilean Army during the Occupation of Araucanía (1861–1883).
''Gauchos'' used ''boleadoras'' to capture running cattle or game. Depending on the exact design, the thrower grasps the ''boleadora'' by one of the weights or by the nexus of the cords. The thrower gives the balls momentum by swinging them and then releases the ''boleadora''. The weapon is usually used to entangle the animal's legs, but when thrown with enough force might even inflict damage (e.g. breaking a bone).
Traditionally, Inuit have used bolas to hunt birds, fouling the birds in air with the lines of the bola. ''People of a Feather'' showed
There is no uniform design; most ''bolas'' have two or three balls, but there are versions of up to eight or nine. Some ''bolas'' have balls of equal weight, others vary the knot and cord. ''Gauchos'' use ''bolas'' made of 
Other unrelated versions include ''qilumitautit'', the ''bolas'' of the Inuit, made of
Boleadoras
Ancient weapons Argentine folklore Throwing weapons Chain and rope throwing weapons Chilean folklore Culture in Rio Grande do Sul Indigenous culture of the Southern Cone Indigenous weapons of the Americas Lithics Uruguayan folklore Hunting equipment Gaucho culture Primitive weapons
Use
''Gauchos'' used ''boleadoras'' to capture running cattle or game. Depending on the exact design, the thrower grasps the ''boleadora'' by one of the weights or by the nexus of the cords. The thrower gives the balls momentum by swinging them and then releases the ''boleadora''. The weapon is usually used to entangle the animal's legs, but when thrown with enough force might even inflict damage (e.g. breaking a bone).
Traditionally, Inuit have used bolas to hunt birds, fouling the birds in air with the lines of the bola. ''People of a Feather'' showed Belcher Island
The Belcher Islands ( iu, script=latn, ᓴᓪᓚᔪᒐᐃᑦ, Sanikiluaq) are an archipelago in the southeast part of Hudson Bay near the centre of the Nastapoka arc. The Belcher Islands are spread out over almost . Administratively, they belong ...
Inuit using bolas to hunt eider ducks on the wing.
Design
There is no uniform design; most ''bolas'' have two or three balls, but there are versions of up to eight or nine. Some ''bolas'' have balls of equal weight, others vary the knot and cord. ''Gauchos'' use ''bolas'' made of braid
A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair.
The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strande ...
ed leather cords with wooden balls or small leather sacks full of stones at the ends of the cords.
''Bolas'' can be named depending on the number of weights used:
* ''Perdida'' (one weight)
* ''Avestrucera'' or ''ñanducera'' (two weights, for rheas)
* ''Somai'' (two weights)Blair, Claude and Tarassuk, Leonid, eds. (1982). ''The Complete Encyclopedia of Arms and Weapons''. p. 92. Simon & Schuster. .
* ''Achico'' (three weights)
* ''Boleadora'' (three weights)
* ''Kiipooyaq'' ( Inuit name for ''bolas'' with three or more weights)
''Bolas'' of three weights are usually designed with two shorter cords with heavier weights, and one longer cord with a light weight. The heavier weights fly at the front parallel to each other, hit either side of the legs, and the lighter weight goes around, wrapping up the legs.
Other unrelated versions include ''qilumitautit'', the ''bolas'' of the Inuit, made of sinew
A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...
and bone weights and used to capture water birds.
See also
* Arctic yo-yo * Bolas spiders, which swing a sticky web blob at the end of a web line to capture prey * Bolo tie, a style of necktie resembling the bolas in that it has weights at the end of a string * Lasso or lariat, a looped rope used for similar purposes, especially in North America * Meteor hammer and meteor (juggling) * ''Poi'' * Astrorope, a prototype of Crew Self Rescue (CSR) device for Extravehicular activity (EVA) in space flight – see Astronaut propulsion unitReferences
External links
{{commonscat, BolasBoleadoras
Ancient weapons Argentine folklore Throwing weapons Chain and rope throwing weapons Chilean folklore Culture in Rio Grande do Sul Indigenous culture of the Southern Cone Indigenous weapons of the Americas Lithics Uruguayan folklore Hunting equipment Gaucho culture Primitive weapons