Wrestling is an essential part of the na-tional festival of Mongolia. Every year on 11-12th of July, in the main stadium, a contingent of 512 wrestlers compete with each other. On some special occasions, the number is expanded to 1024. Mongolian wrestling has no classes based on weight or age, and the basic rule is that if a wrestler’s body part (elbow, knee, head, or other part) touches the ground, it is considered a defeat. On the first day of Naadam, two rounds out of nine are done, while the rest are done on the second day. In every round, two wrestlers wrestle and one of them is eliminated.

For the last bout, only two wrestlers are left from the original 512 (or 1024). And then the champion is crowned. The champion receives a rank, and the President of Mongolia gives out the rewards. Wrestlers earn a rank, and higher ranks have certain benefits. During the competition, higher ranked wrestlers can decide whom their opponents would be. The la[1]bels for Mongolian wrestling ranks are actually the names of animals, corresponding to the strength of the animal. The lowest rank is ‘falcon;’ after that comes ‘hawk’, ‘elephant’, ‘garuda’ and ‘lion’.

The highest rank; however, is the ‘champion’. After a wrestler wins the fifth bout, they can earn the ‘falcon’ rank, and if they keep winning, they will receive the ‘champion’ rank. There are celebratory epithets given to the title of the wrestler who continues to have success at the national wrestling festivals. They are described as ‘highly ebullient’, ‘magnificently robust’, ‘eagerly expeditious’, ‘apparently mighty’, ‘more promising’ are among those given to the 46 ‘falcon’ ranked wrestler. The functions and rules of Mongolian wrestling are not only meant to test the pair of wrestlers’ strength and prowess, but to connect the sport to its place among other national traditional arts and customs.

Webzine SILKROADIA VOL.3 NO.1. Written by D.Otgontuya is an Associate Professor at the School of Arts and Sciences of the National University of Mongolia and O.Tsenguun is a 1st year student at the School.

ⓒ 2021 D.Otgontuya & O. Tsenguun All Rights Reserved.