A blowgun is a tube-like weapon that shoots projectiles using human breath. It is mainly a hunting tool but is rarely used in war. Aboriginal people in Malaysia, Southeast Asia, South India, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, northwest South America, and Central America use blowguns. Blowguns range from 18 inches to over 23 feet long and are made of cane or bamboo. Darts are the most common missile, usually made of palm-leaf midribs or wood or bamboo splinters, ranging in length from 1.5 to 40 inches. The dart fits the tube, so a puff of breath will cause it to fly from the tube. Blowgun darts require poison to be effective against larger animals.

How does a blowgun work?

A blowgun is a tube-like weapon that shoots projectiles using human breath. It is mainly a hunting tool, not for warfare, and has been used by native people in areas such as Malaysia, South America, and Central America. Blowguns range in size from 18 inches to over 23 feet and are often constructed from cane or bamboo. The projectile, usually a dart, is made from materials like palm-leaf or wood. To ensure proper flight, the dart must fit inside the tube, so a person's breath can force it out. Hunters often apply poison to the darts for hunting larger animals.

What kinds of darts are used with a blowgun?

Blowgun darts are commonly made from palm-leaf midribs, wood, or bamboo splinters, ranging from 1.5 to 40 inches in length. To ensure a snug fit and propulsion from a puff of breath, a cone-like piece of pith or a twist of fiber is often added to the dart's base. For hunting larger prey, poison is applied to the darts, sometimes notched to break off in the victim. Materials such as clay pellets or bone fragments can also serve as projectiles. Hunters typically carry darts in quivers made of bamboo, wood, basketry, or leaves.

Which cultures or groups have used blowguns in history?

Blowguns have been used by various cultures throughout history, primarily for hunting rather than warfare. These include: Aboriginal people of Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia Southern India and Sri Lanka Madagascar Northwestern South America and Central America, extending north to central Mexico Southeastern American Indians Blowguns may also have been used prehistorically in the Antilles.

What materials are blowguns traditionally made from?

Blowguns are tubular weapons that propel projectiles using human breath and are primarily used for hunting. They are constructed from a variety of materials, with the simplest being a single tube of cane or bamboo. More complex blowguns feature an inner and outer tube, often made of bamboo in Malaysia. Another type involves splitting wood, carving a bore on each half, and binding them together; this is found in locations such as Malaya, Borneo, and South America. The most intricate type is made from a single block of wood, with a carefully drilled bore, and is common in Borneo. Darts are the most common missile, made from palm-leaf midribs, wood, or bamboo splinters.

How are blowguns used today compared to ancient times?

Today, blowguns are used primarily for hunting, though they were rarely used in warfare historically. They are still employed by aboriginal people in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries, as well as in South India, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and northwest South and Central America. Blowguns vary in length from 18 inches to more than 23 feet and are often made of cane or bamboo. Darts are commonly made from palm-leaf midribs or wood or bamboo splinters and can be tipped with poison to be effective against larger animals.

Blowgun

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Blowgun

weapon

Also known as: blowpipe

Written and fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 6, 2026 •History

Top Questions

What is a blowgun?
A blowgun is a tube-like weapon that shoots projectiles using human breath. It is mainly a hunting tool but is rarely used in war. Aboriginal people in Malaysia, Southeast Asia, South India, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, northwest South America, and Central America use blowguns.

Blowguns range from 18 inches to over 23 feet long and are made of cane or bamboo. Darts are the most common missile, usually made of palm-leaf midribs or wood or bamboo splinters, ranging in length from 1.5 to 40 inches. The dart fits the tube, so a puff of breath will cause it to fly from the tube. Blowgun darts require poison to be effective against larger animals.
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How does a blowgun work?
A blowgun is a tube-like weapon that shoots projectiles using human breath. It is mainly a hunting tool, not for warfare, and has been used by native people in areas such as Malaysia, South America, and Central America.

Blowguns range in size from 18 inches to over 23 feet and are often constructed from cane or bamboo. The projectile, usually a dart, is made from materials like palm-leaf or wood. To ensure proper flight, the dart must fit inside the tube, so a person's breath can force it out. Hunters often apply poison to the darts for hunting larger animals.
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Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What kinds of darts are used with a blowgun?
Blowgun darts are commonly made from palm-leaf midribs, wood, or bamboo splinters, ranging from 1.5 to 40 inches in length. To ensure a snug fit and propulsion from a puff of breath, a cone-like piece of pith or a twist of fiber is often added to the dart's base.

