Archery
Archery is a traditional
sport of the Mongols and also one of the most important games at the Nadam. For
ancient Mongols, archery is the symbol of men.
The bow is 100-150
centimeters long and is usually made of resilient wood, including bamboo, birch
and plum. The string is made of cattle hide or muscle.
Archery falls into two
categories: distance archery and target archery. Target archery is more popular
and distance archery was once popular in the old times, but gradually died out.
In the target archery,
two or more poles are erected and a whole piece of sheepskin or felt rug will be
put up between the poles. The center of the sheepskin or felt rug will be
marked.
The participants are
required to shoot at the targets from 75-80 meters away and the one that has
shot the most arrows on target will be the winner, getting the title of "Mergen"
(super marksman).
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