Since childhood I was fascinated by nomadic cultures and an inseparable part was the bow and the art of shooting from horseback at full speed.
The more I learned about the bows, the more my attention was drawn to the Asian composite bows. They are absolutely captivating weapons used mainly by the Turkic and Mongol tribes in Central Asia. I started creating these ingenious weapons in 2014. However, my pseudonym “Tengri Bows” under which I make these bows today became established later.
In the Turk-Mongol languages the word “tengri” or “tenger” can be translated as “sky”. The “eternal blue sky” was worshiped by ancient nations the same way as a cult based on the principle of Heavenly-Father and the opposite principle of Mother Earth. The warrior in my logo is raising his bow to the sky as an expression of paying the tribute to the infinite blue sky.
The love and creation of Asian bows is for me inseparable from learning about the culture and history of Asian nomads; both from books and from my own travels to Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and southern Siberia(Khakasia, Tuva).
The practice of horseback archery associated with nomadic culture naturally became another passion of mine and strongly influences my lifestyle.
Jiri TengriBows, Czech Republic 2021
About Hornbows
Asian composite bows, reflex bows, horsebows and hornbows.
They have a lot of names and a lot of forms. However, the main principle of creation and function is the same which is unique and absolutely fascinating.
They have a lot of names and a lot of forms. However, the main principle of creation and function is the same which is unique and absolutely fascinating.
Who used these bows?
Why are they different and better than the other bows?
How and from what are they made?
Certainly, the most famous and most successful masters of these bows were the Turk-Mongol tribes led by the mighty Genghis Khan. The rider, bow and horse were essentially one being for them. Bows based on the same principle, however, were used, for example, by Turks, Arabs, Persians, Mughals, Koreans, Chinese, Manchu, Egyptians, Scythians, Assyrians, and Huns. The were used from antiquity to the late Middle Ages, across a large area stretching from Eastern Europe to East Asia, including North Africa, India, Siberia. They were later replaced by firearms.
Compared to other bows, such as the famous English “longbow”, they were much smaller and lighter. Even with their size, they allowed the same length of draw and force as other bows. In addition, the speed at which the arrow was cast was greater than that of the longer all-wood bows from England.
The small size was ideal for horseback archery. These attributes are given by the shape of the bow and the materials from which the bow is literally glued. After removing the string, their greatest advantage turns out to be a large preload-reflex. This means that the bows are, depending on the type pre-strained forward in more or less a “C” shape. in the other direction than people would usually expect. The bow consists of a short bending part (Turkish Sal), a rigid handle, and inflexible ends (Turkish Bash). The evolutionarily younger more modern bows sometimes have a semi-bending (Turkish Kassan) part which is a transition between the flexible and inflexible part.
The short arms, which allow a large bend without causing cracking are glued from three materials. Horn is at the side facing the shooter, wood in the middle and tendons are on the outside. Each of these materials has its function. The horn withstands high pressure, the tendons resist tension and thus prevent rupture. The wood forms the entire skeleton of the bow to which everything is glued. At the same time, it forms a layer that stabilizes the entire bow and prevents twisting. The wooden frame itself is made up of several pieces, which are bent over the steam into a reflex. Everything is glued together by fish or hide glue.
The whole production process takes about 1 year. This includes drying of wood after bending, drying of glued tendons, drying of glued joints and of course final decoration. The production of such a bow is therefore extremely complicated and time-consuming compared to all-wood bows.
From the user’s point of view a reflex bow made of traditional materials is also noticeably more demanding than long bows or variants made of modern materials.
The user must know how to put on the bowstring correctly, how to keep the bow in the axis after putting on the bowstring, and how to ensure approximately the same amount of bend for both arms. Especially new bows tend to twist off the string due to the reflex and return to the original state without the string, which can have fatal consequences. Natural materials and adhesives are also quite sensitive to temperature and humidity.
You can find a more detailed article about maintenance on Peter Decker’s website. You can find illustrative examples of bow straightening in my video, These bows still hold their proud place and are immensely popular among lovers of historical archery.