Kisnatáru

General introduction

The kisnatáru (also called 'kináta' or 'nafshe' in other Andaperna languages) is a general term for small canoes made out of reed used everywhere across Andaperna. As the lower plain of Andaperna is dominated by the two big rivers Karet and Armêx and their tributaries, the usage of boats to transport people or goods is only natural. As wood is scarce in Andaperna, the small kisnatáru dominate naval transport. Making boats and rafts out of reed is an old craft, already shown and talked about in old art and texts.

Kisnatáru are long and slender and can, besides the oarsman, carry only one other person or a handful of amphorae of olive oil, wine, beer or some baskets of fruit or vegetables. As most trade in Andaperna is small scale, the immense cost of wood prevents bigger wooden vessels to be developed and built.

Functionality and construction

The kisnatáru is seen everywhere across Andaperna, as it is cheap to build and very versatile. Reed is available pretty much everywhere and is used by the Andaperna people for housing, basket weaving and in part even clothing. With its light weight and how easy it is manipulated and worked with makes it the ideal building material for these reed canoes but also for reed floats, which are called Giga. Other than Giga, the Kisnatáru is swifter, sturdier and can be easily moved away from the water when a flood is coming or the weather is turning bad.

The basic building blocks for kisnatáru are lengthy, tightly woven bundles of weed called dalunna. They consist of reed leaves, which are watered to make them flexible and resistant to tearing and breaking. This treatment allows for tight weaving patterns, ideal to keep fluids on one side of the barrier. The bundles are connected with rope made from reed straw and arranged in a tight, brick-wall-like pattern. A second layer is fixed to the inside of the vessels corpus, after sealing the outer shell with issal, a glue made from processed milk and cow manure. To get rid of the pungent odour left by the milk, the vessels are thoroughly dried in the sun. After binding and hardening, the issal does not start to smell again, even of in contact with water for extended periods of time.

Powering, use and overall importance

These small canoes are powered by one person rowing with a short, one sided paddle. If two people are on the boat, both can paddle to make things easier. Thanks to their slender shape, the kisnatáru can be quite swift. They also go well against the current, because their bodies don't offer much surface for water to push against.

As said, the kisnatáru are in use everywhere, transporting people or goods. They are a reliable and safe mode of transportation, especially since even the two big rivers in Andaperna, Karet and Armêx are both not home to large predators that might prey on unsuspecting people in these light vessels. In case of bad weather like storms, rainfall or hail, the kisnatáru are hauled on land to protect them. The fact, that the inner part is more susceptible to water shows, that they are a good and dry medium of transportation. Fishermen use small baskets in the shape of the kisnatáru called tur gipár for their work to store fish, as most fish caught in Anndapernas rivers are rather long and slender.
Thus the role of the kinsnatáru is not to be underestimated as it facilitates the majority of civil mobility in Andaperna. It has no military application though, as its build is too delicate for such a use.

Oh the rivers of Andaperna, where boats float like leaves on an autumnal river.

unknown origin