For hunting larger prey, poison is applied to the darts, sometimes notched to break off in the victim. Materials such as clay pellets or bone fragments can also serve as projectiles. Hunters typically carry darts in quivers made of bamboo, wood, basketry, or leaves.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Did you know?
2. blowgun
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Which cultures or groups have used blowguns in history?
Blowguns have been used by various cultures throughout history, primarily for hunting rather than warfare. These include:
- Aboriginal people of Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia
- Southern India and Sri Lanka
- Madagascar
- Northwestern South America and Central America, extending north to central Mexico
- Southeastern American Indians
  
  Blowguns may also have been used prehistorically in the Antilles.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Did you know?
2. blowgun
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What materials are blowguns traditionally made from?
Blowguns are tubular weapons that propel projectiles using human breath and are primarily used for hunting. They are constructed from a variety of materials, with the simplest being a single tube of cane or bamboo.

More complex blowguns feature an inner and outer tube, often made of bamboo in Malaysia. Another type involves splitting wood, carving a bore on each half, and binding them together; this is found in locations such as Malaya, Borneo, and South America. The most intricate type is made from a single block of wood, with a carefully drilled bore, and is common in Borneo. Darts are the most common missile, made from palm-leaf midribs, wood, or bamboo splinters.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Definition of blowgun
2. blowgun
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How are blowguns used today compared to ancient times?
Today, blowguns are used primarily for hunting, though they were rarely used in warfare historically. They are still employed by aboriginal people in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries, as well as in South India, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and northwest South and Central America. Blowguns vary in length from 18 inches to more than 23 feet and are often made of cane or bamboo. Darts are commonly made from palm-leaf midribs or wood or bamboo splinters and can be tipped with poison to be effective against larger animals.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Definition of blowgun
2. blowgun
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Blowgun, tubular weapon from which projectiles are forcefully propelled by human breath. Primarily for hunting, it is rarely used in warfare. Employed by Malaysians and other Southeast Asian aboriginals, in southern India and Sri Lanka, in Madagascar (Malagasy Republic), in northwestern South America, in Central America north to central Mexico, among southeastern American Indians, and in Melanesia (rarely), it also may have been used prehistorically in the Antilles. Apparently invented by Malaysians, blowguns were Pre-Columbian in both hemispheres; whether their occurrence in the New World represents reinvention or introduction remains uncertain.

Blowguns vary in length from 18 inches to more than 23 feet (45 centimetres to 7 metres). The simplest of the four basic types is a single tube, usually a section of cane or bamboo. If the bamboo internodes are short, the septa may be burned or punched out and the interior polished. Single-tube bamboo blowguns occur widely, often in peripheral regions of use or where the weapon serves as a toy. Another variety has an inner and an outer tube. In the Old World (notably Malaya) these are usually bamboo, the inner tube commonly being made of two sections fitted into a short length of bamboo; the outer tube also may be composite. In northernmost South America, a palm stem (pith removed) is the usual outer tube; occasionally another serves as the inner tube. A third major variety is made by splitting a length of wood, carving half the bore on each face, and binding the halves together. This split type is found in scattered locations including Malaya, Borneo, the Philippines, Japan, south India, and South America on the Pacific Coast and between the Negro and the Madeira rivers and has also been reported from Louisiana. Apparently unknown to New World artisans, the most difficult type of blowgun to construct is made from a single block of wood about 2.5 m (8 feet) long. After the bore is carefully drilled with a chisel on the end of a long rod, the block is trimmed to a cylinder. This type is most common in Borneo, with a spear usually attached. Single-piece wooden guns are known from Bali and the Celebes; in Madagascar the bore is burned out with a heated iron rod.

Darts are the most common blowgun missiles. They are usually made from palm-leaf midribs or from wood or bamboo splinters, and they may vary from 4 to 100 cm (1.5 to 40 inches) in length. A conelike bit of pith or a twist of fibre at the base of the dart makes it fit the tube snugly, ensuring that it will fly out of the tube from a puff of human breath. Clay pellets or bits of bone are also used as darts by some peoples. A hunter usually carries his darts in a quiver made of bamboo, basketry, wood, or leaves.

To be effective against quarry larger than small birds, blowgun darts require poison. The darts often are notched so that the poisoned tip will break off in the victim. The most common Old World poison is made from the sap of the upas tree (Antiaris toxicaria) and kills by cardiac effects; also used are the lianas Strychnos strychnos and Strophanthus. In South America, curare, whose action is paralytic, is widely used, though obtained from relatively few tribes, who prepare it largely from the Strychnos toxifera vine. Other poisons are made from snake venom, insect poisons, and decaying flesh. Dart poisons are not recorded for North American peoples.

Blowgun

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