Mongolian Naadams
In the Mongolian language “naadam” literally means game. It is used to refer to all manners of contests, competitions, or simple games that you might just play at home. Even the verb “to play” is naadah, a form similar to the noun “naadam”. Mongolians love all kinds of competitions and games. Some of the most important of these games often make up what we know as the modern “naadam”, which we so often reference here on Bokhin Ayin, especially when it comes to naadams in the context of wrestling. In order to understand what a naadam is, as we experience the event here in the context of Inner Mongolia, it is important to understand the culture and historical background of this word.
Mongolians are known for their “Three Manly Sports”, namely wrestling, horse racing, and archery. Historically, these sports were considered essential for any mongol warrior. Genghis Khan’s armies of the 13th century were the finest fighting forces of their time, largely based on the fact that they dominated battle through horsemanship and archery, creating the largest empire the world had ever seen. In times of war these three activities were vital for conquest, and in times of peace these “games” became a quintessential aspect of Mongolian culture to be practiced and celebrated for centuries to come.
Mongolian people were historically nomadic. It is only in very recent history that this nomadic culture has been largely replaced by a more modern and sedentary lifestyle. In Mongolia the country, only about 30% of the population still remains nomadic, and in Inner Mongolia, China, nomadic lifestyle was ended by the government in the 1990s when fences were erected and families were allocated to specific land plots. Given that Mongolian people have historically led nomadic lives for centuries, naadams also have roots in the reunion of nomadic people, coming together after a long period of time being separated across the grasslands. Part family reunion, part fair, and part nomad Olympics, naadams are an important event for the people of the grasslands.
Many people might be familiar with the National Naadam in Outer Mongolia (the country), a national festival held once a year that attracts some 750,000 people to the capital Ulaanbaatar and surrounding villages. This huge Naadam in Mongolia was actually inscribed in 2010 on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO and is known by many people around the world. At this Naadam there are of course the Three Manly Sports: wrestling, archery, and horse racing. Only Mongolian nationals may compete in the Naadam, so no, there is no way for foreigners to compete in this particular national festival.
Inner Mongolian naadams, which we often reference here on Bokhin Ayin, are a bit different from the National Naadam of Outer Mongolia. Instead of a single national naadam that occurs annually, in the summer throughout the grasslands of Inner Mongolia there are countless naadams that are held. From the end of May until the beginning of September, the grasslands of Inner Mongolia experience an entire season filled with naadams. Naadams are held in Inner Mongolia for a variety of reasons. Some may be held to celebrate a birthday or to honor a particular ancestor or even to commemorate a special community event.
Many naadams in the grasslands have all three of the manly sports for people to participate in. However, some, especially small or local naadams, may simply be a wrestling competition. Both men and women in modern times can participate in the archery and horse riding competitions, but women are not permitted to participate in the wrestling competitions with the men. Instead, women’s contests are sometimes additionally held, although infrequent in comparison to the sheer number of men’s wrestling competitions held daily throughout the summer. It is our hope at Bokhin Ayin to continue to support women’s bokh and promote the women’s wrestling culture here in Inner Mongolia and abroad. Children’s wrestling competitions are also held occasionally during a naadam in Inner Mongolia. Children will be grouped based on age, the youngest around 3-5 years old competing with each other, all the way up to youth ages 12-15 competing amongst themselves. Children also often dominate the horse racing at naadams, participating as jockeys as young as 5 years old. Both young boys and young girls can be seen in their brightly colored racing outfits, whooping loudly as if they are riding into battle and singing a Mongolian war cry. In archery, both men and women compete with each other on an equal ground, and it is common to see a range of ages participating in this event. Other events such as the Mongolian games involving knuckle bones of sheep are also sometimes played. There are a vast variety of games played with these bones, both competitively as well as recreationally. Another popular contest is bone breaking, called Seer Shaah. In this competition, participants try and see who can break the most amount of bones using their hands in an allotted period of time. Typically men compete and the game is all about showing a man’s strength and skill in breaking bones with his bare hands.
For us at Bokhin Ayin, Inner Mongolian Wrestling naadams are largely centered around the wrestling contest. In Inner Mongolian Bokh there is no weight class, no skill level categories, no set arena or competition mat, and the contest is held outside exposed to all of the elements. An 80kg novice wrestler could compete against a 120kg experienced wrestler who has already been decorated with a Jangga (the colorful necklace worn around the neck by wrestlers who have been awarded this rank- for more information on the Jangga and wrestling uniform, CLICK HERE) in the first round. Because the contest is held outside, every wrestler must be prepared to wrestle on any stage whether it be dirt, sand, rock, grass, or any combination of these elements, and they must be prepared to do it in any unpredictable weather- scorching sun, pouring rain, wind, sandstorm, snow, etc. In Inner Mongolian wrestling style the stakes are high because if a wrestler touches any body part to the ground besides his feet, he loses. So with this one touch, one throw mentality, it is a true contest of patience, strength, will, and skill. Competitions range in size, but always according to the following numbers: 16 man (very small competition), 32 man, 64 man, 128 man, 256 man (large competition), 512 man (very large competition), and 1024 (very very large and rare). Despite how well an individual prepares, there are so many extra elements at play that the last man standing is an accomplishment to be proud of.
Various prizes are awarded at naadams. For the wrestlers, at whatever round of the contest they are eliminated, they will often receive a monetary prize. For example, if a wrestler competes in a 128 man competition and only makes it to the top 32 wrestlers, he will receive a smaller monetary prize than a man who makes it to the top 16 wrestlers. Wrestlers who make it to the top 8 of a wresting contest are awarded the best prizes which may be a good sum of money, or even an animal such as a sheep, horse or camel for the top 4 wrestlers. Prizes and award money are independently decided by the organizers of the naadams and vary based on a number of factors. If the event is quite large and sponsored by a legitimate organization, the prizes could be quite large. If the event is more on a local scale and put on by individuals, the prizes are often much more conservative.
Written by Ariela
