View Willie Pekah's newest arrow making video here, • Native Culture Arts: T... Join Willie Pekah as he shares his wealth of knowledge about making Comanche bows and arrows. Email Willie Pekah with questions, pekahwillie11@gmail.com
I’m 80. As kids we all knew how to make bows and arrows, slingshots, kites, whistles and anything that we could whittles with the pocket knives we all carried. We learned it all from older brothers, fathers, uncles and each other. All that kid knowledge, passed down from one kid to the other for centuries has disappeared in my lifetime. We watch this, not to learn how to make a bow and arrow, but because we’re fascinated by the last man doing what everyone in his world used to do as a matter of course.
We'll always have tree branches. Hopefully pocket knives will remain legal. What's new is cardboard. With on-line shopping, everyone has more boxes than they know what to do with. RU-vid is full of videos on what to make. Its the new plywood.
@@user-nd4le6ul5u i live in the U.S. next to a park. I can see the playground from my window. No children! A few times a week, maybe a child, always with an adult. Probably has custody for that day. A child outside alone would be reported to the police, perhaps taken from the parents. At the local school, during recess, 4(four) adults keeping their eye on maybe 30 kids playing outside, but on astroturf safety surfaces. After school, no children in sight. Sort of like 'Silent Spring' with no birds. No more hop-scotch diagrams chalked on the sidewalks; no more balls in your yard or through your window. They're all inside, doing what? Reading, playing the piano? I don't think so. They're staring at screens, becoming near-sighted, needing glasses, becoming zombies. None of this, of course, is strange or unsual to any one, exept those of us who remember when it wasn't so.
That's still a thing we just don't whittle stuff. My older bro taught me all kinds of stuff I could make including slingshots. But yeah lost knowledge and skills is always sad. A bunch of kids still carry knives too just probably for different reasons lol
The Comanche numbered some 200,000 in 1750 before much contact with the west. By 1890, there were only 1500 left led by Quannah Parker when they finall went to the reservation in Oklahoma. They were warriors and only knew fighting and killing and stealing horses. They killed tens of thousands of white settlers indiscriminately just the joy of cutting the men head to toe with their war lances to spill their internal organs, then raped all the women down to the age of 7 or 8, while the men died screaming in their own viscera. Lastly they build a fire and roasted the women alive. Nice guys. Even the Sioux and Crow thought them uncivilized. The nearly wiped out the Apache and stoped the westward expansion of the United States for over 100 years. They refused to stop fighting white men, and if they were forced into a treaty immediately broke it. The could not farm, they could not ranch nor build permanent structures. The savagely fought anyone who wasn’t Comanche. In the end the US sent enough army troops to defeat them by fighting the way the Comanche did. In the end there were 1500 left, they were no given a reservation because they supported the confederates in the US civil war. Their living descendants see nothing wrong with the behavior of their ancestors, murdering white families, smashing infants against trees, etc.
I’m an English Longbowman. My Bow is 78 inches long and the power goes from 55 lbw to 140 lbw for the big Warbow. I’ve made hundreds of arrows over the years mainly 28 inch to 32 inch. It’s great to see traditional skills being passed onto the next generations. We say the Brotherhood of the Bow.
It’s amazing the variety of bows there have been throughout the ages, in vastly different places all over the world. All quite different from each other yet all serving very well the purposes of those who used them. Really all it is is a big SPRING. So simple that ancient peoples all over the globe employed them for survival over thousands of years. It’s fascinating.
What a fantastic video. Willie Pekah is a fount of knowledge, I could listen to him talk about this stuff for hours. Thank you for preserving this knowledge for generations to come!
Wow.. I'm so glad this guy is out there. This is what the internet was made for. Forget all the arguing and politics. This man is preserving his heritage in beautiful fashion. My heart aches when I think of how many tribal arts have been lost. Thank you Willie for sharing this amazing skill with the world. I can't wait to teach my son when he's old enough!
I think you should know that there are many many people, people of your culture and people of others including myself that really appreciate you sharing this with us.
Very interesting. I was always interested in how the Indians made the arrows. I saw a very informative video on how flint was shaped. I always wondered where they got the metal for arrow heads, and now I know. Thank you for this video.
