advantage of a bandage that is too wide:
"The little finger and the one next to it must grasp
the bow handle below the mushamma, while the middle
a n dfourth fingers must come between (?) the mushamma.
If then the mushamma is too wide, one cannot correctly
grasp the bow; aside from the fact that a waxed cloth
between the fingers causes trouble, it also spoils the shot.
If, on the contrary, the mushamma is too small, the grip,
in the palm of the hand, does not correctly find its place
on the root of the thum b, and the fist shows a tendency
to bend upwards. This causes the error called shalanmak,
in which the fist inclines upwards instead of downwards,
as it should."
CHAPTER VI TURKISH A R R O W S
The construction o f arrows was the domain o f die guild of arrow makers who a t the time of Murad IV had 300 members in 200 shops. Their pir was Omar ibn al- H attab, the second khalif, who during the time o f the Prophet is supposed to have disclosed methods of pro ducing straight arrows and applying the tips. Evliya mentions Abu Muhammed who was the bearer of the bows and arrows belonging to the Prophet, and who in rim** of peace was an arrow maker. The making of ar rows was highly regarded. We find among makers of arrows many high officials who were also good archers. Kani mentions, among others, the imam of the old palace, Mehmed Efendi, who was custodian o f the seal of die grand vezir Siyavush Pasha. The requirement cited by Ibn Bahtiyar that a good arrow maker must also be a capable archer is m et among those mentioned as well as in Kani himself, who not only made arrows but also made several record-breaking shots.
English arrows are classified by Horace Ford* as bob tailed, chested, barreled and straight. The Turks had simi lar kinds, but classified them not only according to the shape of the shaft, bu t also according to the kind of fletching and their use. The diameter of the shaft just forward of the nock, called the "neck” , is invariably smaller than that of the middle portion, called the "belly*’. In the "special form ” the middle third is thickest, and the end thirds are somewhat tapered. The "cord form" is cylindrical. The "candle form ” tapers somewhat towards the neck and much more towards the tip; the latter re sembles a rat tail. The practice arrow, hava gezi, is bob tailed. In his discussion of the types of shaft, Kani makes interesting remarks about air resistance. "Just as the fishes which swim with greatest speed are largest at the forward end, so it is also w ith land creatures which run
•Pord, “Archcry, iu Theory *o4 Prietk«, itlt, p. 14.
Turkish Arrows
7f
swiftly, like lion and greyhound: they are most fully developed in their anterior parts. Likewise, an arrow which is constructed along these lines, namely with large foreshaft, and tapering towards the nock, encounters the least air resistance; its speed is less reduced by air friction than is that of the candle form.'* Hein brings the com parison up-to-date by reference to the tear-drop form of streamlined automobile.
The sbeikh-iil-meidan, Hafiz, has said that the secret of shooting is not disclosed by descriptions, but that it depends on many factors—possibly even upon such in significant matters as the wrapping on the string. The act of shooting is a secret which admits of no exact des cription or comparison. Consequently no opportunity should be neglected o f determining by trial what kinds of arrows are best suited to the use and requirements of the archer.
In Kani’s time there were ten kinds of arrows in use, classified according to fletching. The vanes of Turkish arrows show characteristic differences, depending on the purpose for which the arrow was intended. Feathers of the swan, the eagle, the white and spotted pigeon, and of the cormorant were used. Both pinion and tail feathers were employed. Only the narrow or inner vane of the former was suitable for flight arrows. The shape of the feather on the arrow was "like a cudgel, or butterfly wing”. All three feathers must be from the same side of the bird, either right or left. "Those from the left wing are better for flight arrows, because they give the arrow higher velocity; those from the right wing give a flat trajectory, hence are better suited for target arrows. These cause the arrows to fly towards the right, while the left wing feathers cause deflection towards the left. Allowance must be made for these deflections in aiming". Lacking feathers, the fletcher sometimes used taffeta or batiste stiffened with thin glue. These artificial vanes were
not so durable as feathers, but otherwise probably suit able. Hie vanes of the feathers are stripped from the rib, and applied to die shaft immediately in front of the nock. One of the three is placed on the lip of the nock, the other two at 120° with reference to the first.
The flight arrow called pisbrev was the most important from our point of view. I t was a self arrow of pine, with a bone dp. Its nock was brazil wood, but occasionally wild goat's horn was substituted. The average length is reported to have been 20 digits* (62.2 cm or 24.? inches). The length of the feather was I digit, and its greatest height 1/3 digit. Most of the Turkish flight arrows in the Stone collection, and others that I have had oppor tunity of examining, are evidently pisbrev. Two other flight arrows were used, baki and kara batak. These are o f lesser quality and somewhat heavier than pisbrev. All were shot w ith a conditioned flight bow, b u t the pisbrev alone was used in tournam ent competition.
