Most readers approach Meghalaya Teer through its daily numbered result and never get a clear picture of the actual equipment that produces that number. Yet Teer is, at its core, an archery sport — and the bows, arrows, targets and counting tools used at recognised grounds are as specific and as standardised as the gear used in any other archery discipline. Understanding the teer archery equipment is the most direct way to understand why a Teer round looks and behaves the way it does.
This article walks through the physical kit used at recognised Teer shoots in Meghalaya: the traditional bamboo bows, the arrows, the target bales and frames, the counting and recording tools, and the protective gear archers wear. The aim is a sober sports-equipment explainer — what the gear is, how it is constructed, what its specifications typically are, and how each piece contributes to producing a round's official number. By the end, the question "what equipment is used in teer" should have a complete, concrete answer.
The defining piece of teer archery gear is the traditional bamboo longbow. This is not a modern Olympic recurve, not a compound bow with cams and let-off, and not a synthetic-limb hunting bow. It is a hand-crafted longbow built by village bowyers in the Khasi and Jaintia hills, using techniques passed down through families and refined over generations of village shoots.
The basic construction is simple but exacting. A length of mature, seasoned bamboo is selected for grain consistency, dried under controlled conditions, then shaped, scraped and tillered — the limb-balancing process — until both halves of the bow bend symmetrically when drawn. The handle section, in the centre, is left thicker than the working limbs. A nock is cut at each tip to seat the bowstring. The whole bow is then finished with oils, plant resins or modern protective coatings to resist humidity, which matters in Meghalaya's wet climate.
Typical Teer bow dimensions sit in a moderate range. Total length of around 1.5 to 1.8 metres is common, well-suited to standing-shoot postures from a fixed line. Draw weights typically fall between 18 and 28 kilograms — heavy enough to push an arrow firmly into a tightly-bound target bale at the shooting distance, light enough that an archer can sustain dozens of repeated draws over the round window without losing accuracy to fatigue. The bowstring is traditionally made from twisted natural fibre, though modern synthetic strings have become more common at busier grounds.
Teer arrows are also bamboo. A typical shaft is straight-grained, around 70 to 80 centimetres long, and roughly 8 to 10 millimetres in diameter, selected and straightened by a fletcher before being finished. Three feather fletchings — usually from common waterfowl or domestic birds — are bound near the nock end with thread or fine cord, set at an even angle to provide rotation in flight. The nock itself is typically a simple cut into the shaft, sometimes reinforced with a bound thread wrapping to prevent splitting.
Arrowheads are deliberately blunt-pointed metal tips, secured to the shaft with adhesive or a tightly-bound socket. The point profile is designed to seat firmly in the target bale without splintering it: too sharp and arrows would slice through the binding, too dull and they would bounce. Each fletcher tunes their stock for the type of bale used at their local ground.
Arrows are produced in batches and quality-checked before any recognised round, because arrow consistency directly affects how cleanly each shaft seats in the target, which in turn affects the count. A warped shaft, a loose fletching or a poorly-set head can convert what would have been a clean hit into a glancing bounce, removing that arrow from the count even though the archer aimed and loosed correctly. For more on how the count translates into the daily figure, see our piece on how the Shillong Teer result is declared.
📐 Why bamboo, not aluminium or carbon? Modern aluminium and carbon arrows used in Olympic archery are far more uniform than bamboo, but they are also expensive and behave differently against a soft bale target. Bamboo arrows are cheap to produce locally, easy to repair, biodegradable, and behave consistently with the type of bale construction used at Teer grounds. The traditional-equipment requirement also keeps the sport tied to its village-archery roots.
The target itself is the bale — a tightly-bound cylindrical mass of compressed grass, hay or dried plant material, wrapped and tied with rope, twine or jute cord. Bale construction is itself a specialist craft, and at the better-known grounds it is taken seriously, because the bale's mechanical properties determine whether arrows seat cleanly or bounce off.
A typical bale is roughly 50 to 60 centimetres in diameter and stands about a metre high, mounted on a wooden frame at a fixed distance from the shooting line. The frame keeps the bale upright and at a consistent height — usually with the centre of the target at roughly chest height for an average-stature archer. Mounting hardware varies from simple lashed wooden uprights at smaller grounds to permanent metal frames at larger, established counters.
The bale's job is purely mechanical: stop arrows. A well-built bale is dense enough that an arrow loosed from a moderate-draw bow will lodge firmly in it, but compliant enough that the arrow does not bounce off or split the binding. Bale lifespan varies — heavily used bales are repaired, repacked and eventually replaced, with the timing depending on round volume at that ground.
Distance from the shooting line to the target is one of the most carefully maintained dimensions in Teer. The shooting line is a clearly demarcated boundary on the ground, and the bale frame is set at a fixed distance from it. Standard practice at recognised grounds places the bale somewhere in the range of 18 to 25 metres from the shooting line, depending on the specific ground's tradition. Once set, the distance does not change between rounds, because changing it would change the difficulty of the shot and so would change the structure of the count.
