View source for Bolas

{{Short description|Type of weighted throwing weapon used in South America}}
{{otheruses|Bolas (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Bolus (disambiguation){{!}}Bolus}}
{{Refimprove|date=November 2014}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = Bolas
| image              = Bola (PSF).jpg
| caption            = A hunter using bolas while mounted on a horse.
| origin             = [[The Americas]]
| type               = Throwing weapon
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}}

'''Bolas''' or '''bolases''' ({{singular}}: '''bola'''; from [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''bola'', "ball", also known as a ''boleadora'' or ''boleadeira'') is a type of throwing [[weapon]] made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, used to capture animals by entangling their legs. Bolas were most famously used by the [[gauchos]], but have been found in excavations of [[Pre-Columbian]] settlements, especially in [[Patagonia]], where indigenous peoples (particularly the [[Tehuelche people|Tehuelche]]) used them to catch 200-pound [[guanaco]]s and [[rhea (bird)|rhea]]s. The [[Mapuche]] and the [[Inca army#Weapons|Inca army]] used them in battle.<ref name=Bengoa>{{cite book |last=Bengoa |first=José |author-link=José Bengoa |title=Historia del pueblo mapuche: Siglos XIX y XX |year=2000 |edition=Seventh |publisher=[[LOM Ediciones]] |isbn=956-282-232-X|pages=243–246}}</ref>  Mapuche warriors used bolas in their confrontations with the [[Chilean Army]] during the [[Occupation of Araucanía]] (1861–1883).<ref name=Cayuqueo>{{Cite book|title=Historia secreta mapuche 2|author-link=Pedro Cayuqueo|last=Cayuqueo|first=Pedro|publisher=[[Catalonia (publisher)|Catalonia]]|year=2020|isbn=978-956-324-783-1|location=Santiago de Chile|pages=42}}</ref>

== Use ==
[[File:Toortse Rio de la Plata.png|thumb|right|[[Río de la Plata|River Plate]] [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indians]] with ''Bolas'' (Hendrick Ottsen, 1603)]]

''Gauchos'' used ''boleadoras'' to capture running [[cattle]] or game. Depending on the exact design, the thrower grasps the ''boleadora'' by one of the weights or by the nexus of the cords. The thrower gives the balls momentum by swinging them and then releases the ''boleadora''. The weapon is usually used to entangle the animal's legs, but when thrown with enough force might even inflict damage (e.g. breaking a bone).

Traditionally, [[Inuit]] have used bolas to hunt birds, fouling the birds in air with the lines of the bola. ''People of a Feather'' showed [[Belcher Island]] Inuit using bolas to hunt [[eider]] ducks on the wing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1929346/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1|title=People of a Feather (2011)|author=Tracy Allard|date=8 November 2013|work=IMDb|access-date=21 November 2014}}</ref>photo

== Design ==
[[File:Boleadoras.png|thumb|right|150px|''Boleadoras'']]

There is no uniform design; most ''bolas'' have two or three balls, but there are versions of up to eight or nine. Some ''bolas'' have balls of equal weight; others vary the knot and cord. ''Gauchos'' use ''bolas'' made of [[braid]]ed [[leather]] cords with [[wood]]en balls or small leather sacks full of stones at the ends of the cords.

''Bolas'' can be named depending on the number of weights used:

* ''Perdida'' (one weight)
* ''Avestrucera'' or ''ñanducera'' (two weights, for rheas)
* ''Somai'' (two weights)<ref name=Blair>Blair, Claude and Tarassuk, Leonid, eds. (1982). ''The Complete Encyclopedia of Arms and Weapons''. p. 92. [[Simon & Schuster]]. {{ISBN|0-671-42257-X}}.</ref>
* ''Achico'' (three weights)<ref name=Blair />
* ''Boleadora'' (three weights)
* ''Kiipooyaq'' ([[Inuit]] name for ''bolas'' with three or more weights<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca/VirtualExhibits/Inuit/english/bola.html|title=Inuit Bola|publisher=Gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca|access-date=21 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108154237/http://gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca/VirtualExhibits/Inuit/english/bola.html|archive-date=8 November 2014}}</ref><ref>[http://www.westferrisscouting.com/Winter%20Camp%202006%203%20.htm]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709053105/http://www.westferrisscouting.com/Winter%20Camp%202006%203%20.htm|date=July 9, 2008}}</ref>)

