Hitting the bull’s eye in Bhutanese style
He was dressed in traditional Bhutanese robes; a checked tunic neatly held together with a waistband and spotless Nike sneakers with long white socks that stopped just short of his knees. The hint of grey in the crisp moustache on his otherwise clean shaven face added a touch of dignity to his lithe frame. But there was one thing missing; he did not wear a ‘tail’ or sash in his waistband, a sign that he had not hit the target even once in the archery tournament being held on the grounds outside the royal palace at Paro, Bhutan.
He watched proceedings with a brooding brow when a team mate called out that he was up next. He reached out for a can of beer, cracked it open and took a long swig of the frothing golden brew before stepping up to take his position at the head of shooting range. In one fluid motion he strung an arrow in his high precession modern bow and steadied himself for a fraction of a moment before releasing the missile. Seconds later there was solid thud as the arrow hit the target, no more than six inches wide and two feet high, some hundreds meter away.
The strike sparked of celebrations with his teammates doing ritualistic song and dance routine in front of the target to which he and rest of his squad responded with much cheering. Once the revelry had settled down, a member of opposing team stepped up to take his shot. Our distinguished friend, now wearing a bright red ‘tail’ took another swig of beer, spun around and whispered something in his rival’s ear just as he was in the process of releasing his arrow. The wayward shaft flew widely through the air prompting the people standing around the target at other end to move away from harm’s way.
The archer turns and glared at our friend who responded by cracking open another can of beer and handling it over to his opponent. The two clinked their cans and took long swigs. The archery contest between Paro and neighboring township of Haa, had reached a new level of competitiveness which was both keen and playful.
Archery in Bhutan has a few simple rules. Two members of rival team face off with two shots each, taken one after another. A hit on the target scores one point. However if the opponent scores a hit too, the point cancel each other. Each hit earns the player a colorful ‘tail’ or sash which he wears around his waistband regardless of whether his opponent earns one too.
Each strike is greeted by members of the team with a song and dance ritual in front of the target. As a result, a game can last a full day especially if the teams keep scoring hits.
Players may distract members of the opposing team in any way they choose so long as they make no physical contact. Whispering in the opponent’s ear by our dignified friend was a legitimate tactic. A player is free to dance in front of the target to distract his competitor, if he so chooses. Of course, he has no one else to blame but himself if he is hit by an arrow. Yes, players do get shot sometimes.
There was even a case of one person dying a few years ago. The tournament was poised for a knife edge finish and the foolhardy man, fortified with too many drinks, had tried to distract his opponent by taking risks that no sane man would have taken. He was struck by an arrow in his chest. I could not help but notice the hint of a smile in the eyes that belied the gravity in the voice of the person who told the tale. The high risk stage of the game is often at the end of the day’s play when archers with too much alcohol in them have to be propped up by teammates to take their shot.
Fun and frolic aside, archery is a highly skilled sport and Bhutanese take it up with a passion. According to Pema Nirbhay of Druk Air, it touches the warrior instincts that Himalayan Kingdom that had never been fully colonized, even during the overbearing presence of the British in the sub-continent. ‘Archery is more than just a matter of skill for the people of Bhutan. Through it we sustain a rich living heritage of the country,’ says Pema.
The love for the sport is evident all over the country where in the most unlikely places, target posts punctured with holes made by arrow heads, stick out of the ground. In fact I even found a range in a valley in the foothills of Taktsang Monastery, the most important religious shrine in the Kingdom.
However, it is over the weekends that the skies are filled with flying arrows and the sound of much revelry and cheering.
Today most of the equipment used is high precision Olympic quality that can cost upwards of US$750 for each bow though we did drive past one tournament on the outskirts of Thimphu where players used traditional bows and arrows.
That Saturday morning, the day of the archery competition, started in Paro with a drizzle that I feared would deny me the pleasure of watching an archery tournament, I had heard so much about. Pema, however, assured me that it would take more than a little rain to stop the arrow flying.
Sure enough by the time I reached the archery ground by nine, the contest was well on its way. Paro, the host, had jumped into an early 4-1 lead but the visiting team from Haa was staging a spirited comeback. Along with the residents of the town and neighbouring villages, even saffron robed monks from the surrounding hilltop monasteries, who had come to shop for provisions at the local weekend market, dropped in to witness the contest.
By around 10am, the wives of the local contestants along with their children started to arrive with picnic hampers. Already a few cans and bottles of beer had been cracked open and hip flasks started to make their appearance. There was an air of festivity across the playing field which only seemed to sharpen the keen cutting edge of the ongoing contest. Archers, now sporting many flowing ‘tails’ danced and sang with greater abandon each time their team scored and dug into their bag of tricks with less qualms to distract their opponents and make them nervous.
The contest was almost evenly poised at 8-7 in favor of Paro by the time I left for Thimphu. I arrived in the capital city just in time to witness the end of the game being played on the Central Archery Grounds along the banks of the river. The archers of both teams and their women formed a large circle and were singing, dancing and ribbing each other. It was a time when men were little boys and the results of the tournament…’we won the game. You won the…’
By: Gustasp Irani