Buri vs Belgutei
Illustration credit: Mr Rentsengyin Battsengel, painting artist and initiator of “Let us introduce The Secret History of Mongolia to the world” project
Mongol Bökh (Mongolian wrestling) is an ancient art. There is evidence that wrestling on the Mongolian steppe may be at least 7000 years old. Over time these wrestling styles have shifted and changed with different regions having different rules. When we think Mongol we can't help but think of Chinggis Khan (Genghis Khan), so …what was Bökh like back then? Let's go back in time, to when Temujin was unifying the Mongol steppe and becoming Chinggis Khan…
Many different people were assimilated into the Mongol Ulus.
When Temujin was uniting the Mongol steppe, he was conquering and unifying a variety of different “tribes”. Since the days of the Xiongnu (Huns), steppe peoples here were organized into feudal groups led by aristocrats. The aristocrats kept long lineages but commoners typically didn't and they could be reshuffled into different feudal military-administrative divisions and assigned to new lords. These people could be Mongol, Turkic, Tungusic, etc etc but would develop almost an ethnic identity around their feudatory and leadership. Temujin, now the Chinggis Khan, had to manage many different ethnicities and noble lineages, all with their own agendas, and unite them all under his rule and vision. He gave them all a new identity, of being Mongol, and being of one nation, Mongol Ulus. In order to enact his will he needed trusted generals and administrators. These would be men like Jebe, Mukhali, Subetai… and his own half brother Belgutei. Temujin’s half brother was instrumental in their war against the Merkits, slaughtering hundreds out of revenge and he would serve Temujin again, by wrestling…
Temujin was known as ᠴᠢᠩᠭᠢᠰ ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ Chinggis Khan. The word Khan is a Mongolic and Turkic title that refers to a king.
As Temujin grew in prestige, people left Jamukha, his blood-brother and a powerful leader in his own right, to join the Chinggis Khan. One of these was the Jurkin clan who swore an oath of loyalty to Temujin. According to the Secret History of the Mongols, there was an argument over status in Chinggis Khan’s camp and a fight broke out when a man tried to steal the bridle off a horse. Belgutei got his sleeve torn off (think of the grip strength!) and the same man, Buri, slashed Belgutei’s bare shoulder with a sword. Although wounded, Belgutei kept his cool and advised Chinggis Khan to be merciful since the Jurkin were still learning their place as “younger brothers joining elder brothers” but the Khan was furious. Temujin and his men grabbed sticks and branches and beat up the Jurkin until they sued for peace. Still, Temujin's status was not unquestionable yet and the Jurkin Clan saw an opportunity to test his power. They decided to backstab their new Khan by looting his camp and killing some men while he was battling the Merkit. They had to be punished. Chinggis attacked the Jurkin, routing them and executing their leaders. Some noble sons were adopted and the clan disbanded and assimilated.
An illustration of Belgutei, Temujin’s half brother
credit: Сэцэн, Монголын нууц товчоон дахь хүмүүсийн зураг, Бээжин, 1989 // https://mongoltoli.mn/history/h/538
Chinggis Khan hadn't forgotten what Buri had done, attacking Belgutei with a sword. He called for a wrestling match. Buri Bukh the Athlete was affiliated with the Jurkin and had beaten Belgutei before in wrestling. It is said he lifted Belgutei with one hand and grabbed his legs out from under him and pinned him! But this time was different. This time, despite his wrestling power, he had just seen the whole Jurkin clan get erased as a distinct people. This time when Buri wrestled Belgutei the supposedly unbeatable wrestler let himself fall. He was afraid to anger the Khan. Even so it is said Belgutei couldn't pin him and instead grabbed his shoulders and pulled him upright. He glanced at Chinggis Khan who bit his lip as a signal. Belgutei pulled back on Buri’s collarbones and drove his knee into his back and broke his spine. Then Temujin’s half brother dragged the crippled body of Buri out and left him to die.
Belgutei would play a significant role later against the Tatars and the Naiman, but this episode with Buri the Athlete is perhaps the best known account of him. It tells us that, at this stage, leg grabs and pinning were used and, even if there were many regional styles of Bökh, these were accepted moves in Chinggis Khan's camp. It gives us the implication that wrestling for the Khan's entertainment was normal and that wrestling was commonplace enough for a man to be known for his strength and wrestling ability outside of the demands of warfare. Belgutei also knew of a spine break, which we're unsure whether it was a technique from wrestling or just his natural strength and understanding of anatomy from a life working with and killing both men and animals. Lastly it tells us wrestling was deeply linked to the politics of the nation, something we would see again in the Qing dynasty with the wrestling art we now call Shuai Jiao.
— Vincent Tseng @the.wandering.warrior
