Cormorant Fishing

Execution

Sustenance

Fish is a staple for many in and near the swamp.
The fishing master stands at the prow while handling about 10 ropes tied to cormorants to keep them untangled. They control the birds by pulling the ropes, or picking them up after they caught a fish.

Competitive Sport

Rather than being on the water, trainers hold out their birds at the top of the tlopetla mountain. From there, the birds dive the mountain's height into the lake and must reemerge with a fish. If the bird does not return with a fish, its performance is discounted.

A difficult fishing region where the fish keep to the deep depths to avoid repeated lightning strikes. It is generally avoided by fishermen for this reason.

A lonely white and green mountain whose summit (called the sky coast) launches specialized kites to redirect the coloured lightning to make it safer for the birds.

The depth to where the fish are, is beyond the breath holding abilities of a common cormorant. A bit of the wild blood is needed to birth a bird that can survive the watery impact, a two minute swim and the hard climb back to the coast.

— Cahuāyoh

Components and tools

Burning Buckets

Cormorant fishing tend to yield a greater catch in low light. As a result, evenings and nighttime are the preferred times for fishing.
Logs of firewood are hanged at the end of a pole on the boat to shine a light into the water. This disturbs the shallow swimming river fish so that cormorants can more easily catch their prey.

Throat Snare

Cormorants can be easily caught and trained to dive and swallow their catches. Their throats naturally tighten to squeeze them to death before swallowing entirely.
A specially designed collar is fitted to the birds to prevent the fish from continuing into their stomachs.

Participants

Mountain Toiks

The toiks under the mountain trade extensively for river fish and other food goods. Rather than adopting the practise, they adapted it for sport and to showcase the war birds they breed.

River Toiks

The toiks by the river are well known for their affiliation to large birds.
So it is no suprise they can handle smaller ones.

Observance

Fishing Season

The periods from Toxcatl to Tepeilhuitl are counted as times for fishing with the exception of harvest periods, when the river water levels swell and could threaten the bank farms.

Primary Related Location

Sauoomsae

Related Ethnicities

• Mountain Toiks
• River Toiks

A crossbreeding technique developed by the College of Birds for producing war birds.