-June 4, 2009
Forty-nine young people draw their invisible bows in six different steps to the loud calls of their instructors at Changlingmithang field for full five week days. Along with the drawing of imaginary bows (sometimes replaced by rubber bands), to develop the right form for shooting arrows, they also undergo physical trainings such as running, stretching and weight trainings. Read more…
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Archery is the national sport of Bhutan, and every village has it own archery range. competitions, usually accompanied by a banquet, are a part of all festive occasions. Using bamboo bows (although modern compound bows are finding their way into the kingdom) teams of archers shoot at targets only 30 centimetres in diameter from a distance of 120 metres. Each team has a noisy crowd of supporters who, as well as encouraging their own side and try to out off the opposition. The game of archery is not exactly a sport that draws frenzied supporters out for a kill. There are no die-hard fans and no follow-the-team-to-kingdom-come fanatics. And no streaking hooligans.If anyone is all pumped up, it is the archers themselves… To the Bhutanese, it’s a tourist sport and a very saleable one at that too. It has tremendous tourist appeal. Archery is tradition; it’s songs and dances and jeers and near-primitive howls. It’s the works to someone seeking the unusual. All that could be just a facade. Read more…
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