[The South Andaman bow: making the bow string. Rolling the fibre into twine.] Photographer: Portman, Maurice Vidal
Scope & Content:
Genre: Ethnographical Photography Seated Andaman Islander at work. Caption reads in full: 'The fibre is dried in the sun, and when ready for spinning a bundle is taken, and placed between the first and second toes of the left foot of the worker. Two pieces of different lengths are held together...
[The South Andaman bow: making the bow string.] Two of these pieces of twine are then twisted together thus, and the cord made is used, after being waxed, for a variety of purposes besides bow strings, such as nets, etc. Photographer: Portman, Maurice Vidal
[The South Andaman bow: making the bow string.] Four or five pieces of the twisted twine, and pieces of the loose fibre are then twisted together, held between the first and second toes of the worker, who sits in this position. Photographer: Portman, Maurice Vidal
[The South Andaman bow: making the bow string. Stripping bark from the cinnamon tree.] Photographer: Portman, Maurice Vidal
Scope & Content:
Genre: Ethnographical Photography Showing Andaman Islander tearing off a long strip of bark from the 'Chaura' or cinnamon tree. The letterpress describes this shorter method of making bow strings.
[The South Andaman bow.] The lower end of unstrung bows, showing how the loose end of the string is secured to the bow. Photographer: Portman, Maurice Vidal
Upper end of a South Andaman bow. The string at this end is never removed from the bow. Notice that in these bows the stringing and unstringing is always done at the lower end, contrary to the custom with European bows. Photographer: Portman, Maurice Vidal