My whole reason for coming to Mongolia, in the summer when I don’t like to travel was to see this festival. As I described about the horse race now I will try to do justice to the wrestling.
From a very young age the children, both boys and girls aspire to wrestle, It is the highest sport in Mongolia and the really good wrestlers make a lot of money are are treated like sports kings or rock stars.
The tournaments are very structured and realistic and harken back to tribal and pantheistic practices.
As the matches are being set the participants approach the three-tiered wheel and slap their thighs, slap their bums and spread their arms and circle in a kind of dance. This symbolizes the power of the eagle.
They then go into their competitive pairs with each pair having two assigned referees. The competitor bows before his referee who takes off and holds onto his ceremonial hat until the end of the match. The referees then stay very close to the participants and if there is a problem they slap them on the bum.
The competitors wear traditional wrestling outfits consisting of kind of knitted speedos and then a bare chest and stomach. In the back and just at about the bottom of the rib cage extending through the shoulders and arms in a sort of half sweater or what we would call a shrug. It is comprised of the same knitted material as the speedo and it open at the chest. It is held closed in front just below the rib cage by a rope with a traditional knot.
The competition ensues and the men can grab hold of the speedo or the shrug or the rope. These men have incredible legs with tree trunk muscles and very tight butts (not that I would notice). The power in those legs in such that a 200 pound man can lift a 400 pound man off his feet and toss him to the ground.
From the top of the speedo to the shoulders is a different story. Some of the wrestlers are V shaped with broad shoulders and small waists. Others are whale-stomached with their huge stomaches dragging down past their crotch and obliterating any speedo sitings.
The matches are quick but incredibly energy-draining with both contestants out of breath and soaking wet within minutes. The matches start with 6400 contestants who are not matched by size or weight. So you can imagine that the finalists are the biggest and they are matched. The winners of the Nadaam take home $50,000 in a country where professionals make $18,000.
At the end of the match the rituals return. The winner returns to the circle and again flies like an eagle. He comes back to his opponent who now bows below the winners arm and gets another pat on the back. The loser also unties the front of the shrug—a very powerful indication of the loss. Finally the ceremonial hat is returned to the winner from his referee and he takes his bows with the crowd.
I am hoping I will be able to put a you tube video here for you. I actually enjoyed all of the ritual and got very into the wrestling. Video us above
