Archery....as a folklore!

In Bhutanese folklore, there is a weapon referred to as the Divine arrow which'when shot at a target is seen only in the mind'.

Legend has it that during the Duar War with England.the father of the first King of Bhutan said prayers to Yeshi Gonpa,the guardian deity of Bhutan,and then shot an arrow from a mountain top,towards a British camp,hitting the British general square in the forehead.Religious history and folklore are full of references to bows and arrows as weapons.So it is little wonder that archery has evolved as Bhutan's national sport.

In Bhutan,the countries old tradition of archery matches is more like folk dancing and folk singing than a sporting event.These are occasions of immense gaiety.

People came to watch archery in their best dresses. They bring food and home made wine called 'ara'.They sing and dance in circles during intermission,and when the competition is in progress,they shout,taunt and hurl insult the opposing team to throw them off their aim.

Traditionally,archers are males and spend the days before the competition in diligent preparation,meeting with astrologers and lay monks known as 'tsips' to determine the order of shooters, time to start and pause for intermission.Everything depends on astrological alignments.
Girl friends and wives line up,to encourage their team and to tease the opposition.The taunts that evoke the maximum laughter and jeers from the crowd usually refer to the shooter's sexual prowess,physical features or ancestral features.

The shooter ,who scores a point,tucks a brightly colored scarf in to his sash.The game is won by scoring 25 points and the match is won by a team who wins two games.Two points are awarded,for hitting the target and one point when the arrow sticks firmly in the ground within the length of the target.