The Manly Olympics
Sept 2, 2009 8:59:58 GMT -5
Post by franko on Sept 2, 2009 8:59:58 GMT -5
Sometimes billed as the Nomad Olympics, the Naadam festival in Mongolia features competitions in the three "manly" sports – horseracing, archery, and wrestling.
The event dates back 800 years, to the days when the great warrior horseman, Genghis Khan (known as Chinggis Khan in Mongolia), and his men swept down from the grassland steppes to conquer empires in Asia, Russia, the Middle East, and as far as Europe.
It’s believed that Genghis came up with the festival to keep his men in fighting shape when they weren’t conquering new lands. Today, the three-day event marks Mongolia’s independence from China in 1921 and Tsarist Russia. Everyone takes off work to watch – whether in front of their televisions or in person.
Wrestling, in particular, is tremendously popular, and why not? Extremely large men dressed in extremely minimal clothing tussle with each other until one falls – a wrestler loses if any part of his body, apart from their hands and feet, touches the ground.
It’s a test of strength, but also strategy and wit. And my favorite part: whoever wins gets to imitate the "flight" styles of a hawk, falcon, or the mythical bird creature, Garuda.
Folklore has it that once, long ago, a woman won the wrestling title, which precipitated the minimalist uniform – an open chest vest and snug shorts.
Today, women are allowed to compete in one sport – archery. The bow and arrow was, of course, the main form of weaponry centuries ago in Mongolia, and the contest was designed to test a warrior’s strength, marksmanship, and patience.
For a real adrenaline rush, however, horseracing wins hands down. Unlike in the West, the races at Naadam are tough cross-country events, with horses thundering at full speed for distances up to 19 miles. Distances are run according to the age of the horse. For example, five-year-old horses will run 19 miles, while two-year-old horses compete at half that distance.
What’s more, the jockeys are little boys, some as young as five years old – although due to safety concerns it’s increasingly rare to see riders that young. We found a seven-year-old, nicknamed Jijigee, who was running his first Naadam – a rite of passage of sorts for young boys from the countryside who are all keen on proving themselves at the greatest horserace all year.
unedited article here
The event dates back 800 years, to the days when the great warrior horseman, Genghis Khan (known as Chinggis Khan in Mongolia), and his men swept down from the grassland steppes to conquer empires in Asia, Russia, the Middle East, and as far as Europe.
It’s believed that Genghis came up with the festival to keep his men in fighting shape when they weren’t conquering new lands. Today, the three-day event marks Mongolia’s independence from China in 1921 and Tsarist Russia. Everyone takes off work to watch – whether in front of their televisions or in person.
Wrestling, in particular, is tremendously popular, and why not? Extremely large men dressed in extremely minimal clothing tussle with each other until one falls – a wrestler loses if any part of his body, apart from their hands and feet, touches the ground.
It’s a test of strength, but also strategy and wit. And my favorite part: whoever wins gets to imitate the "flight" styles of a hawk, falcon, or the mythical bird creature, Garuda.
Folklore has it that once, long ago, a woman won the wrestling title, which precipitated the minimalist uniform – an open chest vest and snug shorts.
Today, women are allowed to compete in one sport – archery. The bow and arrow was, of course, the main form of weaponry centuries ago in Mongolia, and the contest was designed to test a warrior’s strength, marksmanship, and patience.
For a real adrenaline rush, however, horseracing wins hands down. Unlike in the West, the races at Naadam are tough cross-country events, with horses thundering at full speed for distances up to 19 miles. Distances are run according to the age of the horse. For example, five-year-old horses will run 19 miles, while two-year-old horses compete at half that distance.
What’s more, the jockeys are little boys, some as young as five years old – although due to safety concerns it’s increasingly rare to see riders that young. We found a seven-year-old, nicknamed Jijigee, who was running his first Naadam – a rite of passage of sorts for young boys from the countryside who are all keen on proving themselves at the greatest horserace all year.
unedited article here