''Bolas'' of three weights are usually designed with two shorter cords with heavier weights, and one longer cord with a light weight. The heavier weights fly at the front parallel to each other, hit either side of the legs, and the lighter weight goes around, wrapping up the legs.
[[File:Le Tour du monde-04-p248.jpg|thumb|[[Puelche people|Puelche]] warriors using bolas in the 19th century]]
[[File:Boleando nandues la pampa 1905.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A group of gauchos hunting rheas with bolas in La Pampa, Argentina, 1905.]]Other unrelated versions include ''qilumitautit'', the ''bolas'' of the [[Inuit]], made of [[sinew]] and bone weights and used to capture water birds.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AULEX - Diccionario Quechua - Español; en línea |url=https://aulex.org/qu-es/?busca=boleadora |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=aulex.org}}</ref>

== Popular culture ==
* At the "[[Anthropology Days]]" associated with the [[1904 Summer Olympics]], a "bolo throw" event was contested at [[Francis Olympic Field]], where the top three finishers were all [[Tehuelche people|Tehuelche]] and the winning distance was {{convert|209|ft}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olympedia – Bolo Throw - Anthropological Days (Tehuelche), Men |url=https://www.olympedia.org/results/926198 |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=www.olympedia.org}}</ref>
* In the series ''Zorro'' (1957), [[List of Zorro (1957 TV series) episodes|episode]] 33 of season 1: "The Deadly Bolas", features this weapon.
* In the anime ''[[Belle and Sebastian (Japanese TV series)|Belle and Sebastian]]'', episode 40: "Chained Belle" (ボーレアドーラの恐怖, Bōreadōra no kyōfu) shows an expert in the handling of bolas.
* The fictional comic book character [[Batman]], along with his allies known as the "Bat-Family", are often seen using bolas to capture criminals in [[Gotham City]].
* In the 1979 James Bond film ''[[Moonraker (film)|Moonraker]]'', a bolas is featured as a weapon made by the Q Branch.
* In the ''[[How to Train Your Dragon]]'' film franchise, bolas are semi-frequently used as a dragon hunting weapon, to bind the wings and prevent flight.
* In ''[[Escape from L.A.]]'', bolas are used to knock [[Snake Plissken]] off the top of a vehicle during the "parade".
* In ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'' [[Ewok]]s use bolas in the battle against the [[Galactic Empire (Star Wars)|Galactic Empire]] on the moon of [[Endor (Star Wars)|Endor]].
* In ''[[Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams]]'', the player may use bolas as a utility in gameplay.
* In the 1984 movie ''[[Romancing the Stone]]'', the character Elaine Wilder is knocked unconscious by a child who throws a bolas at her.  She is then kidnapped by a child who uses the [[AC Cobra]] sports car she was driving to spirit her away.
* In ''[[Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir]]'', Juleka Couffaine uses the Tiger Miraculous to transform into '''Purple Tigress''', whose miraculous weapon is a bolas.
* In ''[[Ark: Survival Evolved]]'', bolas are used to incapacitate small to medium-sized dinosaurs, and are a staple of the Player Vs Player mode.
* In ''[[A Dark Room]]'', the player can purchase or find bolas and use them as a projectile. When used, they stun enemies and make them unable to attack.

== See also ==
* [[Bolas spider]]s, which swing a sticky web blob at the end of a web line to capture prey
* [[Bolo tie]], a style of necktie resembling the bolas at the end of a string
* [[Eskimo yo-yo]], a skill toy resembling fur-covered bolas or yo-yos
* [[Lasso]] or lariat, a looped rope used for similar purposes, especially in North America
* [[Meteor hammer]] and meteor, a Chinese melee weapon and a Chinese skill toy, both consisting of two weights connected by a rope or chain
* [[Poi (performance art)|''Poi'']], a Māori skill toy consisting of a ball attached to a tasseled cord
* Astrorope, a prototype of Crew Self Rescue (CSR) device for [[extravehicular activity]] (EVA) in space flight – see [[Astronaut propulsion unit]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{commonscat|Bolas}}
*

[[Category:Ancient weapons]]
[[Category:Argentine folklore]]
[[Category:Throwing weapons]]
[[Category:Chain and rope throwing weapons]]
[[Category:Chilean folklore]]
[[Category:Culture in Rio Grande do Sul]]
[[Category:Indigenous culture of the Southern Cone]]
[[Category:Indigenous weapons of the Americas]]
[[Category:Lithics]]
[[Category:Uruguayan folklore]]
[[Category:Hunting equipment]]
[[Category:Gaucho culture]]