Archers stand or kneel along the shooting line in fixed positions assigned by the association running the round. Each archer has a line of sight to the bale, with peripheral neighbours close enough that loosing happens in overlapping waves rather than as isolated shots. The visual impression at a recognised ground during an active round is a steady percussion of arrows striking the bale, with counters waiting for the round close.
A Teer round is not an open-ended shoot. It runs for a fixed time window — typically 15 to 20 minutes for a single round — during which each archer looses a specified number of arrows. The number of arrows per archer is set by association rules, with common figures in the range of 30 to 50 arrows per round per archer. Multiplied across a roster of 30 to 50 licensed archers, a single round typically generates somewhere between 1,000 and 2,500 arrows fired at the bale.
Not all of those arrows will lodge. Misses, glancing bounces, arrows that fall short, and arrows that strike previously-lodged shafts and deflect away all reduce the seating rate. The remaining arrows — those that have firmly seated in the bale at round close — are the ones that get counted. Round timings, ordering, and the gap between First Round and Second Round are the same kind of structural details we cover in the teer timing and schedule guide.
The counting process at the close of a round is deliberately simple. Designated counters — appointed by the association and witnessed by other officials — approach the bale once the shooting line has been cleared. They physically inspect the bale and count the lodged arrows one by one, often pulling each arrow out as they count to avoid double-counting. Tally marks on a counting sheet, mechanical clickers or simply a verbal running count are used at different grounds; the tools are basic and the integrity comes from witnessing.
The total is then taken modulo 100 — that is, only the last two digits of the count become the round's official number. A count of 437 lodged arrows produces a result of 37. A count of 800 produces 00. A count of 2,189 produces 89. This is why Teer numbers run from 00 to 99 and not from 0 to whatever the total actually was. The two-digit modulo result is what gets recorded, announced and published as the round's First Round (FR) or Second Round (SR) number, depending on which round it was. We unpack the FR/SR mechanic in detail in the FR and SR meaning explainer.
The dimensions and specifications discussed above, summarised in a single reference table for quick comparison.
| Equipment | Typical Specification | Material |
|---|---|---|
| Bow length | 1.5 – 1.8 metres | Seasoned bamboo |
| Bow draw weight | 18 – 28 kilograms | Bamboo limbs, fibre or synthetic string |
| Arrow shaft length | 70 – 80 centimetres | Straight-grained bamboo |
| Arrow shaft diameter | 8 – 10 millimetres | Bamboo, finished with thread bindings |
| Arrowhead | Blunt-pointed metal tip | Steel or iron, socketed onto the shaft |
| Fletching | 3 feathers near the nock | Waterfowl or domestic-bird feathers |
| Target bale diameter | 50 – 60 centimetres | Compressed grass, hay or dried plant material |
| Target bale height | ~1 metre | Bound with rope, twine or jute cord |
| Shooting distance | 18 – 25 metres (ground-specific) | Demarcated line to bale frame |
| Round window | 15 – 20 minutes | Per round (FR or SR) |
| Arrows per archer per round | 30 – 50 | Set by association rules |
| Roster size per round | ~30 – 50 licensed archers | From recognised associations |
Personal protective gear is minimal compared with Olympic disciplines. The most common item is a finger tab or simple leather grip used by the drawing hand to protect the fingers from string burn after dozens of repeated releases. Some archers also wear a forearm guard on the bow arm — a flat leather strip strapped to the inside of the forearm — to prevent the bowstring from slapping the arm as it springs forward after release. Beyond that, the personal kit is essentially the archer's own clothing.
Range safety at recognised Teer grounds depends primarily on the discipline of the shooting line and on association control of the area downrange of the bale. The shooting line is clearly demarcated, kept clear of bystanders, and respected by everyone present once a round begins. Counters and other officials approach the bale only after the line has been confirmed cleared, never during active shooting.
Behind the equipment used at any recognised Teer ground are the village-craft trades that produce it. Bowyers — the craftspeople who shape and tiller bamboo bows — work largely in the Khasi and Jaintia hills, often as part-time specialists alongside other agricultural or trade work. Fletchers — who produce arrows in batches — are similarly distributed, with many associated informally with particular archery clubs or grounds.
Both trades involve genuine skill and are part of the wider Khasi archery cultural ecosystem rather than a modern industrial supply chain. A bow that bends symmetrically and an arrow that flies straight are not produced by accident; they are produced by a craftsperson who knows their bamboo. The continued availability of skilled bowyers and fletchers is one of the quiet preconditions for the modern Teer system continuing to function. Our deep-dive into Meghalaya archery culture places these trades in their broader context.
For anyone familiar with Olympic-tier archery, the contrast with Teer's gear is sharp. Olympic recurve uses a manufactured aluminium-and-carbon riser, fibreglass-and-carbon limbs with precise specifications, sights, stabilisers, button rests, plunger systems, finger tabs with platforms, chest guards, custom-spined carbon arrows with screw-in points, and individual scoring at distinct numbered ring targets. The whole apparatus is engineered for individual precision at known long distances.
