A-Hunting We Went

On Thursday, I went hunting for the first time in my life. I had called a friend in the late morning to see if he could help me with a project at home, but he was unavailable because he had plans to hunt, so I convinced him to let me tag along.

My friend warned me in advance that there would be a lot of walking, yet I was unprepared for the death march it turned out to be. We were out during the hottest part of the day, from 12:30 to 3:30 pm, in triple-digit heat under the direct sun. We walked at a fast pace, the fastest I could walk without jogging. The terrain was rugged nearly the entire way and most of it was through plant life with thorns and burrs. I was wearing sandals and capris, as I always do, and my feet got sliced so much that they were bleeding most of the time and I had to pick splinters out of my feet when I finally got home.

Given that I was already exhausted simply from walking so quickly under the hot sun, I could not fathom how the others found the energy to run at prey when they spotted it. There were perhaps 40 people in our hunting party, along with 10 or so dogs, and the group spread out to cover more territory. Each person was armed with a few branches, each 2.5 feet long, and often a slingshot. The branches were often weighted on one end with a knot of wood, and when prey was spotted, these batons were flung into the air, spinning round and round like a boomerang. After a few batons had struck the prey, often, but not always, a dog would charge in to finally catch the animal.

Hunters running after an animal that has been spotted

Ultimately, most people in our hunting party seemed to have caught something, either a rabbit or bird, from what I saw. My friend killed two animals. He said he usually eats his kills, but sometimes he sells them instead. I came home with nothing, as I intended. I had simply wanted to witness the hunt.

Two hunters displaying their kills: a rabbit for the man on the left and a bird (somewhat hidden by his hand) for the man on the right

The next day, I was fascinated to discover that my participation in the hunt was the talk of the town. Several people told me that they heard I had gone hunting and asked if it was true. Only men hunt in Sonsoro, which made my participation even more unusual. One woman told me that I should never go hunting again because as a woman, I have no business doing so. That, of course, only made me want to go hunting again to prove a point, but given how miserable I found the experience, I think my hunting days are indeed over.