1. Mongolian
national holiday
In Mongolia, the national sports
festival is called naadam- is a traditional display of strength, horsemanship,
and marksmanship. Wrestling, archery and horseracing are he Three Main Games of
Men, which are rooted in the mists of antiquity and continue to be very popular
among the Mongols today. In 12th – 13th century, military
festivals were widespread, at which men tried their strength and their steed’s
agility. From the 17th century onwards, Naadam contest were held
regularly during religious holidays. Since 1922, they have been held on he
anniversary of the people’s revolution. The opening ceremony of Naadam is very bright
and plenty of locals as well as visitors attend. Wrestling is the most national
and popular of all Mongol sports. It is the highlight of the Three Games of
Men. Historians claim that Mongol style wrestling originated from some seven
thousand years ago. The technique and ritual of Mongolian wrestling is
distinctly national. There are no weight categories or age limits in Mongolian
national wrestling. The wrestlers wear heavy boots, a very small tight-fitting
loincloth, a pair of sleeves which meet across the back of the shoulders,
resembling a tiny vestige of a jacket, and a pointed cap of velvet. The
contestants some out on the field leaping and dancing, flapping their arms in
limitation of an eagle. Each wrestler has his attendant herald. The aim of the
sport is to knock your opponent off balance and throw him down, making him
touch the ground with his elbow and knee. The loser walks under the raised arms
of the winner in a sign of respect, and unties his vest, after which the
victor, again leaping and dancing, takes a turn round the flag in the center of
the field. The victor is wawrded symbolic prizes-biscuits and aaruul, or dried
curds, once he has tasted these, he offers them to his second and to
spectators. Traditionally either one thousand and twenty-four or five hundred
and twelve wrestlers participate in the contest. Today the latter number
usually takes pan. At the Republican Naadam, nine rounds are held. Those, who
lose in one round, are eliminated from further rounds. A wrestler who beats five
opponents in a row is awarded the title of “Republican Falcon” one who wins
seven round is given the title of “Elephant”. A wrestler becomes champion by
winning nine round and is given the title of “Lion” and if he wins two years in
row, he is called “Giant”. If a wrestler becomes a third-time champion at the
Naadam, the attribute “Nation wide” is added to his title, and the fourth time,
he is styled “Invincible”. The winner of the tournament receive honorary titles
and are also awarded various souvenirs. But for them, the main award is the
truly nation-wide popularity and fame that they gain. Horseracing is a normal
part of the Naadam. This sport is also centuries old, dating back to he Bronze
Age. The horses for the Naadam races are selected a month before the big day.
They are then taken to an adequate pasture separate from the herd and trained.
Race horse are divide into several age groups: two, four and five years old;
over five years; and stallions. The riders are aged from 5 to 12. Mongolian
children of these ages are good riders, as both boys and girls have been riding
since infancy. As the popular saying goes, “The nomad is born in the saddle”.
Small saddles are made out them. They are not only superb riders, but also
skillful tacticians. They know how to hold the horse back so it has enough
strength to last the entire distance of the race. Competitions are not held on
special racetracks, but right across the steppe, where riders are confronted
with various obstacles such as river, ravines and hills. The distance varies
according to the ages of the horses, between 15 and 35 km. the riders are
dressed in bright, colorful and comfortable clothes. On their backs are various
symbolic pictures. Symbolic ornaments and designs also embellish the horse cloth.
The most exciting moments are the start and he finish. Before the beginning of
the contest the young horsemen ride
round the starting point three times
yelling the ancient call Giingol a kind of war cry. When all the horses step behind the boundary line the
starting command is given and the riders surge forward setting in motion
the long-awaited race. The winning
riders do a full circuit of the stadium each accompanied by a herald. The
winning horse receives the honorary title Forehead of ten Thousand Race Horses
and the five runners-up are awarded with medals. They are popularly called the
Airgiin Five. In accordance with
tradition the riders on the winning
horses do three laps of honor then ride up to the grandstand and each
child is offered a large bowl of airag-fermented mare`s milk-from which he
drinks and then pours some on the rump
of his horse The herald in turn chants
in poem-from the virtues of the horse its rider and owner But there is also an
interesting tradition in connection with
the losers Honor and praise of the winners of the race is to the race is to be
expected but the losers are also rewarded and honored After the awards ceremony
for the victors the racer who came in the last is is led up to the main stand
with his young rider. The loser`s face shows vexation and shame But the
spectators do not make fun of him confidence in himself The ode encourages
him with
words expressing faith in his
future success Archery-Ample information
about archery can be found in
literary and historical documents of the
13th century and even before
It is an ancient sport of the Mongolians
which can be traced back as
300-200 BC According to historians archery contest began in the 11th
century The Mongols use a compound bow
built up of layers of horn sinew bark
and wood when unstrung it is not straight but curved. Archery is more archaic
and ritualistic than other sports All archers adopt the same stance and
posture. The target consists of a row
several meters across of small woven leather ring some painted red which are laid out laterally on the ground The
openings face upwards providing a
challenging exercise in trajectory for the archers In olden times women did not
participate in the contest but in the last few decades they have started to do
so. The distance is about 75m for men and 60m for women Men shoot about
40arrows and must score not less than 15
points and women shoot 20arrows and must score at least 13 points using the
same bow as the men. When the arrow hits
the target a group of people standing near the target action as judges raises
the cry uukhai and makes sings with
their hands to indicate the result. The one who scores the most point is the
winner and the title of mergen (or Supermarksman)os bestowed on him or her There
are several features for this Naadam
holiday Four wrestlers of the final round will compete each other according to
given time. If the limit of the given times is exceeded above 30 minutes those
will wrestle by choosing grip.The distance of horseracing is lengthened by
approximately two km. There are normally six categories of horse racing
depending on the age of the horses: for example a two- year-old horse called
a daaga will race for 12 km a
three-year- old horse “shudlen”-for
15km, and six a four- year-old horse “hyazaalan” – for 20 km and six- and
seven- year-old “azraga” and “ikh nas” horses go for up to 30km.
Ex -1. To write about Naadam.
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