If you have ever walked in Josaphat Park in Schaerbeek, you have probably noticed large metal masts surmounted by a cage, not far from the Saint-Sébastien bar. Vivre Ici explains why they are there and what they are used for.
To find the answer to our question, we met the members of the Saint-Sébastien guild to make you discover this unusual sport.. These metal poles are actually poles that Guild archers use every Wednesday to practice vertical archery.
Xavier Boulet, president of the Saint-Sébastien guild, welcomes us with a smile. He’s been shooting for 35 years and remembers his first bird like it was yesterday. “Once you have the archery virus, it never leaves you!” This sentence, we will hear it several times throughout the afternoon that we spent with the archers of the guild.
The Saint-Sébastien guild would have been established in Schaerbeek in 1598, according to the municipality. The presence of metal masts in Josaphat Park is more recent since they were installed in 1919. For the record: ” In the Middle Ages, guilds of archers and crossbowmen fought alongside rulers in times of war and kept cities safe in times of peace. […] With the arrival of the Renaissance, having lost their function of national and local defense, the guilds no longer practice archery and crossbow except as a hobby and organize competitions for approval. The “bird shooting” or “papegay game” is then practiced by archers and crossbowmen, to which will be added later the arquebusiers ” can we read on the site of the municipality of Schaerbeek. Centuries later, the archers of the guild perpetuate this tradition of bird shooting, in the heart of Josaphat Park.
And yet, the more the years go by, the fewer the members of the guild. 35 years ago, when Xavier Boulet joined the guild, there were more than 50 members at the time. Today, there are about thirty of them: We are 32 members but they are not all archers anymore. Our dean, for example, he no longer shoots. He is 96 years old and has been a member for over 80 years! He is our oldest member. His children are also archers from father to son. They are an important family in our guild. “ The members of the guild are French and Dutch speaking and recently there are also women, whose presence was prohibited within the guild a few centuries ago. Many within the shooting society regret the lack of interest in their sport: ” Generally speaking, people lack the imagination and curiosity to keep traditions alive” explains Mc Cloud Zicmuse, the current king of the guild. “It’s true that it’s a lesser-known sport than football, but it’s addictive and good for your health! It’s a wonderful sport and I will be really very sad if it were to be lost. “
