I have just returned from an estate sale where I purchased a hand made longbow. It is about 80 inches in length, tapered at both ends, with a very slight curve. Approximately 1 1/4" diameter with a little bit of work done to flatten the face. The wood is very dark, almost black and has a grain like walnut. It has a very loose string of some kind of natural fibers. Draw weight feels like it could go 50#. The craftsmanship appears to be more utilitarian than decorative which leads me to believe I have found a real hunting weapon.

There was also a bamboo arrow which was about 5 ft. long but it was trashed so I left it. (I may later regret that)

Thanks for any help someone might be able to give in identifying this.

Welcome to the forum Green Genes I am not much of a longbowman but I do love them. Some of them are very rare and can be worth lots of $$$$$$. That being said there are many that are also common and not worth much except for their beauty and simplicity. I hope someone can help you out and confirm you have a real treasure. Good luck and keep us informed.:peace:

Hey Guys,

My lovely wifey did a little bit of surfing and we're 97.5% sure that I have one of these.

http://www.art-pacific.com/artifacts/nuguinea/weapons/bowarrow.htm

Made of this
http://www.amazonexotichardwoods.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=AEH&Category_Code=TB-BP

I wonder if there are any initiations or customs I need to observe before I hunt with it?

Yep,

Sure enough, it's one of these. I'm glad I could buy it at an estate sale instead of trying to take it away from this guy.

http://ebible.org/mpj/gallery/sing-sing-femili.JPG

Welcome Green Genes.
nice find, too bad the arrow was trashed though.
Is there any way to find out the bows history?