FReeper Canteen ~ Part V of the Mongols ~ December 7, 2004

www.coldsiberia.org ^ | December 7, 2004 | LaDivaLoca

[LaDivaLoca]

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Part V of The Mongols

Mongolian Bow

Because the Old Mongols lived in an environment where survival skills were always of the utmost importance, it was a matter of course that they should develop excellent tools, both civilian and military. One piece of equipment that was of great significance in war as well as in the daily life of the Mongols was their composite bow. Perhaps this bow is not quite as well-known in the West as the English longbow, which was the best bow ever to emerge in Europe.

Yet the Old Mongolian bow was incomparably superior to everything seen in the West. Not until the advent of breach-loading firearms in the 1800's was the Mongolian bow decisively surpassed as a long-range shooting tool. Still the original Mongolian bow remains a formidable tool for targeting, war or hunting, and the people around the Bajkal sea regularly used these bows for hunting at least up to the twentieth century.

Military Use

When we are talking about Mongolian bows, the first thoughts go the their military use, although hunting and target practice certainly were more prominent activities. Every day was not filled with war, but hunting and the training of skills were part of the daily routine. However, we will start with the military aspect.

In the military, each soldier carried two bows on horseback. One bow was for long-range shooting, another for shooting at close distances. Also, each soldier had two quivers with arrows for different purposes. To mention but a few of these, there were armor-piercing arrows with a particularly heavy arrowhead of tempered steel, there were incendiary arrows for setting buildings afire and spreading fear in the enemy ranks, as well as whistling arrows for signalling. Of course, the most arrows they carried were ordinary arrows where the arrowhead and length of the shaft were adjusted to the normal range at which the particular type arrow was to be used. The standard, according to James Chambers, was that each soldier should have at least sixty arrows with him or her. Yes; it merits mention once more that the strongest and most courageous Mongolian females rode along with the men and fought bravely. Also, the women who did not ordinarily participate in military activity nevertheless had to learn how to wield the bow, a necessary skill for self-defence as well as hunting.

The Construction

We are now going into the details of the Mongolian bow. As already mentioned, it was the best bow in the world, and probably still is. Even though the modern high-tech compound bows are in some ways more convenient to use and can be made equally powerful, the sheer simplicity of the Mongol composite bow with its complete indepencence of foreign equipment and complicated parts that the archer cannot easily repair or replace makes the Mongol bow on balance a superior solution. In order to show the Mongols and their extraordinary bow the proper respect, the story is mostly told in the present tense, which also serves to emphasize the salient point that these things can be done today as well.

The Mongol bow is not as large and long as the English one, but it is vastly more powerful. The draw weight of an English longbow averages around 70-80 pounds, whereas the Old Mongol bow had a pull that, according to George Vernadsky, averaged at around 166 pounds. Chambers states that the pull varied from 100 to 160 pounds. This seeming discrepancy certainly reflects the fact that draw weight varied with the strength of the user, and with what use the bow had been made for. As could be expected, there was a considerable difference in shooting range. Whereas the English longbow could shoot at distances up to 250 yards or around 228 meters, the Mongol counterpart can hit its target at 350 yards or 320 meters and, if the archer is well trained for the task, even beyond that.

There are people who claim that the Old Mongols could shoot and hit their target over truly astonishing distances. Gongor Lhagvasuren, Deputy Director at the Mongolian National Institute of Physical Education, has written an article called "The stele of Chinggis Khan." There, Lhagvasuren refers to an ancient inscription on a stone found in the basin of the river Kharkiraa, a left tributary of Urlengui river which flows into the trans-Bajkal river Erdene. The text of the inscription, supposedly dated from 1226, may be interpreted as follows: "While Chinggis Khan was holding an assembly of Mongolian dignitaries, after his conquest of Sartaul (East Turkestan), Esungge shot a target at 335 alds" (536m). Lhagvasuren draws the conclusion in his article that such feats were rather common for Mongolian archers during the 1200's, and writes: "This case illustrates the strength, accuracy and sharpness, physical prowess of the Mongolians who lived more than 700 years ago." Whether or not we find it likely that Mongolian archers could regularly hit their targets at the distances Lhagvasuren claims they could, there is no question that they and their and bows are outstanding in all of archery's history.

