Manah: Symbolism of Jemparingan

By Edgar Freire (Ecuador)


Beyond the Bullseye

Jemparingan is more than just hitting the target. During these few months I have been exploring the symbolism embedded in this ancient art. The court, the target, the archer's position and movements, the bow and arrows, etc., have a deep meaning.

At the beginning, I used to focus on the technique, acquiring a good technique to shoot arrows and get the target or the area close to the target. After a while, I realized that the disposition the shot arrows is a radiography of yourself: of your state of being, your expectations, your inner feeling, how calm you are, how focused you are... More important than getting on the target, became the idea of that all my arrows (4 of them in a round) should be targeted on only one spot. It shows you the level of your concentration and calmness of your heart. Breathing is essential: before releasing the arrow, you have to get one with the target (bandul), hold your breath and connect your heart (manah) with the target. It is not easy at all, but if you get too serious about it, you are going to lose the fun of this activity. Keep calm, keep focused, but also keep a happy and quiet heart.

The bandul is a representation of yourself, of your ego. Reaching the target is reaching to yourself. The more expert you get on this practice, the more questions and issues arise. You could be wrong if you think that always getting the target is a sign that you have become a focused, spiritual person. It is far from that. The ego is always a tramp, it is tricky. Overconfidence and pride can lead you to wrong paths. So, jemparingan for me, it is a practice of self-discovering, and learning. Would you like to give it a go? Would you like to join a jemparingan competition? Read my next post :-)

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