NAADAM FESTIVAL

Dear all

I would like to share about Mongolian national festival with you this time.

"Naadam" festival is the most famous celebration across the country. Its called the three manly sports: wrestling, archery and horse racing. Naadam is celebrated across the country and every town and village will celebrate. In Ulaanbaatar (capital city), wrestling takes place in the main Naadam stadium. The Naadam stadium will be full of people dressed in costumes representing all Mongolia’s ethic groups. Archery competitions are outside the stadium everywhere, while the famous, perilous horse races take place ourside the city.

Wrestling

Wrestling is the most popular of all Mongol sport. Mongol-style wrestling originated some seven thousand years ago. The technique of Mongolian wrestling is distinctly national. There are no weight categories or age limits in Mongolians national wrestling.

Horse-racing

The horses for the Naadam races are selected a month before the big day. They are then taken separate from the herd and trained. The riders children are 5 to 12. Mongolian children of these ages are good riders, as both boys and girls have been riding since three years old. As the popular saying goes, “The nomad is born in the saddle”. Small saddles are made especially for children, but they usually prefer to ride without them. The distance varies according to the ages of the horses.

Archery

Information about archery can be found in literary and historical documents of the 13th century and even before. The distance is about 75 meter for men and 60 meter for women. Men shoot about 40 arrows and must score not less than 15 points and women shoot 20 arrows and must score at least 13 point using the same bow as the men.

For further info: http://www.steppestravel.co.uk/naadam-festival-page1411.aspx