How to Celebrate Naadam in Mongolia
Mongolia maybe the largest country in the world most Westerners know next to nothing about, aside from recognizing the name Genghis Khan. Most Westerners have probably never even crossed paths with a Mongolian or a descendent from the country. But, if you want a truly unique adventure that feels like stepping into another world or another time, it’s in Mongolia, and since our focus is on the culture of sports, you have to check out the Naadam Festival which starts today. Naadam is short for eriin gurvan naadam or “the three games of men”
The festival celebrates national independence by commemorating its rich military history. Warriors were once chosen for their abilities in three different areas which were displayed in the exercises of three games, wrestling, archery and horse racing. Wrestling was a test of strength, movement and flexibility. Archery showed one’s hand and eye coordination. Horse racing exposed their patience and bravery.
To this day, these sports are cultural cornerstones of Mongolia and every summer people gather all around the country for organized events of these games and surrounding festivities.
The largest gathering is held in Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, where the opening and closing ceremonies take place for what is called the National Festival. This year’s festival runs from July 11th-15th.
Most years, the wrestling event at the National Festival consists of 512 wrestlers in a single-elimination tournament that lasts nine rounds, but on anniversary years and other occasions, the number of entries increases to 1024. The local festivals throughout the country have smaller wrestling tournaments also.
The Mongol horse races are a far cry from the Kentucky Derby, these are cross country events stretching up to 30km. Up to 1000 horses can participate in the National Festival, so long as they are from Mongolia, but across local festivals, it is estimated over 150,000 horses take part. The jockeys tend to be children aged 5-13, because older teens and adults would be too heavy for the horses to carry at a fast pace for long distances.
Mongol archery events include men and women in teams of ten. Each archer is given four arrows and the teams try to hit 33 targets called surs. A sur is a woven or wooden cylinder of which there are many stacked in rows making an eight-inch tall by five-foot wide wall that the archers aim at from distances of 75m for the men, and 65m for the women.
Outside of Ulaanbaatar’s National Festival is where you will experience the real, local Naadams in towns and villages across the countryside. The beauty of these events is that they are usually free, and they continue on for days beyond the closing of the Ulaanbaatar festival. The tricky part is nailing down the dates for these local events, because they oftentimes aren’t confirmed until June and take place throughout late July and early August.
If you do venture to Mognolia to celebrate Naadam, we’d love to hear about your local experience. - GFTG