Name: Mongolian naadam festival Date: 11-13 June
Naadam festival is an age old celebration of the test of courage, strength, dexterity, and marksmanship of the nomads. It is held annually from July ‘1 1- 1 3th throughout the country. The three “manly games” consist of horse racing, wrestling and archery. The race is over 30 km in distance and is raced by young riders some as young as six years old. Wresting starts with traditional “eagle dance” that is supposed to lift the wrestlers spirit. Archery dates back to the times of Chinggis Khaan’s warriors. People also compete in ankle bone shooting.
Horse racing:
In average, 400 horses of six age categories, or 2400 horses participate in a 2-day horseracing in Ulaanbaatar. It is surprising that 26000 horses, including local smaller Naadam horses participate in a race all over the country. The horses race for 15-35 km putting forth all strength. Hardening a horse for a race requires experience and patience.
Wrestling:
512-1024 wrestlers compete in the State Naadam wrestling contest, while 32-128 wrestlers participate in local smaller Naadams. The Mongols revere strength since the early times, and boys begin wrestling as soon as they start walking. There’s no weight category and no fixed arena in Mongolian wrestling, which makes it more challenging and competitive.
Archery:
Archery is an integral part of the highlights in the history of the Mongols. In the 13th century every family had bows and arrows in addition to horse-head fiddle. Not only men but also women used to shoot with bow and arrow. It is recorded that Genghis Khan’s warrior Esunkhei Mergen hit a target at 330 fathoms (approx. 520 meters) at a celebration just after they had conquered a part of China. Nowadays, the standard shooting distance for men archers is 75 m while it is 60 m for the ladies, men shoot 40 and ladies shoot 20 arrows at the Naadam.
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