Traditional Pakistani Archery: Now and Then

[Talwar e Pakistan]

As the battle-hardened Macedonians poured through the Khyber Pass, bloodily defeating the valiant tribes that stood to stop them, they encountered a new and fearsome weapon: the Heavy Longbow and it’s devastating piercing capability as detailed by the famed Greek historian Arrian of Nicomedia:

The infantry have a bow, of the height of the owner; this they poise on the ground, and set their left foot against it, and shoot thus; drawing the bowstring a very long way back; for their arrows are little short of three cubits, and nothing can stand against an arrow shot by an Indian archer, neither shield nor breastplate nor any strong armour.

The Heavy Longbow saw continued use, far after the Macedonian invasion, as seen in Gandharan reliefs and carvings, such as the one depicted here (right) of a Gandharan archer, donning a turban similar to the ones still worn in the region.

Today, despite thousands of years having passed, this weapon still lives on in the martial sport of ‘Teer Andazi’ (traditional archery), which like many other martial sports of Pakistan; have mostly died out. The remnants of Pakistani traditional archery can still be found among some isolated communities in the Northwest, as highlighted in the picture (left) from Torghar, where the sport is still alive, though declining. The excellent craftsmanship applied to create these imposing longbows are not too different from that of their ancestors, who used these weapons to great effect against the Macedonians.



If you would like to know more, there is a Pakistani discord server dedicated to history (and geopolitics): https://tinyurl.com/wdox3eo

Feel free to contact me for any questions.

My previous post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/path%3D%252Fr%252Fpakistan%252Fcomments%252Fehka62%252F

@Indus Pakistan

 

[Pakhtoon yum]

View attachment 597736


As the battle-hardened Macedonians poured through the Khyber Pass, bloodily defeating the valiant tribes that stood to stop them, they encountered a new and fearsome weapon: the Heavy Longbow and it’s devastating piercing capability as detailed by the famed Greek historian Arrian of Nicomedia:




The Heavy Longbow saw continued use, far after the Macedonian invasion, as seen in Gandharan reliefs and carvings, such as the one depicted here (right) of a Gandharan archer, donning a turban similar to the ones still worn in the region.

Today, despite thousands of years having passed, this weapon still lives on in the martial sport of ‘Teer Andazi’ (traditional archery), which like many other martial sports of Pakistan; have mostly died out. The remnants of Pakistani traditional archery can still be found among some isolated communities in the Northwest, as highlighted in the picture (left) from Torghar, where the sport is still alive, though declining. The excellent craftsmanship applied to create these imposing longbows are not too different from that of their ancestors, who used these weapons to great effect against the Macedonians.



If you would like to know more, there is a Pakistani discord server dedicated to history (and geopolitics): https://tinyurl.com/wdox3eo

Feel free to contact me for any questions.

My previous post:

@Indus Pakistan

Wow thanks, I've always been interested in horse riding and archery. It draws me in

 

[Itachi]

Nice, it's about time we upgraded to composite/compound bows...