|
Reed
Boats
As the waters lap against the shores, tall totora (reeds)
sway gently against the breeze. These plants have been
swaying in the wind for centuries, growing in abundance
by the rivers and lakes of Egypt, Africa and South America.
Ingenious ancient civilisations learnt to use these
reeds for the construction of their sailing vessels,
with which they plied the waterways for trade and exploration.
Reed boat building is one of the oldest maritime technologies
in the world - an art that has been passed down from
generation to generation. Today, however, it is a dying
craft with only a handful of boat builders left in the
world. These fragile looking vessels are surprisingly
sturdy and can survive challenging river and weather
conditions. Because of the porous nature of the boat,
water does not get trapped inside, but filters through
it instead.
Thor Heyerdhal who sailed across both the Pacific
and the Atlantic Oceans proved that reed boats could
even be used as ocean crafts.
Kota
Mama's Boat Builders
For the Kota Mama expedition the SES used the expertise
of Maximo Cartari and his son Erik, a student of industrial
engineering. The Cartari family are Aymara Indians who
live in a wind swept corner of South America, on the
Bolivian shore of Lake
Titicaca. They undertook extensive research into
their heritage to build the boats used in all three
phases of the expedition.
Constructing
Kota Mama's Reed Boats
The totora (reeds) around Lake
Titicaca are gathered while still fresh and are
formed into bundles tied with rope made from ichu (prairie
grass). These bundles are then left to dry for several
weeks. Next they are bound into long tapering cigar-shaped
cylinders to form the spine of the boat and pounded
into a crescent shape. More bundles are added longitudinally
to give the boat body and transversely to trap air and
increase buoyancy. A light folding mast carries the
square sail and a long oar helps steer the craft.
The prow of the boat is traditionally topped with an
animal's head fashioned from reeds. The head of a puma
adorned the bows of the Kota Mama, the expedition's
flagship during Phase I, while the other two boats,
the Viracocha and the Pacha Kutec sported condor heads.
The reed boats for phases II
and III were sponsored by
JP Knight.
|
