Mongol Naadam Text and Thumbnails
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The Center for the Study
of Eurasian Nomads (CSEN)
|
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NADAAM FESTIVAL
The Nadaam festival, or
eriyn gurvan nadaam
, is
the biggest festival of the year for Mongolians. Usually occuring in July,
it runs for three days in all parts of the country and highlights the greatest
athletes in horse racing, archery, and wrestling: Mongolia's mo
st popular
sports. Women participate in all but the wrestling category. The word
Nadaam
means game or competition in Mongolian. Competitions take place days on
the first two and merry-making is reserved for the third.
![](/web/20080713220451im_/http://www.csen.org/Mongol.Nadaam/Mongol.warrior.tn.jpeg)
This festival has been held for centuries as a form of
memorial celebration, as an annual sacrificial ritual honoring vari
ous mountain
gods or to celebrate a community endeavor.
The festivities kick off with a colorful parade of athletes,
monks, soldiers marching in perfect uniformity, musicians performing powerful
military tunes, and Mongolians dressed in Chinggis-style warrior uniforms.
HORSE RACES
Mongolians have a high regard for horses since, for centuries,
they have relied on them for transport, sustenance, and companionship. During
the races, up to 1,000 horses ca
n be chosen to compete. The horse races are broken
down into six categories based on the age of the horses. For example, two-year-old
horses race for 10 miles (16 kilometers) and seven-year-olds for 17 miles
(30 kilometrs). The race is conducted on the open grasslands with no set
track or course. Children from the ages of 5 to 13 are chosen as jockeys
since this guarantees that the race tests the horses skill and not the riders.
The small size of the jockeys also increases the horses'
endurance.
Even still, jockeys train for months before Nadaam and the horses are given
a special diet. The winning jockey is praised with the title
tumny ekh
or "leader of ten thousand" and the five winning horses are talked
about and revered in poetry and music. The losing two-year-old horse is
also alloted special attention by being serenaded with a song. Music is
very important before the race too, as the audience sings traditional songs
and the the jockeys sing a pre-race song called a
gingo.
Eating
and drinking is the other "sport" during the Nadaam festival.
The horse races are held in the steppes behind these people who stop to
drink tea and
arak
, fermented mares' milk. Cold meat pancakes, called
khuurshuur
, ice cream, bread, and fruits are other popular festival
foods.
ARCHERY
The sport of archery originated around the 11th century,
during the time of Khanate warfare. Contestants dress in traditional costumes
and use a be
nt
bo
w
constructed of horn, bark, and wood. The arrows, made from willow branches
and vulture feathers are shot at round, leather targets with grey, yellow
or red rings. Men must stand 75 meters and women 60 meters from the target.
Judges, standing near the targets, assess each shot with a cry, called a
uukhai,
and a raised hand. The winning archer, or
mergen,
is
the one who hits the targets the most times.
WRESTLING
The wrestling competitions begin around noon on the first
day of the festival and end on the second day. They are quit unlike American
wrestling matches in form an have other tw
o important differences. First, there are no weight
divisions. A small wrestler can be pitted against someone two times his
weight. This can lead to some very interesting matches. Second, there are
no time limits.
The
loser of a match is the wrestler who falls first. A fall is when any part
of a wrestlers body, except his hands or feet, touches the ground.
Titles are given to winners of a number of rounds:
Falcon
to those winning five rounds,
Elephant
for seven rounds, and
Lion
to the one winning the whole tournament.
One elite wrestler was once given the title "Eye-Pleasing
Nat
ionally
Famous Mighty and Invincible Giant." Wrestlers honor the judges and
their attendants with a dance called
devekh,
or eagle dance.
The
winner also performs the eagle dance after the loser of the bout takes off
his jacket and walks under the winner's arm. Wrestlers wear small, over
the shouler vests called
zodog
, and snug shorts called
shuudag
.
The heavy, traditional Mongolian boots are called
gutuls.