Naadam Festival, Mongolia
Posted by Jackie Hewett on Sun 27th July 2008 at 12:20 PM, Filed in Far East, July
On the 11th to 13th every July Mongolia holds its ‘national games’ (also known as ‘Eriin Gurvan’) showcasing Mongolia’s three games of men (horse racing, archery and wrestling). Some say the festival stared in the 1920’s whilst others claim it is centuries old. Whilst celebrations are held throughout the country the main games are held in Ulan Bator and on the open steppes just outside the city.
Details of the games:
- Opening Ceremony – where monks, soldiers and athletes parade in colourful Genghis Khan style costumes
- Wrestling – Mongolian wrestling is similar to sumo wrestling and is the only actual all male event. The bouts are not timed and a competitior loses if they touch the ground
- Archery – men shoot over a distance of 75meters and women over 60 meters.
- Horse Riding – this event dominates day 2 and Mongolians are renowned horsemen (and children). The races are broken down into different ages of horse. The youngest horses (1 year olds) race 15km whilst the older horses race over 30km. There are around 400 participants in every race and the horses reach speed of up to 80 km per hour. Riders are all children, some as young as 5 and it said that Mongolian children learn to ride before they can walk!
During the games you can also see examples of traditional crafts and music and try traditional Mongolian food (mainly fatty mutton, rice and yoghurt).
Quite a few tour operators will now take you on organised trips, some will take you to Russia too, but here are a few of the other things in Mongolia you may like to do:
• Visit the Ulan Bator Museum of Natural History to see dinosaur eggs collected from the Gobi Dessert
• Stay in a Mongolian tent (Ger)
• Visit Mongolia’s largest monastery – the Gandantegchling which is the main site for Buddhist learning and worship
This entry has been viewed 372 times.
READER COMMENTS:
No comments yet.