Having made several osage bows and dogwood arrows, I can tell you that your first arrows are as difficult to make as the actual bow. Takes a bit to get right at first, but then becomes easy. People have a hard time believing that one can make as nice of arrow this way as you can with a factory shaft but it's entirely doable. Nice job sir!
Any bow will shoot an arrow, that is just physics. You only get consistency when the Fletcher knows how to make good arrows. Been doing this 20 years and I am still finding consistent arrows to be the harder part of the job!
Wow. What an incredible treasure of skill and knowledge this man is. Fascinating insights of a fascinating culture. Keeping it alive. God bless him and 'his people'.
@@nisurasamfitness115 je réponds vous me dites le bois d'oranger des osages et l'orangé je connais mais osages je ne connais pas qu'est que ça veut dire l osages !
Willie, I loved your video. My name is Jim Grubb, I got my Uncle an old Scotts Irishman to help my make my first bow in 1956 when I was 7. My favorite arrows were dried hemp weeds or muliflora rose tipped with .38 cal brass.Still in love with the rose shafts. He made it out of green apple limbs cut at an angle & taped in the handle. I don't get to far from home, but, its great here in the S/W corner of Iowa. I live close to the Loes Hills where Chief Waubonsie is Laied to rest. I too love short Hedge Apple wood for bows. I found over the years I can get very close to deer & a short draw with no anchor Will hit anything I can look at. As long as you never make eye contact, if you do they will know whats in your mind just like the tall man does. Too much about me. I would truly like to see more bow making from your perspective. I like all kinds of bows, but, I'm in love at this time with Hoopa & Modock paddle bows.
Never forget !! Listen to Johnny Cash .. to these talking leaves..This world would have been defferent If all natives worked fight together .Still doing the same thing today.WORK TOGETHER
Lovely to see Sir, we shouldn't lose our historical crafts & traditions, they should be passed on to younger people's, so that the skills don't die out. Great video ✌🏻🇬🇧
That method doesn't work well for dying traditions and skills. The best thing to do is keep it well documented and explained in good detail, so that any one interested in the future can replicate the art. But definitely keep teaching to people who are willing to listen, I'm not discouraging that.
I love the way he explains the ballistics of trajectory of Comanche archery. A true warrior should know like how a modern soldier should know about battle sight zero in modern combat. The feel of a warrior's weapon to be accurate in battle or hunting is his skill to survive in all situations..
great video, Willie looks like my brother just a little heavier, My grandmother was Comanche she was born in 1910, and growing up she talked about her dad and grandfather, They were great stories, and learned a lot from her growing up she even taught my brothers and me how to cook. My uncle taught us how to shoot the bow as well. Thanks for this video brought back some great memories of my youth.
I live near Comanche Peak, Granbury Texas,,,,, I find the Comanche culture enriching and fascinating. Actually across the street from the Brazos river. So the history of the Comanche runs deep in my area. Any other sources would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much sharing your video. ❤❤
Thanks for this interview! Really enjoyed it as I start to learn more about my heritage. I'm glad to see Comanche archery making a comeback. I live near Comanche Peak, and work at the Nuclear Plant that bears its name, so all of it is rather special to me.
This was GREAT! There’s so much info about the weapons the TX Rangers used between 1833-1890 but so little about what Comanche ppl used. I’d love love love to see something about their lances
Awesome work its amazing to see the way the Comanche held their bow and arrows, Lars Anderson tried to recreate the method comanche used to shoot and ride and did so as true to life as could and in doing so proved just how quick and effective the Comanche could shoot there bows. A trained Comanche could fire an arrow at 100 meters and by the time it landed have 3 or more arrows already in the air on there way. As kids Comanche could shoot bugs and coin out of the air trained from birth with instinctive shooting a interesting thing to note is that alot of Comanche had a harder time shooting stationary targets that we're use to in archery today. Absolutely Mint
For my arrows. I use "fatlighter" which is from old pine trees. I like using the ones from old fence post. You shave them down until orange, heat treat with a fire and as soon as it starts oozing out the pine liquid you take another piece of the same wood and basically sand it down with that piece, it comes out beautiful and is very strong, I've been having trouble trying to get them to fly straight though
The knowledge you have and share is invaluable. True that what you share is being lost, what would we do if we lost the old ways and were forced into the old ways of living, I'm sure most who don't appreciate the true value of native indiginous knowledge will be left wanting of this elders gift.thank you from another elder.
