Mongolia-Wisdom of Mongolian Bow Makers

I'm very happy to be here in Mongolia, in the Khundultu region. I'm not sure how long I've been here, but I've been to Mongolia, I've been to Tbilisi, I've been to Labytniki, I've been to Bosch. I've been to many places, but I've never been to this place. I have been working on this project for 30 years and I am very happy with the results. I am very happy with the results. I have been working on this project for 30 years and I am very happy with the results. When the Mongols were invaded, building were used as a place for government offices. This is why the Mongolian people have been studying the ancient Nongshum, the ancient Nongshum, the ancient Nongshum, and the ancient Nongshum since the time of the ancient Nongshum. The Nongshum of the Uyghur people is the oldest Nongshum in the world. It is the oldest Nongshum in the world. The Uyghur people have been studying the ancient Nongshum for at least two centuries. This is the reason why the people are still studying the ancient Nongshum. This Nongshum dates back to 2500 BC and is the first one This is the first one I made in 2012. I made the second one with a lot of effort. I made this one with a lot of effort. This is the third one. This is the fourth one. The Mongolian people have always been interested in the sport of wrestling, and I am proud to be a part of this. Wrestling is becoming a sport that is becoming more and more popular. Today, there are three types of wrestling in Mongolia, Khalkha, Boryankha, and Boryat. bow making technique. Preparing for parts of the bow. The wooden frame. The bow's wooden frame is made of bamboo or birch. Bamboo is a popular material which is imported. The bark is removed from the birch and soaked in water to get rid of the resin and then it is dried naturally in the sun before usage. The inner side of the bow's frame is called the ilich and the horn layer is glued onto the ilich. On the outer or back side of the bow's frame is glued the sinew layer. The bow is curved onto the ilich side. Cutting the birch. Birch or bamboo is cut to the appropriate length, thickness and width of the bow. Fixing the birch wood. The wooden frame is cut to the desired thickness and width and this is fitted with the handle in the middle and the hooks on the ends. Other wooden parts. The sharhamar or the attached layer onto the handle is glued behind the handle and the two hitchers to be attached on the end are prepared. The string bridge or hitcher. The hitcher has a hook at the end to attach the string. The other end of the hitcher opposite to the hook is a point ended to a seat at the end of the bow's wooden frame. The hitcher's length and curve affects the pulling forces thus these need to be accounted for when making the hitcher. Sharhamar or the attached layer onto the handle of the bow is designed for better holding as well as making the desired shape of the bow by changing its thickness and length. Horn elements. The bow has the following horn elements. The ilich horn layer, secondly the havchork and thirdly the hook horns. The horn layers of the ilich have two parts and are made from cow or wild goats horns cut thin and narrow. By varying their thickness and length one can regulate the bow's shooting power. The horn element is glued onto the handle between the horn layers of the ilich which is called havchork. It has the same thickness as the ilich horns. The bow hooks on the end of the two hitchers can have horns inserted for increased strength. Sinew preparation. The main difference of Mongolian bows is having sinew liners which are prepared by a traditional technique to acquire the sinews for sewing purposes. The bow could have 100 to 200 grams of sinew depending on the size of the bow and its desired draw strength. Glue making. All parts and layers of the bow are glued together using a special glue. Preparation of this glue has the following procedures. Firstly grounding of the raw material, secondly soaking in water and thirdly boiling. The pot with the glue is put in another pot with water for more uniform boiling. The pot with the glue is put in another pot with water for more uniform boiling. The bow maker needs to fix the appropriate thickness of the glue because it has a strong effect on the temperature sensitivity of a bow. Steps in the gluing process. Gluing the wooden frame. The wooden elements are covered with warmed up glue and are bonded together after letting the glue dry up. Gluing the horn elements. The birch and the horn elements are then glued together to find and fix any non-alignment issues. Sinew layering. The process of gluing the sinew on the back of the bow after gluing the horn and the birch together is called sinew layering. First the birch is ground to slightly roughen its surface and then it is soaked with hot water. Then sinew is layered from the middle of the handle to both ends on the back surface after dipping it in the warm glue and removing excess glue by hand. Approximately one month is required for the first layer of sinew to dry after which the second layer is applied in a similar manner to the initial layer. Then after another month of the drying process the third layer is applied. An ordinary bow usually has three layers but a child's bow may only have one or two layers. Attaching a string. After the drying process is completed a string is attached to test the draw balance of the two ends. Any unbalanced draw is fixed by adding layers which will take another several weeks to complete. The new bow will then undergo breaking in with a newly fitted string. Layering. Finally the thin layer of birch bark is glued at the back on the top of a sinew which is also boiled until it is soft. Then the bow is wrapped up in fine ropes and allowed to dry completely. The arrow making technique. The arrow is composed of its body, feather and arrow heads. Wood selection. Wicker, bamboo and pine is a typical material for the arrow body. Wood with Wood fixing. The arrow body making process starts with cutting to the desired length and rounding the body. The end of the arrow has a smaller diameter at the end and has a hook. Hook preparation and gluing. The arrow can have a hook cut on its body or attached to it. The hook attachment can be made from birch or horn and can be glued as the two pieces against the arrow end or as a separate whole hook piece. Feathering. For fletching purposes thick and strong feathers such as those of the vulture are used in the following order. Removing the feathers from the bird's wings, cutting and fitting the feathers, gluing the feathers pointing in one direction and an arrow has to have three to four feathers. Modern arrows generally have just three feathers. Arrowhead making. Traditional Mongolian archery uses wooden or horn arrowheads. For instance the archery of the Buryat and Uriankha people uses a wooden arrowhead. Here we will focus on making the horn heads. Traditionally the arrowhead has been made from the base sections of fallen antlers. Nowadays wild goats horns or other hard materials are utilised. The arrow is crafted as a separate piece. This involves cutting the chosen material to fit the arrow's dimensions and then drilling the arrow's head.