{"id":25981399,"date":"2024-12-28T10:49:17","date_gmt":"2024-12-28T09:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isla-travel.de\/?p=25981399"},"modified":"2025-02-17T23:05:48","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T22:05:48","slug":"mallorcas-stone-throwers-are-a-true-tradition-and-a-little-bit-scary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isla-travel.de\/en\/mallorca-magazin\/die-steinschleuderer-mallorcas-treffsicher-traditionsreich-und-ein-bisschen-furchteinfloessend\/","title":{"rendered":"Mallorca's slingshot throwers: accurate, traditional and a little terrifying"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many, Mallorca may be the island of beaches and turquoise seas. But let's take a closer look: The history of the Slingshot<\/strong>or \"Foners Balears\"<\/strong>reveals a fascinating side to the island. These warriors were not only feared, but also true stars of antiquity - with a weapon that seems simple, but was deadly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
\u00a9 Juan Costa - Reconstruction of a typical slingshot\/ https:\/\/de.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Els_Foners_Balears<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Antique influencer with slingshot<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As early as 1500 BC, the Mallorcans were not just throwing stones with boredom, but with a precision that was second to none. The Talayotic culture<\/strong> used the slingshot for hunting and defense - presumably with today's equivalent of enthusiasm for high-tech weapons. Good slingshot training was a must, as these small stones flew up to 150 meters - and not just for fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The art of war meets recruitment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Word quickly spread around the Mediterranean: the Balearic Islands are not only good for their olives, but also for their Slingshot art<\/strong>. Carthaginians and Romans courted the \"Foners\" - as mercenaries, of course. Especially in the Punic Wars<\/strong> they were considered the trump card up their sleeves. Their stones pierced armor and caused many an enemy line to falter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the Romans had great respect for these throwing machines in human form. During the conquest of Mallorca in 123 BC, they had to protect their ships with animal skins in order to survive the hail of stones from the defenders. In the end, however, they did not abandon the \"foners\", but turned them into elite fighters in their legions. You know what's good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From history to sport - and a star on the hurling stage<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Today, stone throwing is a living tradition on Mallorca. The Federaci\u00f3 Balear de Tir de Fona<\/strong> keeps the ancient art alive with competitions and championships. An outstanding name? Juan Jos\u00e9 Caballero<\/strong>who became world champion in 2011. His technique is as impressive as it is instructive. During demonstrations, he shows how people used to hunt on Mallorca - and makes it clear that slinging is not just a question of strength, but of precision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incidentally, it is said that the legendary swing of the stone slingers also belonged to a certain Rafael Nadal<\/strong> benefits. Whether it is actually the genes of the \"Foners\" or the countless hours spent on the tennis court remains to be seen - but one thing is certain: the connection between precision and power is unmistakable. Perhaps Mallorca's sporting magic is in the air?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A monument to the past<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Anyone visiting Mallorca should take a look at the monuments of the \"Foners\", for example in Sa Pobla<\/strong>. And for those who would like to try their hand at spin training: There are demonstrations where today's \"foners\" show off their skills. But be careful - beginners and spectators should keep their distance.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the Talayotic culture to the World Cup: the history of the \"Foners Balears\" combines tradition, sport and Mallorcan identity.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":25981410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1380","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3145,3142,3138,2110,3141,3144,975,3140,3139,3143],"dipi_cpt_category":[],"class_list":["post-25981399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mallorca-news","tag-balearen-steinschleudern","tag-federacio-balear-de-tir-de-fona","tag-foners-balears","tag-geschichte-mallorca","tag-juan-jose-caballero","tag-punische-kriege-mallorca","tag-rafael-nadal","tag-steinschleuder-weltmeisterschaft","tag-steinschleuderer-mallorca","tag-talayot-kultur"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/isla-travel.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25981399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/isla-travel.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/isla-travel.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isla-travel.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isla-travel.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25981399"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/isla-travel.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25981399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25981412,"href":"https:\/\/isla-travel.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25981399\/revisions\/25981412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isla-travel.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25981410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/isla-travel.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25981399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isla-travel.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25981399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isla-travel.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25981399"},{"taxonomy":"dipi_cpt_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isla-travel.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dipi_cpt_category?post=25981399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}