Kazakh researcher reveals European and steppe archery differences
Tengrinews.kz - Recently, Kazakh mythology researcher Zira Nauryzbai drew attention to the depiction of an archer in a promotional poster for the World Nomad Games, which are taking place in Astana, and shared an interesting historical detail.
The PhD candidate, recorded a video in which she explained that the archer in the promotional poster is shown drawing the bowstring with his index and middle fingers, similar to how medieval English archers did. Zira noted that this technique of tensioning the bowstring is characteristic of European archers and is connected to historical context.
"It is believed that the victory sign originated from this," the researcher pointed out.
However, according to Zira Nauryzbai, the technique used by steppe archers shooting from horseback was completely different: they drew the bowstring with their thumb, pressing it with their index finger.
The researcher provided an example from Turkic-Mongolian mythology, discussing the Mongol myth of the archer Erkhii Mergen.
"The Mongols have a myth about the archer Erkhii Mergen, who shot down an extra sun in the sky and was turned into a marmot. His arrows now represent the plague. "Erkhii" means "thumb." When I read about this in books, I was surprised by this name. The archer is the thumb. It turns out this is precisely due to the significance of the thumb for Turkic-Mongolian archers," she shared.
Посмотреть эту публикацию в Instagram
Публикация от Зира Наурызбай (@ziranauryzbai)
She added that she herself practiced traditional archery and once even pulled her thumb when given a bow that was too heavy.
Earlier, VI World Nomad Games 2026 will be held in Kyrgyzstan.
The PhD candidate, recorded a video in which she explained that the archer in the promotional poster is shown drawing the bowstring with his index and middle fingers, similar to how medieval English archers did. Zira noted that this technique of tensioning the bowstring is characteristic of European archers and is connected to historical context.
"It is believed that the victory sign originated from this," the researcher pointed out.
However, according to Zira Nauryzbai, the technique used by steppe archers shooting from horseback was completely different: they drew the bowstring with their thumb, pressing it with their index finger.
The researcher provided an example from Turkic-Mongolian mythology, discussing the Mongol myth of the archer Erkhii Mergen.
"The Mongols have a myth about the archer Erkhii Mergen, who shot down an extra sun in the sky and was turned into a marmot. His arrows now represent the plague. "Erkhii" means "thumb." When I read about this in books, I was surprised by this name. The archer is the thumb. It turns out this is precisely due to the significance of the thumb for Turkic-Mongolian archers," she shared.
Посмотреть эту публикацию в Instagram
Публикация от Зира Наурызбай (@ziranauryzbai)
She added that she herself practiced traditional archery and once even pulled her thumb when given a bow that was too heavy.
Earlier, VI World Nomad Games 2026 will be held in Kyrgyzstan.