It's normally hard for me to get enthusiastic about watching the sport of wrestling, whether it's the Japanese sumo or the Olympic style. But what I saw in the far west aimag (province) of
Hovd (also spelled Khovd), so very far from the increasing crowds of tourists attending the Naadam Festival in Ulaanbaatar, had me fully enthralled.
Naadam, which means game or competition, has been celebrated in one form or another for many centuries, and since 1921 it formally commemorates Mongolia's declaration of independence from China. As I introduced in an
earlier post, the festival encompasses the traditional "three manly games" of archery, horse racing and wrestling. I'll do a little series of posts on this festival and today I briefly cover wrestling.
Mongolian wrestling (
bökh) is considered the most illustrious of the games and wrestlers enjoy high status among Mongols. This is now the only athletic event that still excludes girls and women.
During tournaments, the wrestlers wear small shoulder vests (
zodog), red or blue tight-fitting briefs (
shuudag) and ornate traditional boots (
gutal). Each wrestler has his own "encourager" (
zasuul) - in my photos you'll see them mostly in purple robes.
Before these outdoor games begin (top photo), and even before each match (left 2nd row), the wrestlers perform a ritual dance together; this dance may differ in the various provinces. In the matches, there are no weight categories - I saw small men wrestling very large ones - and no time limits; the game is over when one contestant touches the ground with anything but his hands or feet.
Hovd, Mongolia, 2007
It's worth it to enlarge the image to see some of the precious facial expressions. Right click on the photo to open it in a new tab, then click again for the full size.
Here is my favorite capture of this event; although not perfectly in focus, it so well portrays the pain of losing this all-important match.
In the coming weeks, I will also cover the Naadam sports of archery and horse racing. If this topic interests you, let me know whether you like the photo-montage presentation or you'd rather see the individual photos.
Today's post joins memes
Outdoor Wednesday and
Wordful Wednesday. Go visit these sites to find links to many more bloggers playing these fun memes.
