Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Jockeys - traditionally children between the ages of seven and 12 years - race their
horses over open countryside rather than around a track. Distances range between 15km
and 28km and are both exhausting and dangerous - every year jockeys tumble from their
mounts and horses collapse and die from exhaustion at the finish line.
Winning horses are called
tümnii ekh
, or 'leader of 10,000'. Riders and spectators rush
to comb the sweat off the best horses with a scraper traditionally made from a pelican's
beak. Pelicans being quite rare these days, most people use a wooden curry-comb called
a
khusuur
.
The five winning riders must drink some special
airag
(fermented mare's milk), which
is then often sprinkled on the riders' heads and the horses' backsides. During the naadam
festival, a song of empathy is also sung to the two-year-old horse that comes in last.
To get a good feel for it all, consider camping out at the horse-race area on 11 July,
which will give you more time to explore the area in the evening and morning when the
crowds are smaller. Most people visit on 12 July to see the popular five-year-old horse
race, which finishes between 10am and 10.30am.
FOREVER TITAN BAT-ERDENE
The greatest naadam champion of all time was B Bat-Erdene, who won 11 straight
naadams from 1988 to 1999. In 2000 he did not lose the naadam but rather
stepped aside in order to give younger wrestlers a chance at the championship. His
title, 'Dayar Dursagdah, Dalai Dayan, Tumniig Bayasuulagch, Darkhan Avarga Bat-
Erdene', translates loosely as 'Renowned by All, Oceanic, Joy-Giving, Forever Titan
Bat-Erdene'. Following his career in wrestling Bat-Erdene entered politics and cur-
rently serves as a member of parliament representing his native Khentii aimag. In
2013 he ran for president, losing to President Elbegdorj.
The Wrestling
Mongolian-style wrestling
(bokh)
has no weight divisions, so the biggest wrestlers (and
they are big!) are often the best.
Out on the steppes, matches can go on for hours, but matches for the national Naadam
have a time limit - after 30 minutes the match goes into 'overtime' (the referees give the
leading wrestler a better position from the get-go). The match ends only when the first
wrestler falls, or when anything other than the soles of the feet or open palms touches the
ground.
The unique uniform
(jodag shuudag)
worn by the wrestlers needs some explaining. A
Mongolian legend recounts that one Amazonian female entered a wrestling competition