Teer's traditional bamboo longbow, bamboo arrows and unringed bale target are built for a different purpose: collective shooting at moderate range to produce a count, not individual ring-scored precision shots. Neither system is "better" — they are designed to do different things. Teer's equipment serves the count and the cultural lineage. Olympic recurve serves precision individual scoring under World Archery rules. The two are different sports, despite the shared root activity of loosing arrows at a target.
Traditional bamboo longbow, bamboo arrows with feather fletching, bound-grass target bale, no sights or stabilisers, basic finger tab and arm guard for personal protection.
Engineered aluminium-and-carbon riser, fibreglass-carbon limbs, sight, stabilisers, button rest, custom carbon arrows, full chest and arm protection, ring-scored targets.
Meghalaya's climate is humid and seasonally wet, which puts unusual strain on bamboo equipment. Bows that are not properly oiled or stored can warp; bowstrings, even synthetic ones, lose tension over prolonged damp; arrow shafts can develop micro-warps that throw flight. Fletcher's feather fletchings can lose their set when soaked and re-dried unevenly. Bales become heavier when wet, then dry unevenly, sometimes hardening in patches that affect arrow seating.
As a result, equipment maintenance is part of the regular routine at any recognised Teer ground. Bows are inspected and oiled, bowstrings replaced periodically, arrows checked and re-fletched as needed, bales repaired and replaced. The routine is not glamorous but it is essential — the count cannot be trusted if the equipment is failing, and the integrity of the round depends on the equipment performing within its expected envelope.
A Teer number does not appear from nowhere. It is the modulo-100 count of arrows seated in a tightly-bound grass bale, produced by 30 to 50 licensed archers shooting bamboo longbows over a fixed time window from a marked line at a fixed distance, with arrows handcrafted by local fletchers and a counting process witnessed by association officials. Every part of that chain — the bow, the arrow, the bale, the line, the timing, the count — is concrete and inspectable.
This is what people mean when they describe Teer as a sport rather than a draw. The teer archery equipment is real, the teer bow arrow target setup is physical, and the result is the measurable output of a recurring athletic event. Understanding the gear is the cleanest way to understand what makes a Teer round different from any other numbered outcome an outsider might compare it to.
Teer archers use traditional bamboo longbows, hand-crafted by village bowyers across the Khasi and Jaintia hills. Typical bow length is 1.5 to 1.8 metres, with draw weights between 18 and 28 kilograms. Construction relies on seasoned bamboo for the limbs and a natural-fibre or modern synthetic bowstring. These are not Olympic recurve or compound bows; they belong to a regional traditional-archery family refined over generations of village shoots.
A typical Teer arrow runs around 70 to 80 centimetres in shaft length, made from straight-grained bamboo, with three feather fletchings near the nock end. Arrowheads are simple metal tips, blunted enough not to splinter the bale but pointed enough to seat firmly. Arrows are produced in batches by local fletchers and quality-checked before a recognised round, since arrow consistency directly affects how cleanly each shaft seats in the target.
The target is a tightly bound cylindrical bale, traditionally constructed from compressed grass, hay or dried plant material wrapped with rope or twine. The bale is roughly 50 to 60 centimetres in diameter and stands a metre or more in height, mounted on a wooden frame at the far end of the shooting lane. Its job is to stop arrows cleanly so the count is unambiguous — too soft and arrows pass through, too hard and they bounce.
After the round closes and the shooting line is cleared, designated counters approach the target. They physically inspect the bale, count the arrows that have lodged in it, and record the total. Only arrows that have stuck in the bale qualify. The total is taken modulo 100, so a count of 437 produces a result of 37, a count of 800 produces 00. The counted figure is then announced as the round's official number.
Roster size varies by ground and by round, but a typical recognised Teer shoot involves around 30 to 50 licensed archers shooting together within a fixed time window, each loosing roughly 30 to 50 arrows in that window. The exact roster, position assignments and arrow allocations are handled by the archery association running the ground, under the licensing framework set by the state.
No. Recognised Teer rounds are shot with traditional bamboo longbows, not modern compound or Olympic-style recurve bows. The traditional-equipment requirement is part of how the sport preserves its character — a Teer round is meant to look and behave like the village archery contests from which it descends. Equipment uniformity also keeps the count meaningful as a measure of collective archer performance.
Most archers use a simple finger tab or leather grip to protect the drawing hand, and some wear an arm guard on the bow arm to reduce string slap. Beyond that, traditional Teer archery does not use the elaborate protective rigs seen in Olympic disciplines. The shooting line itself is the main safety feature — clearly demarcated, kept clear of bystanders, and respected by everyone present at the ground while a round is in progress.
The current First Round and Second Round numbers from the Shillong counter, declared as the day's archery rounds are completed and counted at the ground.
View Shillong Teer Result →