Great video. You touched on a few things that I figured out when I made and shot my very first bows. Draw and posture. As a kid it made perfect sense that style of shooting. Almost 50 years later I still shoot the same way.
Fine craftsmanship, I've been looking at videos of different kinds of traditional archery from cultures all over the world, and it's amazing how to bow making can be similar but different at the same time.
As someone that is of mixed race but raised in the traditional arts, I love seeing videos like this...and those still left like myself that try to keep the traditions alive...The only aspect of the video's details that got shared that was not an accurate description was the reason wood was collected often in Winter...sap does not go into the roots in the winter at all...that is a modern myth and the Elder's knew this as I was taught as a boy...In fact, with many species of trees, we see an actual increase in moisture content of the wood above ground in the wintertime. The difference between summer and winter is whether the sap is flowing (aka moving) or not moving...
I can't quote an authoriative source on this but my reason for getting wood for arrows and also for bows in the winter is that the plant isn't growing. The outermost yearring is fully developed and stronger.
@@andreasgoebel1269 This is very true, however, in winter or summer those outer layers of xylem and cambium are typically removed anyway...What is often missed (or misunderstood) by most modern Bowyers is this craft spans a global culture...and within biome types where "growing" or a "winter season" really is not nearly the same...dormant perhaps, but still active...Thus...winter to summer harvesting is not really an issue...or a...can and can't happenstance, as either season will work, and storage (best underwater) if done at should be a method that keeps the wood supple...Most (virtually all) traditional bows were worked "green" and then fire hardened...
I rewatch this time and again not just for the information but it is just like visiting home, when I find that background country you see here when Willie Pekah is talking. There are some other videos that show the high "plain" plains I visit for the same reason. Love that country! It has my allegiance over all other.
Thanks to Willie Pekah for reviving the tradition, collecting all the information required for that and for sharing his knowlegde and thanks to you for passing it on...
I am a Cherokee passing as white and it was very interesting to see archery from your perspective.We must keep our traditions alive, not because it's cool but because it is us ,we don't want to die as a culture. Love you Brother.
It’s actually amazing you can hear there’s some power in those shots when it hits that target but it barely looks like you touched the string. Neat video.
Thank you Willie Pekah. Found this on RU-vid on my TV and had to jump on the computer so I could like your video. I had heard before about osage orange being called "bow wood" or "bow dark" but the added context was great about the hows and whys of the name & color, methods of shooting & holding arrows, and then into arrow making. I plan to share this video and likely others to try to send more people your way
What a very gifted and humble man. This is the kind of knowledge , I have been searching for for quite awhile. Thank you kind sir for sharing your craft.
Thanks for the enjoyable video, i appreciate the knowledge. One trick I've found for making bark removal a breeze is to gently use a potato peeler to strip the shaft.
I really like the old lore he shares like how the Comanche hold their arrows point up, I find that kind of information extremely interesting. Thank you Sir.
A few years ago, with no bow making experience at all I decided I would make one just for the fun of it. I’m sure my choice of material was all wrong, sumac sapling… and all I used was a camping hatchet, a Buck hunting knife, watched a few videos and went by instinct. It actually turned out really well and is even better now that the wood has cured. Surprisingly powerful! I would recommend to anyone making their own bow, and arrows, just for the experience. For the arrows, simple dowels from the hardware store with some duct tape fletching will work fine.
Beautiful, I've been a flintknapper, bow builder and arrow maker for 40 years, I did learned from your video! Thank you, I could learn much more from you!
Thank you Sir for sharing this with us. Highly informative, and useful to a craftsman! Also loved telling us and showing us how they’re used traditionally!
mr willie you are fantastic, this is a very in depth video of arrow making and your grandchildren would be proud of your know how. i always thought that the bow and arrow was a very deadly weapon. silently hitting the target, and no one wants to be a target of that. you explained attaching the feathers to the arrow, that cleared up the issues that i wondered many years how they did that. you are a good teacher, with a good format of how this was done. i could listen to you speak all day, very informative.
