ARCHERY – MORE THAN A SPORT
Bhutan’s national sport, archery, is not just sport. It is a festivity where archers, dancers, entertainers, astrologers – in fact, entire communities – gather to eat, drink and make merry. And the competition is serious.
Archery teams representing villages and districts and, more recently, government ministries or business companies, seek astrological help to determine the most auspicious date, time, and directions to challenge opponents. They organize cheerleaders to distract their opponents with witty songs and verses. Drinking alcohol is a part of the experience, particularly in rural tournaments, so the match becomes more boisterous by the hour.
Archers congregate at ranges around the country at every opportunity they get. And where there is a match, there are spectators. Whole villages often turn out for the contest of mind, body and spirit. They watch the game, enjoy the music, and generally soak in the atmosphere.
There is much singing and dancing during an archery match. Every score is celebrated with a dance, every miss greeted with exaggerated groans of regret. Bhutanese archers are elegant dancers and they twirl in front of the target, barely half a metre wide and set 150 metres away from the archer, in admirable unison.
Although women did not take part in traditional matches, they provided the entertainment and some charmed crowds and achieved fame through their gifted singing and wit. It was a norm for families to pack lunch and sit all day enjoying the match and the entertainment.
Traditionally, the making of arrows was a unique and much-admired craft. Arrow makers trekked high up in the mountains to choose special reeds which thy cut, dried, and straightened manually. They chose feathers from different birds, the flight of the arrow being influenced by the feathers. They also found the thick bamboos for bows and shaped and whittled each bow to the specific strength of the archer.
Today, archery is still played with the traditional bamboo bows as well as with modern compound bows.
But just as Bhutan is going through historic change, the society is debating the impact of modernization on its national sport. The traditional equipment is being rapidly replaced by high tech compound bows and fibre-glass arrows. The rules are changing and archers as well as observers are debating the limit of change.
In Thimphu, for example, a group of 12 archers stand in quiet concentration. Focusing on targets set at 70 metres for women and 90 metres for men, the modern athletes are shooting 200 to 300 arrows every day to prepare for international tournaments. The atmosphere is quiet and the mood is one of precision.
In 2004 the Bhutanese – one man and one woman – did well at the Olympic games in Greece, upsetting well knows veterans. “Everyone thought we’d be out in the first round,” says Tshering Choden who, at 24 years, took part in her second Olympic Games. “But we went into the elimination round, much further than anyone could have expected.”
Bhutan’s best-known woman archer today is optimistic about the future. More than one Olympic coach has been surprised at the natural affinity that Bhutanese have for the sport. “You never know what’s written in your fate,” says Tshering Choden, already participating for Beijing.
The Bhutanese find the absence of revelry more difficult to deal with than the targets at the Olympics.
“When we shoot it is so quiet, we can hear every breath we take,” says 26 year-old Tashi Peljor who took part in the men’s tournament. “Here we are used to people singing, laughing, and teasing. We may be physically fit but if we are mentally unprepared we can’t shoot at all.”
That is the Olympics. Back home, the traditional bamboo might be giving way to precision equipment, but the spirit is not lost. The colour and mood of the matches have changed little over the decades. The air is filled with sights and sounds of archery matches around the country. Even the most strict referees cannot keep up with the astrologers who have a great influence on the game.
“Gone are the days when the Bhutanese went into battle in full gear,” say one archer in Thimphu. “But the fighting spirit lurks in the depths of our souls. Nothing stimulates that spirit more than a game of archery.
By Siok Sian Pek-Dorji