Celebrating Manly Sports in Mongolia
Nadaam: Mongolian word for “Game” or “Competition”
Archery, Wrestling, and Horse Racing: These are the national sports of Mongolia, and the focus of the nationwide festival known as “Nadaam.” Before Communist times, the Mongolians called it “The Three Manly Sports” and only men could compete. It was changed to “Nadaam” under the influence of the former communists rulers’ insistence on female equality. Today, only wrestling is restricted to men.
Three cheers for the communist influence!! Just kidding. I won’t bore you with all of the cultural and historcial facts I learned at the Mongolian Historical Museum this week, but I was impressed with the positive influence Communism had on Mongolia (I’m certainly not championing Communism and I think it’s outstanding that Mongolia is now a successful democratic society, but these are interesting facts).
Before Communism 2% of the population was literate. TWO PERCENT!! Today 96% of the population is literate. The Communists also established a respectable healthcare system and life expectancy increased from 46 years of age to 67 years of age. There was also a concerted effort to elevate the status of women in society, and we all know a society runs more smoothly if the women are running things.:-)
Anyway, the opening ceremony was grand. Horses, beautiful traditional costumes, a speech by the President, stately music, motorcycles, and dances. We also saw some wrestling (wait till you see these uniforms) and ate mystery meat in a pancake. Mmmmmm. Mystery Meat.
Opening Ceremony in the National Stadium, Ulaan Bataar
Wrestlers warming up
Opening Cermony, National Stadium. (The Swastika was originally a Buddhist symbol)
Wrestling referees/coaches in traditional Mongolian costume
Wrestling competition
Wrestler getting ready for a match
A Mongolian Cowboy
Tags: Amanda Formoso, Mongolia, Travel, Ulaan Bataar
Amanda
Haha… those wrestlers don’t look very manly, do they?
they do look manly . you should look inside . better than sumo wrestlers hahahahaha.