Part 61 - Archery and fishing at HA with Tobgye; rain and eagle owl sighting

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SUMMARY:
A rainy day at HA included archery practice with Tobgye, during which an eagle owl was seen but not taken. The party used a local fish-catching method with a V-shaped stone barricade and bamboo cone, followed by wrestling, races, other games, and a Tibetan dinner with Tobgye and his lama at the Dzong.

CONTENT:
28
Reportage Excellent

being within a couple of yards of the mark. It rained all the time we were out, and became so heavy we had to stop. Tobgye tea'd with us here and stayed the evening.

13th June. HA. Rain most of the morning. Went down the valley at 9.30, back at 12.0. No birds, but I saw and tried to shoot an eagle owl - the only owl we have seen in Bhutan so far.
B. 9. finished.

Archery at HA. (Poor light, raining slightly).
After lunch Tobgye arrived and took us off for more archery practice, which we went on with for more than an hour. There were only a dozen or so out shooting, but we are promised a day when women folk will turn out. Apparently the women, who don't shoot, enjoy the tamasha a lot. And woe betide the man who holds his bow upside down: he will be turned upside down too, and dipped in the river.

B. 10. Local method of catching fish by driving them up or down stream, and into a cone placed at the point of a V barricade of stones and men.
Later the schoolboys all turned up, and we did some fishing. A stretch of about 60 yds of a side stream was chosen: then a close line of men walked up stream beating the water and hissing. At the other end of the stretch 8-10 men made a V shaped barrier of stones, and at the point, put a submerged bamboo cone. When the beaters got close to this, they ran in, and the fish were forced into the cone. We collected 20-30 like this in one bout. After this, we watched wrestling matches, and I took on one man myself: relay races followed, and all sorts of other games. Tobgye finished up after we left with some "cricket" practice. We finished the day with dinner - Tibetan - with Tobgye and his lama at the Dzong.