![]() ![]() Other arrowheads were broad and flat with a horizontal blade. Iron or steel arrowhead points were designed punch through armor, such as the tapered, spiked arrowheads or those that were tempered and chiseled. Bone arrowheads could do next to nothing against armored opponents but still do considerable damage against other lightly or non-armored adversaries. The type of arrowheads used consisted of bone, steel, horn, and iron. A general by the name of Meng-Hung, who served the Sung Dynasty and who put up a strong resistance to the Mongols in 1230s mentions three type of arrows: the sounding arrow, the camel-bone arrow, and the armor-piercing arrow. Carpini states that the arrowheads cut two ways, and were hardened by dipping them while red-hot into brine, after which they were so rigid they could pierce armor. Traveler Marco Polo placed arrowheads in two classes: light ones with small sharp points for long-range shooting and pursuit, and heavy ones with large, broad heads used in close quarters. On an interesting note, when using feathers, if a feather taken from the right wing was used, the arrow would spin to the right during flight, if taken from left wing, it would spin to the left. Eagle feathers were the most commonly used but the Mongols also used the feathers of geese, kites, blackcocks and woodpeckers. When it came to feathering the arrow, the Mongols used a variety of bird feathers. To further strengthen a damaged shaft, the surface was layered with birch bark. ![]() If the top of the shaft split due to the tang, it would be bound with cord. To make an arrow, the Mongol archer would take an iron tanged arrowhead and carefully hammer the point of the tang into the shaft without splitting it. The shaft of the arrow thinned out towards the notch of the tip. Wood used to make the shafts was usually willow, birch, and juniper. When it came to length, the arrows were roughly over two feet (0.6 meters) in length. The arrows the Mongolian military used varied in size, weight, and function. ![]() A Deadly Rain of Arrows, Piercing and SlicingĮnemies of the Mongolian armies feared a deadly rain of arrows. The Mongolian soldier’s bows and arrows are perhaps their best-known weapons – their famous riding and archery skills were a sight to behold, as long as they weren’t targeted at you. What gear did they use? How did they deal with their wounded? How did they partner with horses to become masters of the steppe? Special thanks for Bede Dwyer of Australia to bringing this footage to my attention and sharing it with me.Much is known about the ancient Mongol military and their incredible victories on the battlefield, but little is ever discussed about their arms, armor, horses, and logistics. The Mongolian narrator describes the names of the archers and their scores.Īccording to Anar-Erdene Nergui they mention the year 1951 in the beginning of the video. He could also identify all footage to be taken at the grounds where the festival is still held today. Differences with the Manchu style are mainly in anchor points.Īccording to Luigi Kapaij from New York the footage includes the opening ceremony of the Nadaam Festival in Ulaanbaatar with the official shooting some bows and arrows, as is done today. I explain this technique in USING THE MANCHU THUMB RING. This is the only old footage known to me that shows people shooting Manchu style bows and arrows, providing us an interesting view of remnants of Qing military archery styles present among descendants of Mongolian soldiers that once served the Qing.Ī main distinguishing feature is pulling the bow horizontally the first few inches, with the feathers clear from the bow in order to prevent the feathers to be ruffled. ![]() The fletchings have also became smaller over time. The bow used in Nadaam today is pretty much a Manchu bow with reduced ear length to make them more efficient with lighter sports arrows. They shoot long arrows with long feathers from long-eared composite bows, much closer to Manchu bows than today's Mongolian "traditional" bow. The particular game we see practiced here is "sur" shooting where blunt arrows are used to knock down cylinders that are made of camel-hide at approximately 80 meters. The Nadaam festival of Ulaan Bataar is a festival where they practice the three manly sports of Mongolia: wrestling, horse racing and archery. The following footage shows Mongolian archers in the 50's (and perhaps 60's) shooting at the Nadaam festivals, held annually in July. ![]()
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