"Manly" Games Mark Mongolian Independence Day

John Roach
for National Geographic News

July 1, 2005

It's the height of summer in Mongolia, and the nation is set to
celebrate Eriin Gurvan Naadam, an annual Olympic-like festival where the
so-called three manly sports of wrestling, horse racing, and archery
take center stage.

The festival traces its roots to the 12th century, when the Mongols, led by Genghis Khan, established an empire that at its height stretched across nearly all of Eurasia.

Wrestling, horse racing, and archery were necessary skills for success on the battlefield. "Making them into sports trained warriors to be better warriors," said Peter Marsh, director of the American Center for Mongolian Studies in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar.

Alimaa Jamiyansuren of the Washington, D.C. Area Mongolian Community Association said Naadam traditionally was a time for men who had trained all year "to show off that they have mastered these skills."

Today, the skills used in wrestling, horse racing, and archery are mostly reserved for athletic competition and camaraderie. But the luster and nationalistic pride surrounding Naadam still shines as bright as ever, Marsh said.

National Pride

Naadam is held annually from July 11 to July 13. The timing coincides with the anniversary of the 1921 Mongolian Revolution, in which the nation gained independence from competing Chinese and Russian forces.

Today, Mongolia's political elite converge on the Naadam Stadium in Ulaanbaatar, where the games are treated with the same pomp that surrounds Fourth of July celebrations in Washington, D.C.

Jamiyansuren said that in big cities, the festival is mostly a spectator event. The athletes are professionals who have risen through the ranks of competition.

"When the wrestlers are on, everyone is glued to the TV," she said, "and when the big [horse] race is on, everybody goes to the racing grounds."

Meanwhile, smaller Naadam festivals held throughout the countryside tend to be more relaxed, personal, and participatory.

The country celebrations attract scattered nomadic herders who gather to take part in friendly competition, to drink a fermented mare's milk called airag, and to feast on a variety of dairy products—staples in the summer diet.

"Summer is the time when the horses can eat grass and get big, and the females produce milk," Marsh said.

Manly Sports

Often described by Naadam-goers as the "manly sports," the festival's wrestling, horse-racing, and archery events were originally limited to men.

Today women participate in both the horse racing and archery competitions, and young boys and girls in particular take to the horse racing. Trainers look for the lightest and most talented kids to be the jockeys.

But the marquee Naadam competition is the national wrestling match held in Ulaanbaatar, and it remains a true men's sport. Every year, 512 male wrestlers compete. The winner has to last nine rounds.

There are no weight classes or time limits in Mongolian wrestling. The loser is the first to touch the ground with an elbow or knee.

Before each match, the wrestlers perform a traditional eagle dance to show off their physiques. Each wrestler has a coach at his side to lend encouragement and to herald the heroic deeds of his charge.

According to Marsh, Mongolian wrestling has developed connections with Japanese sumo wrestling, as many Mongolians have found success in the sumo world.

"In Japan, the reigning champion of Japanese sumo for the past five years is a Mongolian," Marsh said. "He's beat all the Japanese sumo wrestlers, and at the last national competition a few months ago, he didn't lose once."

The wrestler, Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj—also known by his sumo name Asashoryu—has won 12 Emperor's Cups, the national title in Japan. He holds the rank of yokozuna, the highest in the sport. He is a national hero in Mongolia, Marsh said.

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