Are Tsips essential to win?
21 April 2005 - Spectators watching the second day of the finals of the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck Memorial traditional archery tournament on
April 17 in Thimphu observed a strange scene.
Archers from both teams refused to enter the Changlimithang archery range believing that entering the range before the opponent would
result in defeat.
The teams were even penalised, points were deducted, by the archery federation for causing unnecessary delay but it was an ample display
of the role of superstitious beliefs in the national sport.
The word of the Tsip (astrologer), the omnious body behind matches, is still strong in Bhutanese games like khuru, degor, and archery.
But it is more pronounced in archery. In the recent tournament too, teams sought help from Tsips. During the semi finals one team reportedly
hired a powerful Tsip of another competing team. The team, which had hired the Tsip won.
“We learnt later that our rival team used the other team’s Tsip to defeat us in the semi finals,” an archer told Kuensel. “We also tried to seek a
Paw from Thimphu but by the time we reached Thimphu he had already left. We heard that he was reportedly threatened by one of the finalist
teams.”
Some veteran archers said that even if they have seeded players they do not feel secure and confident without invoking local deities or
consulting a Tsip. “To get a good Tsip you have to pay more,” said a veteran archer who added that in one tournament they hired a Tsip for Nu.
35,000. “It was worth it because we won the tournament.”
Some archers feel that such a practice should be stopped immediately. Archers have suggested that the Bhutan Archery Federation (BAF)
should, instead of making fixture a lucky dip system, declare the matches for the day just before the match begins so that teams do not try and
harm each other by invoking spiritual powers. “Nowadays our tournament have turned into a spiritual war,” an archer who lost in the semi
finals told Kuensel.
The second day of the finals of the memorial tournament was delayed by hours when the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement and the
Royal Bhutan Police Draduel team refused to enter the range. As penalty, 13 points were deducted from both the teams.
Despite losing 13 points the Lungta (luck) in the second day favoured the ministry’s team that finished the second game at 25-4 after three
hours. A day earlier the archers of the ministry’s team finished the first game at 25-21 and in the second game it had scored 20 points while
Draduel was struck at nine points when the day was over.
Nima Tenzin of the Draduel team was declared the best archer, bagging a Druk Air return ticket to Bangkok and three nights of
accommodation.
The award for highest Dobji (double hit) went to Rinchen Dorji of Genyen Pinsum who also bagged a Druk Air return ticket to Bangkok and
three nights of accommodation.
Ngedup Dorji of CHPC won the prize for highest daya and the prize for highest karey in one day went to Thinley of Bhutan Power Corporation.
The president of the Bhutan Archery Federation, Lyonpo Kinzang Dorji, awarded the prizes to the winner and runner-up teams.
By Rinzin Wangchuk
rwangchuk@kuensel.com.bt
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