These stamps issued by Ethiopia show us dugouts on the Baro River.
The dugout is a watercraft fashioned from a log by hollowing out the center to make it lighter and more buoyant, and to provide a place to sit or stand. Used in most parts of the world where suitable trees are available.
Hewn by a tool such as an adze, stone, bone, or ivory, or the interior may be burned out. Drilled or burned holes of appropriate depth enable the builder to know when he has achieved the desired hull thickness, the bottom often being thicker than the sides. Ends rounded pointed, or left square; on some, mud plugs form the ends. To increase stability, the sides may be flared by soaking and inserting spreaders. Further stability can be achieved by attaching floats to booms and extending them out one or both sides, or setting them against the hull as sponsons.
The sides may be increased by adding one or more planks and closing off the ends. On some the dugout part may be minimal, the planking forming the major portion. A dugout is generally a single log. In some areas, it may consist of 2 halves, sliced longitudinally. The bottom widened by a plank insertion, or 2 hewn logs may be butted end-to-end to form a longer canoe; a few, such as log canoes, may be composed of several shaped logs. Although general by the work of primitive peoples, in several societies dugouts have achieved a special status, being well-proportioned designed for speed, elaborately carved and of tremendous size-54m long from a single log.
Most dugouts are paddled, although the initial dugouts were undoubtedly propelled by hands.
From: Aak to Zumbra a dictionary of the World’s Watercraft.
Ethiopia 1972 60c sg 811, Scott? 1981 15c sg 1186, Scott?
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