The azmayisb arrow, light and thin, w ith an iron point, was used by the seniors o f the guild. I t weighs 2% to yy2 dirhem, is 66 cm (26 in.) long and has swan's feathers. I t was used in shooting for prizes. A heavier azmayish is used for practice.
A target arrow puta, o f about the same length as the azmayish, has feathers 2 digits long and quite high. A modification of the puta arrow is called abrisb, which has strongly spiralled, high feather tu fts th a t "stick out like bristles**, cu rl around the shaft, and cause large air resistance (fig. 3 8 ). Its flight is slow. I t is intended only fo r practice. Because o f slow flight and short range, it m ay be closely observed, and thus reveals errors in the loose. A ny kind o f shaft may be provided w ith abrisb fletching. Repaired shafts are often used, which do not
* D ip t i* probably th a in co rrect te rm ; H a ia call* i t “ F inger der BaumeiiwreUa," literally “finger o f th « b u ild tr’i ell,” to w bieb t value o f abo ut 1.2) iacfa la aaenbad. D w p h c m u d i M arching, w« have failad t o ( a d m cocioa o f t k i ı a o i t «1t t w b m .
Turkish Arrows
77
fly well. To apply such fetching, a vane, »tripped from the rib, is wound about the shaft like a screw thread» ami glued in place. The trajectory of such an arrow is peculiar. I t begins its flight like an ordinary arrow, then rapidly or suddenly drops. Its short range makes it usable in small areas. I t is highly probable that the practice shooting by the secretary of the Turkish Ambassador in London, as described by W . Frankland in 179J (page 27) was done with abrtsb arrows.
Two kinds o f practice arrows without feathers had the generic nşume gez. The bava gezi, without a point, is otherwise like the puta. T hirty of these are called a bundle. They m ust all be alike, so that the learner may judge whether he is doing everything correctly. I f the arrows are unlike, he cannot tell whether a fault lies in himself or in the arrow. The torba gezi, with an iron tip, is shot into the "practice sack” only. Both gez arrows are shot with the practice bow.
The bone o r ivory tips were made from small pieces square in section, drilled to fit the tip of the shaft, and glued in place. The tips were then placed in hot ashes, not glowing, bu t hot enough to scorch the wood. After die pieces had been thus fastened to the shaft, they were trimmed down to proper size and shape with rasp and file. Iron tips had a tang th at was inserted in a hole drilled in the shaft. Glue was applied to the tang before insertion. The shaft was then p u t in hot ashes to dry and set the glue. Unless so treated, the tips failed to hold. Iron tips were coated w ith beeswax to prevent rusting.
The broadhead point is a digit long, and half as wide. Its weight should be between 1/7 and % th a t o f the shaft. If the point is too light, the arrow gads; if too heavy* the trajectory is short. Many years ago four and even six vanes were used, bu t experience showed that the larger number had no advantage over three.
Pine alone was used for arrows in Kani’s time. There a r e four suitable species that grow in the Orient. O f these four, the first has thin and closely-spaced layers o f grain, with very small “figuring”, and the color may be yellow or white. Second, there is coarse-grained wood with large figuring, used exclusively for the pishrev ar row. This kind of wood was valued so highly that occa sionally an old target arrow made from it, possibly an heirloom, was reworked into a superior flight arrow. Third, there was a kind of wood which, although sup posedly of the first kind, turned out to be much lighter than expected when the arrow was finished. For example, an arrow expected to weigh S dirhem m ight be only 4 to 4 y2 in weight. W ith a clean loose, this kind would fly- farther than the same kind o f greater weight. A fourth kind o f wood is o f brownish hue, after polishing, and manifests thin, narrow grain and scale-like figuring, some w hat like the pattern in w ater silk. This kind o f arrow was called pelenk, meaning tiger, possibly because of the figuring, although it was said th a t its high speed gave origin to the name. Good arrow wood m ust be dense, hard and straight-grained.
The tree intended for arrow wood should be more than 10 years old, and should be c u t during its period of dormancy. From the b u tt a length o f V/z ells is sawed, and this is split into billets about 2 digits square. A fter air drying for tw o months, the billets are fu rth er arti ficially seasoned, to make the wood as light as possible. They are stacked in a baking oven, held at exactly that tem perature which the craftsm an from long experience has found to be right. H ere they rem ain u ntil they turn yellowish and the pitch and rosin have oozed out of them. I f the wood is le ft too long, it "becomes lifeless, like char coal” ; if too short, the wood remains heavy and the ar rows made from it cannot fly w ith m axim um speed. A fter the oven treatm ent the billets are stacked for about
Turkish Arrows 79
te n days in a w ell-ventilated, d ry place» an d are th e n k e p t in d r y storage f o r th re e to five years. T h e lon g er th e y are th u s stored, even u p to 60 years, th e b e tte r are th e arro w s th a t are m ad e fr o m th em . B efore th e w ood is processed, i t is so rted f o r g ra in an d figuring.
