When the Kingdom of Bhutan joined the United Nations in 1971, archery was designated as its national sport. Indeed, archery in Bhutan is a rich part of the cultural fabric, as the traditional archery matches are community-wide events involving song, dance, food, and drink.
But both internal and external factors have begun to change the face of traditional game in Bhutan. For one, compound bows and aluminum arrows imported from the USA have become extremely popular in Bhutan, but they are much more dangerous than the traditional bamboo bows and arrows. In addition, in an effort to perform better at international-level archery competitions, the Bhutan Archery Federation has begun a grassroots campaign to introduce Olympic-style archery in every school in Bhutan by the year 2020.
Kingdom of Archers explores the many facets of archery in Bhutan and addresses the challenges of cultural preservation against the forces of modernization, westernization, and economic development.