 The
Naadam festival is the biggest and most joyful
celebration of the Mongols. It takes place on
the 11-12th July annually.
The festival itself originated from the era
of Hunnu Empire (209 BD) and was originally
organized as a competition to test the skills
of Mongol warriors between tribes. The festival
comprises the "Three Manly Sports":
wrestling, horse racing and archery. A fascinating
and interesting event for all is where the 9
White Flags of Chinghis Khan are carried in
a ceremonial parade from the State Parliament
House to the Central Stadium and many other
events to name a few.
512-1024 wrestlers compete on the green field
of the State Central Stadium-there is no time
limit, no weight category and the arena is not
fixed. They have the most number of tricks and
the Mongolian national wrestling is the most
challenging wrestling in the world. Mongolian
wrestlers wear traditional Mongolian boots and
special clothes for wrestling, Zodog - a small
open-fronted vest.
It's impossible to imagine the Mongols without
their horses. Mongol horse is small in body
but as strong as rocks! There are 6 different
categories of Mongol national horse racing depending
on the age of horses. The riders, both boys
and girls are aged between 5-12 and the distance
of the race ranges from 15-30 km. Horses race
on natural track and natural barriers. The racers
train their horses for a month on a strict diet
and everyday training.
There's no need to argue on that the Mongols
are the best archers in the world. Archery,
originating from time immemorial, is the oldest
sport of the Mongols. Traditionally, this was
only men's sport but nowadays both men and women
compete in separate divisions. Male archers
shoot on a 75m range while female archers shoot
on a 60 m range.
Why to take a Naadam festival tour?
Naadam festival tour includes the Mongolia Great
Naadam Festival Holiday that takes place in
mid July once a year. Naadam festival tours
are the highlight of Mongolia and the Naadam
festival itself is a fantastic event. We invite
you to our Naadam festival trips in Mongolia.
Naadam Festival 2007 is a special one!
More info about Naadam festival:
Mongolian Naadam Festival is the highlight of
all these festivals and events that this country
holds. The Naadam festival is held in mid July
annually and the Mongols show off with this
festival. The Naadam festival, or eriyn gurvan
nadaam, is the biggest festival of the year
for Mongolians. Usually occurring in July, it
runs for three days in all parts of the country
and highlights the greatest athletes in horse
racing, archery, and wrestling: Mongolia's most
popular sports. During the festival women participate
in all but the wrestling category. The word
Nadaam means game or competition in Mongolian.
Competitions take place days on the first two
and merry-making is reserved for the third.
The Naadam festival has been held for centuries
as a form of memorial celebration, as an annual
sacrificial ritual honoring various mountain
gods or to celebrate a community endeavor. The
festivities kick off with a colorful parade
of athletes, monks, soldiers marching in perfect
uniformity, musicians performing powerful military
tunes, and Mongolians dressed in Chinggis-style
warrior uniforms. It is the most widely watched
festival in the country, and is believed to
have existed for centuries in one fashion or
another. The Great Naadam festival is lots of
music, dances and sports and very colorful.
Naadam festival's competitions were originally
called "the three manly sports" and,
thus, restricted to men. But over time, and
under the influence of the former communist
rulers' insistence on female equality, the horse
races and archery were opened to all comers.
Only wrestling remains a "manly sport".
The best parts of the Naadam festival are the
Naadam festival opening ceremony, Mongolian
wrestling, Traditional Mongolian archery and
Mongolian horse racing. Naadam wrestling, archery
and horse racing are very famous as hundreds
of participants participate in them. The Mongols
wear their colorful clothes on the Great Naadam
Festival day and go to the Naadam stadium to
take part in it. Selena Travel organizes wonderful
Naadam festival tours and we invite you to spend
your holiday in Mongolia taking one of our Naadam
festival trip. Travel to Mongolia and see Great
Naadam festival of Mongolia!
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