Johan busy building a Combretum bow.

A fine riser made by Johan.

Combretum bows.

A Combretum bow at full draw.

By Rean Steenkamp

I met Johan van der Merwe about two years ago when he made a delivery to ABH&A’s offices for his wife, José. Johan expressed an interest in bowhunting and said he wanted to build a blind on his farm, since he had to cull excess impala. Because the farm was small, however, he was concerned that rifle hunting would not be ideal on such a small piece of land. I gave him a few ABH&A magazines and an article by Cleve Cheney on building a blind.

Johan soon met up with Jaco Wessels, a well-known traditional archer, bowhunter and bowyer, who lives on a farm close to his. When I met Johan again, I was astounded at how quickly he had taken to traditional archery – all Jaco’s doing. Johan told me he had taken up the longbow and built a blind, but what amazed me most was when he said he was building fibreglass-laminated longbows! Clearly, this was no ordinary fellow. He is a true man of the veldt, who spends his time making bows and taking people on flights in his microlight aircraft to view game on the ranches in his area.

Johan grew up on a farm in the De Wildt area, between Pretoria and Brits. He says he grew up like a little San bushman, and was fascinated by the lifestyle of these interesting and original inhabitants of southern Africa. He read the books of Jan van der Post who, just like the well-known Sir Lourens van der Post, wrote many books on the lifestyle of the San. Johan made many bows from the brandy bush (Grevia flava) and taught himself to track. He even searched for ingredients, such as the pupae, which the bushmen used to make poison. When Jaco introduced him to traditional archery years later, Johan took to it like a fish to water and very quickly became proficient in the sport. He chose traditional archery because of its simplicity and the greater challenge it offers. He loved the art so much he decided to make building these bows his occupation and has not looked back since.

Johan names his fine longbows after an indigenous African tree, the Combretum. Many traditionalists in South Africa are now the proud owner of a Combretum bow.

Johan van der Merwe can be contacted at 083 544 7042.