Jemparingan archery

Jemparingan was originally played only by members of Yogyakarta’s royal family and others considered noble in the complex hierarchy of Javanese society.

It is played with all the archers sitting in a row cross-legged. Instead of aiming at a circular target with a bulls-eye, archers fire their arrows at a stick made of sponge and hay wrapped in cloth measuring 33 centimetres that represents a person.

The top section is red and is supposed to be the head, the part below is yellow, representing the neck, and the rest is white, for the body. An archer gets most points for hitting the head. When the arrow hits the tiny target, a bell rings to inform the archer — who is sitting 30 metres away — of his success.

Jemparingan is not just physical exercise, however, but also a workout for the soul. In its most traditional form, the string is drawn down to the chest instead of to the tip of the mouth like in the modern style, a method that is meant to exercise calm and concentration.

Loading, aiming and firing the arrow requires concentration and patience, and the sport teaches people about hard work and to focus on goals instead of enemies, according to its proponents.

Archery is one of the few disciplines where Indonesia has excelled in international competition — the country won its first ever Olympic medal in archery, a silver, at the Seoul Games in 1988.