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For other uses, see Cane (disambiguation).

A thin, flexible cane designed for corporal punishment.

Cane are either of two genera of tall, perennial grasses with flexible, woody stalks from the family Poaceae that grow throughout the world in wet soils. They are related to and may include species of bamboo. The genus Arundo is native from the Mediterranean region to the Far East. Arundinaria is found in the New World. In English, the word "cane" derives from biblical Hebrew Qanah for uses corresponding closely to English; in the Bible it is often translated "reed." Cane commonly grow in large riparian stands known as canebrakes, found in toponyms throughout the Southern and Far Western United States; they are much like tules, indigenous to wetland margins of California.

Depending on how flexible they are, different kinds of canes may be fashioned for a variety of purposes, such as tools, walking sticks, crutches, weapons, and in corporal punishment. Judicial canes or school canes, used in some countries for legal corporal punishment, must meet particular specifications, such as a high degree of flexibility.

Similar to bamboo, cane historically has been used for many other purposes as well, such as baskets, furniture, boats, roofs and wherever stiff, withy sticks can be used to advantage.

[edit] Cane in the Bible

A brake of Giant Cane growing in Palestine.

In the Bible, canes are frequently used as measuring rods, walking sticks, or writing pens. In Palestine "cane" properly refers to the species Arundo donax, Giant Cane, about which the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia states:

It grows in immense quantities in the Jordan valley along the river and its tributaries and at the oases near the Dead Sea, notably around `Ain Feshkhah at the northwest corner. It is a lofty reed, often twenty feet high, of a beautiful fresh green in summer when all else is dead and dry, and of a fine appearance from a distance in the spring months when it is in full bloom and the beautiful silky panicles crown the top of every reed...

Hebrew Qaneh, ("cane," is translated as) "stalk" (Genesis 41:5, 22); "shaft" (Exodus 37:17, etc.); "reed," or "reeds" (1 Kings 14:15 2 Kings 18:21 Isaiah 36:6; Isaiah 42:3 Psalm 68:30, the King James Version "spearman"); "calamus" (Exodus 30:23 Songs 4:14 Ezekiel 27:19); "sweet cane," margin "calamus" (Isaiah 43:24 Jeremiah 6:20); "bone" (Job 31:22); used of the cross-beam of a "balance" (Isaiah 46:6); "a measuring reed" (Ezekiel 40:3); "a staff of reed," i.e. a walking-stick (Isaiah 36:6 Ezekiel 29:6); the "branches" of a candlestick (Exodus 37:18).^[1]

In the Bible, cane appears most notably in Ezekiel, where it is the measuring rod used to measure the prophet Ezekiel's visionary temple, and in Revelation, where it is used to measure the New Jerusalem.

[edit] Caning

Further information: Caning

Thin, flexible "canes", typically made of rattan instead of cane, make ideal implements for administering corporal punishment, as when used correctly they can inflict much pain without using excessive force. These may be called school canes or judicial canes depending on size.

In North America, where walking sticks with curved tops are called "canes", but are most often made of wood, "caning" may refer to beating someone in self-defense with a stick heavier than that used for corporal punishment.

[edit] Walking canes

Further information: Walking stick

Canes may be finished into walking sticks. In North America, walking sticks typically have tops curved like judicial canes, and even when made of wood, they are called "canes." Thus in 1856, when Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was "caned" for insulting a fellow U.S. Congressman for a physical handicap, he was beaten with a wooden walking cane that splintered.^[2]

[edit] Aids for the disabled

Further information: Cane (crutch)

Canes may be finished as walking sticks to aid the blind and other disabled persons. Currently, such "canes" are normally made of light-weight but sturdy material such as aluminium or high-tech carbon derivatives.

[edit] Other uses

A Cherokee river cane basket.

Cane may be used for a variety of artistic and practical purposes, such as Indian baskets of North America.

Cane is also used to describe furniture made of wicker.

Cane is a length of colored and/or patterned glass rod used in caneworking, a style of glassblowing.

A "cane" was also used in the historic event that came to be known as "that night on the band trip" by Kristian Kotov.

[edit] Cane in Dancing

Dancing with cane and sticks can be done in both folkloric and cabaret shows. For example, such dances may involve twirling canes overhead and off to the sides, striking the cane on the floor, or balancing them on the head. ^[3]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ http://bibleencyclopedia.com/reed.htm
^ www.associatedcontent.com/article/479761/the_caning_of_senator_charles_sumner.html
^ Cane in Dancing Explained

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Arundo

Germplasm Resources Information Network: Arundo
Erowid Arundo Donax vault
Fashionable Walking Canes & Walking Sticks — History of Canes Page Info (reprinted with permission)
Description of Arundinaria
Walking-Stick Papers (Robert Cortes Holliday, 1918) — Project Gutenberg ebook
Modern cane fighting based on Oriental techniques
Reprinted early 1900s information about the Vigny cane and associated techniques
Gadget Canes
Walking Canes — Information about the different types of handles for walking canes and sticks.

[0] ttp://bibleencyclopedia.com/reed.htm

[1] www.associatedcontent.com/article/479761/the_caning_of_senator_charles_sumner.html

[2] Cane in Dancing Explained

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