Several arrow makers have gone even farth er in the precautions they have taken in cu ttin g trees fo r arrow wood. T hey have observed the direction of the prevail ing w ind to w hich the tree was exposed. For arrows to be used in the south w ind range, for example, they chose wood from a tree th a t had been exposed to a prevailing south wind. T hey believed th a t such arrows would attain greater speed and distance because of being accustomed to the south wind.
T he torba gezi arrows, used in the practice sack, in contrast w ith all others, were made of elm. This was bought in billets fro m dealers in wood, under the designa tion samanly. Good arrows result from finely figured wood, seasoned a t least three and preferably up to 20 years.
T he inordinate skill and painstaking w ork required in m aking good arrow s rendered such an arrow a highly prized possession, and its m aker was m uch respected. Much attention was paid to the m ending o r reconstruc tion o f broken arrows. T he process is described by Kani in some detail. M any o f the T urkish flight arrows in the collections I have seen have been repaired. Judging the superficial evidence» such arrows are as good as those that have n o t needed repair. Exam ination confirms a statement by Kani th a t breakage occurs most frequently in the foreshaft, on im pact w ith the ground. T o provide a new foreshaft or foot, a piece o f wood is selected which matches th a t o f the arrow as closely as possible in color, grain and figuring. Repair is still feasible when the broken section is as m uch as a span and fo u r fingerbreadths in length. W ith a special knife about a span long, keenly
sharpened, having a thin blade in the same plane with one side of the handle, the broken end is carefully trim med with a diagonal cut about three digits in length, similar to the cutting of a quill with a penknife. The piece selected for the repair is similarly cut. Both parts ace then carefully fitted by scraping and filing away all uneven places, and making the contiguous surfaces smooth and plane. After repeated applications of glue, the two parts are firmly pressed and bound together* When the glue is dry, the foot is finished as in a new arrow (fig. 37).
Similarly, a new arrow may be made from the salvaged parts o f two old ones. A fter much use, the foot o f an ar row becomes abraded and marred, and although this dam age is barely perceptible to the eye, it impedes the flight o f the shaft. A n arrow constructed from the parts o f two others may become a tournam ent arrow m uch prized by the seniors. According to Kani, however, an arrow made from new wood to the same shape and dimensions, will w ithout doubt fly farther than a reconstructed one.
In the making of new arrows, processing consists of cutting the desired piece from the billet, splitting it into sticks, and working the shaft to desired shape with a variety of planes. These are specialized in design, some with guide grooves and cutting edges shaped to the round* ed contour of the arrow. The block, kötük, shown in fig. 39 is an essential part of the arrow maker's work* bench, before which he sits on the floor. The inclined strip of wood supports the shaft while it is being planed.
The nock pieces were either separately glued to the shaft and well wrapped w ith sinew, or the nock was made of a single piece of hardwood or horn th a t had been glued to the shaft beforehand. Brazil wood was generally used, b u t this was varied w ith horn from the wild goat The sides of the nocks were slightly bulbous, b u t never exceeded in diameter th a t of the shaft a t its largest section. The sides or Mcheeks” of the nocks diminished in thick
Turkish Arrow t l ness towards the opening at the "lips”. The clearance between the lips was smaller than the width of the bot tom of the nock in which the string rested. The "corners” of the lips at the inner sides of the nock were well round ed) to facilitate nocking the arrow. The nock pieces were slightly yielding so that the nock in effect became a spring clip that snugly fitted the string and held the arrow se curely in its place. In general shape, the nock reminds one of a tulip blossom (fig. 37).
The arrow maker used a gage plate with openings of proper size for testing the roundness and diameters of the belly, the foot and the neck. He considered the arrow to be 24 units in length of which the first four, measured from the nock, comprise the neck; the next 10% con stitute the belly; the trouser extends to the 17th, and the remainder is the foot (fig. 39). The neck and foot are tapered with planes set very fine» and the shaft is turned continuously and rapidly while it is being planed. When the desired shape and size have been attained, the surface is smoothed with the ribs of feathers, then waxed and rubbed until the arrow is warm. To test its straight ness and roundness the artisan brings the nails of the thumb and middle finger of his left hand together, lays the shaft on them at its balance point, and gives it a spin with his right thumb and middle finger. The longer the arrow keeps spinning, the better the qualities being tested.
The center o f gravity o r balance point is found by balancing the arrow in a loop o f thread; its desired loca tion differs in different kinds o f arrows. A target arrow. puta, w ith its feathers, should balance a t its middle, after which the point is added. A ll other arrows are balanced without feathers o r dps. These are added later. A prac tice shaft, gez, o f candle form , w ith point and nock pieces, is balanced two digits behind the middle; o f cord form, at the middle. A n arrow w ith a thick foot requires no extra tip or point. In some cases lead is inserted in a