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Economy: fishing and hunting Apart from garden products a great variety of fish is available, mainly from the sea and, to a lesser extent, from the rivers. The people utilise several techniques for fishing. Spears can be used to catch fishes on the reefs. Lines and hooks are also used for fishing, and just before sunset one can often observe people fishing with small throwing nets. Larger nets are also used; these are set in the sea close to the coast. According to Hans Kähler [21] the people were also using poison to catch fish. Pork is also eaten, but not on a regular daily basis. Especially for feasts, people catch wild pig in the forest, using big strong nets. Once caught these pigs are beaten to death or speared. Traps are also used. Wild pig is present in abundance, sometimes attacking people who are hunting or on their way to the gardens. One can also find domesticated animals on Enggano. Pigs, dogs, cats and chickens are kept in great numbers. However, all three were imported in the eighteenth or the nineteenth-centuries. More recent is the introduction of the kerbau, the water buffalo. Water Nowadays many households have their own water wells for drinking and washing. In times of extreme drought the people go to the river to wash. Water from the rivers can also be used for drinking, as can the milk from coconuts. The meat of the coconut is eaten. | |
