Apphira Archery Committee (AAC) at Second Ground, Polo on Saturday. (ST)
SHILLONG: Almost after 200 years since the Legendary Khasi freedom fighter, U Tirot Sing began a siege against the invading British forces; as many as 300 archers from 13 Himas (Khasi states) on Saturday got together and unleashed a volley of arrows.
The 4th of April marks the first awakening of the Khasi states against the tyranny of a foreign invader under the leadership of its King, U Tirot Sing (The King of Hima Nongkhlaw).
Observing this day in a befitting matter, the Apphira Archery Committee (AAC) organised its 26th archery competition entitled ‘Ka Rong Biria Ki Hima Ka Ri Hynniewtrep’ at Second Ground, Polo.
“The significance of this event lies not on the competition but on our history dating back to 1829 when our King fought bravely against the tyranny of the British rule,” organising secretary of the AAC and also renowned columnist, Sumar Sing Sawain said.
The event saw the participation of archers from different villages representing their respective Himas. Bows and arrows were not used by the elderly and young archers alone but the same finds its place in the hands of the little ones who performed enthusiastically all through the competition.
A 5-year-old archer who took part in this competition, Shortstar Ranee said that archery is more or less a family sport which is passed on to him from his father, Tailang Nongbet.
“I learned this sport from my father and my elder brothers and this is my first time here in this competition, and like my brothers, I too desire to become a great archer,” Ranee said.
Ranee along with his brother, Wankitlang Ranee (6) were first timers in the competition.
“We were impressed with the way the arrows are shot and the most fascinating part was when the arrows hit its target,” Ranee said.
Ranee was one of the many young archers who performed on this day. Seeing the enthusiasm of these little archers, the AAC have decided to provide them a platform to perfect their skills and also to recommend them to the Sports Authority of India where they will avail not only training but also educational benefits.
“We won’t want the talents of our young archers going waste which is why we have decided to recommend the names of a few talented archers to SAI for further training,” Sawain said.
This event also saw the participation of girl archers hailing from various Khasi States.
As always, the competition started off with a prayer service performed by Kwor Marbaniang (one of the elders of the indigenous Khasi belief, Ka Seng Khasi).
Marbaniang offered prayers to God-‘Ka Mei Hukum’ while seeking his blessing on this day.
It may be mentioned that each team consisted of 2 archers with 5 arrows each. The winning team was awarded with the ‘Stieh Khun’ (a replica of the shield belonging to legendary Khasi chief, U Bor Manik Syiem) along with a cash prize of Rs 23,000 while the runner up was awarded with a cash prize of Rs 3000.