Archery

Archery is one of the stronger sporting traditions in Mongolia, along with wrestling, and horseback riding. There are arrowheads laying around on/in the ground in Mongolia at about the same rate as in Montana – not something you’re going to stumble across all the time, but not a big surprise when you find one. There were a number of metal ones in the museums. The archers of Chengus Kahn are said to be one of the main reasons for his success.

The first ger camp we stayed at had traditional costumes for a man and a woman, a bow, and arrows available for tourists to play with. So we did. 🙂 During happy hour.

I’ll admit that I didn’t hit the target even once, but considering that it was only hit two or three times in the whole evening, I don’t feel bad. At least my arrows made it as far as the target, and even went over a couple of times.

What I found the most interesting is the way this particular bow was made. Besides the curved wood – which I expected – the inner curve was lined with bone for extra strength, and the wood and bone were kept together by a tight wrapping of nylon fishing line.

The arrows were about twice as heavy as the ones I’m used to, with a bunt head and a fletch I didn’t expect much from. When one would hit the target, it often bounced. Clearly, they weren’t intended as serious arrows.