When we take a closer look at the Mongolian bow, we see that it is an intriguing construction indeed. The backbone of the bow is a wooden frame, which will typically be birch, because that wood is resilient and is also readily available. The total length of the frame is 150-160 cm. When the bow is unstrung, it looks like a semi-circle with a beautifully curvaceous shape, but when a string is attached the whole thing is stretched out so that its limbs are bent inward. Even so, these limbs with string attachments are bent slighly away from the archer, forming a double curve. It is this double curve that delivers explosive acceleration and awesome velocity to the arrow. From these limbs or bends of the bow behind the string attachments where the impact is greatest, the frame is covered with elongated and flattened pieces of mountain sheep's (or other wild or domesticated ungulate's) horn or/and bone which adds snapping power to the resilient wood in the frame. These hard parts form a layer that covers the whole area of the so-called belly, which is the part between the grip and the limbs. Chambers describes how the back parts of the bow, nearest the archer, were those covered with horn and/or bone while the sinew layer was applied to the outer side.

The reader will have noticed that I use the term horn and/or bone. This is because the precise details of how the bows were built could vary over the Siberian area, although the main features are clear. The bone elements, when added, are no more than a small part at the center of the bow, and may originally have served mainly ornamental and possibly magical purposes.

source: http://www.coldsiberia.org/monbow.htm

Next Tuesday Part VI of The Mongols

[MS.BEHAVIN]

LOL
I'm sneaky that way!
;0)
Ms.B

[Old Sarge]

{{{{{ MS. B!!! }}}}}

How's your afternoon - I've lashed myself to the wall,
the wind's so strong down here!

[SevenofNine]

Breaking news off Reuters wire source close to Israeli and PLO diplomat is reporting that both Isreal and PLO want head back to peace talk table talk about Oslo treaty and reform it

COOL

[Lady Jag]

U.S. Marine Riders Inc. of New Hampshire remember Pearl Harbor
December 7th

[MS.BEHAVIN]

Beautiful, Lady Jag!
Ms.B

[Lady Jag]

For the unnamed, may you live a hundred autumns and see 100 summers. God bless you and be well.

[MS.BEHAVIN]

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Old Sarge}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
The storm is cranking up...
Supposed to be really bad over the next few hours..
Candles, flashlights and woodstove at the ready!
I've got a propane fireplace, too!
Be careful in that wind!
Ms.B

[Kathy in Alaska]

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow: Three-year-old Julia Raczka and other children thrill to falling snow at the lighting of the Punta Gorda, Fla., Christmas tree. The snowflakes were faux flakes, of course, shot out of a snow-making machine, but nobody seemed to care.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Ahhh: Well, the weather at Japan's Jigokudani Wild Monkey Park is frightful, but the hot springs are so delightful.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Beauty is waist-deep: Now that many beauty pageants have banned swimsuit competitions, contestants are forced to swim in their evening gowns. These Nebraska belles -- including current Miss Nebraska Brook Matthews (right) -- waded into frigid Lake Zorinsky for a polar bear plunge benefiting the Special Olympics.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Save our shipmates: A Japanese coast guard helicopter tries to rescue crewmen from a stranded carrier off the coast of Aomori, Japan. Gale-force winds blasted eastern Japan, causing blackouts, flight delays and traffic gridlock.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Now THIS is teamwork......

Fountain of youths: Two-year-old Janaina Janin recruits cousin Isai Rodriguez and big sister Joana to solve kid-unfriendly plumbing in Spearfish, S.D.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"Gale-force winds blasted eastern Japan,
causing blackouts, flight delays and traffic gridlock."

Looks like Godzilla caused this.

[Lady Jag]

Rainbow over the Pearl Harbor
Arizona Memorial

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hurry up and take the picture: In El Paso, Texas, Golda (left), Satin and Mookie let Santa know that they have been good dogs this year, despite not getting enough sleep.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

YOUR POST 250

[E.G.C.]

