The Tradition of Wipschieten in Leefdaal

A glimpse into the wonderfully quaint Belgian custom of wipschieten that takes place every year in the village of Leefdaal in Flemish Brabant.

“Wipschieten” is a typically Belgian type of archery. The idea is for archers to hit a perched bird (a bunch of coloured feathers). The successful archer is crowned the King of Wipschieten.

Sounds fairly straightforward, you may think, as you conjure up images of Robin Hood lookalikes taking aim and unleashing hails of arrows.

But think again. Because the target bird is actually stuck onto the end of a 27-meter pole (the wip) which is then hoisted into the air.

The archers are thus not shooting horizontally, but VERTICALLY upwards into the sky!

And if your first thought – like mine – is what happens when the arrows return to earth, don’t worry, the arrows are either corked or blunted, to prevent injury. At least that’s the theory.

Every year in Leefdaal on the first Sunday in July, the village turns out en masse to discover who is to be crowned the Wipschieten King. But in Leefdaal they don’t things by halves, they have centuries-old traditions built around wipschieten. The entire village dresses up in traditional clothing, and parades through the village to the wipschieten field in three social groups, led by the local wind band.

The Jefkes are the unmarried men. The Pekes are the married men. And the Mekes are the women. In the past, the event was for the Jefkes to show themselves as marriageable young men to the Mekes.

Then it’s time for the Jefkes to take up their longbows, squint into the sun, carefully evaluate any cross-wind, take aim, and shoot their blunted or corked arrows at the distant target in the sky.

Who is going to knock the bird off the wip and be crowned King?

The 2024 winner of the Jefkes was Jordy Biddeloo.

But wait: Jordy is obviously a master at this sport, because he was crowned King of the Leefdaal Wipschieten Championship in 2022 and 2023.

Having won it for three years in a row, this means Jordy is more than a mere King: he is Wipschieten Emperor!

Click on this link to watch a short video of Emperor Jordy’s winning shot and his resulting jubilation. (Scroll down to the video at the end of the report). There’s some great football-style celebrations there!

And here is a short video of the procession of the Leefdaal wind band and the Jefkes in 2022.

I think it’s great that these ancient customs are maintained. Thanks to Johan Morris and his website which has a lot of interesting information (in Dutch) on this topic.

Where to stay in Leefdaal

Leefdaal does not have any B&Bs I can recommend, but there are some excellent ones nearby:

• B&B Aline Florentine, Annonciadenstraat 27, 3078 Kortenberg: “I travel regularly to work in Brussels from the UK. This is one of best accommodations I’ve stayed in and I’ll definitely be back.”
• B&B Baron’s House, Kapelweg 6, 3040 Neerijse: “Exceptional location, friendly staff, overall great experience! Breakfast was great, there is a lot to do in the area!”
• B&B Vallis Dyliae, Nijvelsebaan 258, 3060 Korbeek-Dijle: “A charming place with its tranquility and picturesque location near the Dyle River and a nature reserve.”
• B&B Bertem Natuur, Oude Baan 19, 3060 Leuven: My parents stayed here a few years ago and were highly satisfied with it.

Other accommodation in the area can be checked out by using this link:

Denzil Walton

I created Discovering Belgium in 2011 to share the country’s hidden stories, fascinating places, and remarkable people. Through articles, photography, and audio walks, I share discoveries that reveal Belgium beyond the obvious. Hope you enjoy this site.