Gladen Jemparingan or Competitions

By Edgar Freire (Ecuador)

Once you have been accepted into a jemparingan group, in order to gain some skills you should practice regularly. I would say that each person develops his own technique, you are taught the grounds yet it is up to you to choose what technique or style suits you the best. When you start getting confident and familiar with the practice, eventually you will be invited to join a Gladen. A Gladen or competition is carried out at some sasana's court or a field adapted to it. They are various all around Jogjakarta and surroundings. Each gladen has rules, however between the basic ones are:

  • The distance to the target is up to 30 meters.
  • The bandul or target has 3 parts with different score: the upper red part (molo): 3 points; middle yellow part (neck/leher): 2 points; the white part (body): 1 point.
  • Only four arrows can be shot.
  • The number of rounds is 20.
  • Contestants should use (sometimes mandatorily) traditional javanese clothes (blangkon, sufjan, jarik).
  • Smoking while picking the arrows from the target is not allowed.
  • The gendewo and anak panah (bow and arrows) have to be traditional and with the right measures and materials. 
  • Some gladen have limited time to shot the arrows.



The number of contestants depends on the court size. At a large court it could be around 300 archers. At a small one, around 60 archers. Men and women can participate, however the number of female participants is not that large. Sometimes, there especial competitions only for men and only for women. The prizes, for those who get more points are divided in male, female and sometimes kids categories. There are first, second and third places. 
Everytime you get to the target in a round, the point is registered and you can claim a little prize according to your points. You can get a sachet of coffee, soap or some snack.

During the last months I have joined 3 gladen. As I am not an expert, I have gained 1 to 4 four pointa during the 20 rounds. Experienced archers usually get around 15 to 30 points. This is an unforgettable experience, let me tell you. I do not feel "competitive" in the sense that there is no feeling or fierce competition. It is a traditional practice, where members of a community gather to have fun and enjoy it. 




Are you already curious about this practice? Want to give it a go? Do not hesitate to leave your comments. See you in my next post.


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