Mongol bow

External images
	Mongol bows at an archery competition during Naadam[1]

The Mongol bow is a recurved composite bow renowned for its military effectiveness. The old Mongolian bows that were used during the times of Genghis Khan were smaller than the modern weapons used at most Naadam festivals today. Modern Mongolian bows are larger and have string bridges. The modern design is very similar to the Manchurian bows used by the Chinese military during the Qing Dynasty. The Mongolian archery tradition may be continuous, but archery was officially outlawed ^{[2][unreliable source?]} in Mongolia after it was conquered by the Manchu dynasty.

Manchu archer showing the bow from which the modern Mongol bow developed. The minor differences between the Manchu and the modern Mongol bow are the shape of string bridges and the use of dyed ray skin on the ears of the Manchu bow (as Mongolia is landlocked, the use of sea fish is not traditional). The ears of the Mongol bow tend to be more rounded and are plain wood, often painted green.

Construction

Hulagu Khan with the older composite bow used during the time of the Mongol conquest. It is smaller in size and has no string bridges

Main article: Composite bow

Ancient and modern Mongol bows are part of the Asian composite bow tradition. The core is wooden, with horn on the belly (facing towards the archer) and sinew on the back, bound together with animal glue.^[3] As animal glue is dissolved by water, composite bows may be ruined by rain or excess humidity; a wrapper of (waterproof) birch bark may give limited protection from moisture and from mechanical damage. The bow is usually stored in a leather case for protection when not in use.

String bridge

A Timurid depiction of an Mongol archer. (Signed (lower right): Muhammad ibn Mahmudshah al-Khayyam, early 15th century).

The principal difference between the modern Mongol bow and other composite bows is the presence of a "string run" (or "string bridge") - an attachment of horn, leather, or wood used to hold the string a little further apart from the bow's limbs at the base of the siyah. This attachment aids the archer by increasing the draw weight in the early stages of the draw, thus slightly increasing the total energy stored by the draw and available to the arrow. String bridges are not attested at the time of the Mongol empire, appearing in Chinese art during the later Manchu Qing dynasty.^[4] The armies of Genghis Khan would have used the composite bows typical of their various nationalities at the time.

Range

Mongol archers during the time of the Mongol conquest used a smaller bow suitable for horse archery.

An inscription on a stone stele was found near Nerchinsk in Siberia: "While Chinggis (Genghis) Khan was holding an assembly of Mongolian dignitaries, after his conquest of Sartaul (Khwarezm), Yesüngge (the son of Chinggis Khan's brother) shot a target at 335 alds (536 m)."

In the historical novel "Khökh Sudar" Injinashi, the Mongolian philosopher, historian and writer, imagines the competition amongst all Mongolian men in about 1194-1195: five archers each hit the target three times from a distance of 500 bows (1 bow = at least 1 metre).

Mongolian draw and release

Main article: Bow draw

A Mongolian draw

The Mongolian draw, or thumb draw, uses only the thumb, the strongest single digit, to grasp the string. Around the back of the thumb, the index and/or middle fingers reinforce the grip. This is traditional across the Asian steppes, as well as in Korea, Japan, Tibet, China, Turkey, India and recent Persia.^[4] It was also used by Ishi, the last of the Yana, with his short bows.

It gives a narrower grip on the string, as only one digit is used, and this may help to avoid "string pinch" with shorter bows such as the composite bows normally used from horseback. Mongol archers would wear a metal thumb ring to protect the thumb.^{[citation needed]} It may also avoid a problem occasionally faced by archers using the Mediterranean release, when the three fingers do not release at exactly the same time and thus foul the draw. This release is normally used with the arrow on the right side of the bow for a right-handed archer, and on the left side of the bow for a left-handed archer.

See also

• Composite bow
• Turkish bow
• Korean bow
• Bow draw
• Bow string
• Mounted archery

References

1. ^ "CSEN Home Page". Center for the Study of Eurasian Nomads. http://www.csen.org. Retrieved 2008-03-04. 
2. ^ http://www.atarn.org/mongolian/mn_nat_arch/mn_nat_arch.htm | Mongolian National Archery by Munkhtsetseg
3. ^ John C Halpin, Halpin C Halpin, Primer on Composite Materials Analysis, CRC Press, Apr 15, 1992, ISBN 0-87762-754-1
4. ^ ^{a b} Archery Traditions of Asia. Stephen Selby. Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence, 2003. ISBN 962-7039-470

External links

• Asian Traditional Archery Research Network