BTT!!!!!!

[Lady Jag]

[Radix]

Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, search a possible insurgent escape route in Mosul, Iraq, on Saturday. 

Despite intense searches, the Troops have still been unable to find Fawnn's secret recipe for Chile.

 

Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, dismount their vehicle in Mosul, Iraq, on Saturday as they search for information that could lead to the location of insurgents who had involved the U.S. forces in intense combat in the city.

If you are reading this caption thank a teacher. If you are reading this caption in English, thank a Soldier.

Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, question the occupants of a vehicle in Mosul, Iraq, on Saturday as they search for insurgents.

Caution, persons in mirror are more heroic than they appear.

 

Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, take cover in Mosul, Iraq, on Saturday as a sniper fires at them.

 Fly Boys pose while resting on one of their cushy jobs back in the rear with the gear.

Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, comb the streets of Mosul, Iraq, on Saturday as they search for insurgents who engaged U.S. forces in intense combat in the city. 

Man, those are some funky shoes you are wearing.

 

A soldier guards the site where U.S. forces detonated an abandoned, explosive-laden car in Baghdad on Monday.

The increase in car bombings has caused officials to consider lowering the tolls on some of the highways and bridges.

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, raid a home in Mosul, Iraq, on Saturday after taking fire from insurgent snipers. A group of about 70 insurgents tried Friday to ambush a U.S. patrol with roadside bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. After regrouping, U.S. and Iraqi forces launched an assault, killing more than two dozen insurgents.

 The International Welcome Wagon is still quite active in the greater Mosul municipal area.

Spc. Nick Potaczek holds his 3-week-old daughter, Madison, while waiting to board a plane at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., to deploy to Iraq on Sunday. Potaczek is with the 1st Corps Support Command. 

 

Pfc. Antwan Frazier, left, walks with other troops from the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., on Sunday. Two battalions of the regiment are deploying to Iraq to provide additional troops in advance of the January elections. 

Just think guys, we will not have to buy presents for this Christmas, and they might actually let us jump out of a few planes again.

 

Members of the Army's Golden Knights parachute team prepare to land in the stadium prior to the kick-off of the 105th Army-Navy game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday.

Hey Sarge, could you explain to me one more time just why it is that we jump out of an airplane that is working perfectly fine?

President Bush watches as the referee asks Army linebacker Greg Washington which goal Army wants to defend after Navy won the toss and elected to kick off at the 105th Army-Navy game played Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

CINC sat out the actual game but rumor is that he did call in a number of running plays from the sidelines.

Being an unemployed Super Hero is a hard job!

Caution, persons in mirror are less real than they appear.

[StarCMC]

Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, search a possible insurgent terrorist escape route in Mosul, Iraq, on Saturday.

Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, dismount their vehicle in Mosul, Iraq, on Saturday as they search for information that could lead to the location of insurgents terrorists who had involved the U.S. forces in intense combat in the city.

Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, question the occupants of a vehicle in Mosul, Iraq, on Saturday as they search for insurgents terrorists.

Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, comb the streets of Mosul, Iraq, on Saturday as they search for insurgents terrorists who engaged U.S. forces in intense combat in the city.

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, raid a home in Mosul, Iraq, on Saturday after taking fire from insurgent terrorist snipers. A group of about 70 insurgents terrorists tried Friday to ambush a U.S. patrol with roadside bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. After regrouping, U.S. and Iraqi forces launched an assault, killing more than two dozen insurgents terrorists.

There, now I feel better. I guess you can't expect caption writers who don't even know it's a weapon not a gun to get this right either. On another note, I watched a FoxNews show I had recorded the other night called "Breaking Point" with Greg Palcott (sp?) He was with the Marines -- India Co -- as they took Fallujah. He called them terrorists. And at the end, he said (not a direct quote) that we could be proud of our Marines because they were at once tough as nails on the enemy and compassionate to the innocent Iraqis. They were interviewing one Marine commander (sorry - don't remember rank) and he made a comment about how the terrorists were given the opportunity to surrender or die. He said when they chose to die rather than surrender that the Marines "obliged" them. These guys/gals are amazing!