Introduction to Naadam Festival The Naadam Festival is Mongolia’s most significant and captivating celebration, held annually on July 11-13. The term “Naadam” means “game,” and the festival is rooted in three traditional “manly sports” or “eriin gurwan naadam”: wrestling, horse racing, and archery. These sports date back to the Mongol Empire, though the modern festival also commemorates Mongolia’s national revolution and independence.

While all administrative regions in Mongolia celebrate their local Naadam festivals at different times, the largest and most famous event is hosted in Ulaanbaatar, drawing thousands of tourists and international journalists every year.

Colorful Traditions and Cultural Pride During the Naadam Festival, participants and spectators showcase their cultural pride by wearing vibrant traditional attire. The celebration is a grand display of Mongolian heritage, blending ancient customs with modern enthusiasm. Recognized for its cultural significance, Naadam was inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2010.

 

Traditional Mongolian Wrestling (Bökh)

Mongolian wrestling, or Bökh, is a unique folk wrestling style that distinguishes itself with no weight divisions or time limits. Wrestlers, known as “bokh” (meaning durability), aim to force their opponent to touch the ground with any part of the body other than the feet or palms.

• Attire: Wrestlers wear a tight-fitting jacket called zodog and briefs called shuudag, complemented by traditional Mongolian boots. Before matches, they don a ceremonial hat and perform an “eagle dance” ritual symbolizing strength and honor.
• Rules: Kicking and punching are prohibited, but wrestlers may use their legs to trip opponents. Matches continue until one wrestler falls or is otherwise defeated.
• Rituals: Ceremonial dances, libations of milk to spirits, and ritual songs enhance the spiritual significance of the sport.

Naadam’s wrestling tournaments can involve up to 1,024 participants, making it a spectacular and enduring competition.

Traditional Mongolian Archery

Archery is an ancient and revered sport in Mongolia, open to both men and women. Though traditional bow-making techniques have evolved, Mongolian archers still use composite bows crafted from horn and wood.

• Techniques: Arrows are made from local materials like pine, birch, or willow, with feather fletching from birds like eagles or falcons. The arrow is placed on the right side of the bow and released using a thumb ring for precision.
• Cultural Significance: Archery reflects Mongolia’s warrior heritage, with traditional techniques preserved across generations.

Traditional Mongolian Horse Racing

Mongolia hosts some of the world’s longest and toughest horse races, ranging from 5 to 30 kilometers across rugged steppe terrain. Horses are divided into age categories, and surprisingly, child jockeys (both boys and girls) ride them.

• Rituals: Before races, horses and jockeys participate in ceremonial songs and processions.
• Race Dynamics: Jockeys ride without saddles for the horse’s comfort, focusing on endurance rather than speed.
• Awards: Winners receive the prestigious title “Forehead of the Ten Thousand Race Horse,” while the last finisher is honored humorously as “Rich Belly.”

Why Visit the Naadam Festival?

Experiencing the Naadam Festival offers travelers an authentic glimpse into Mongolian culture, sports, and history. The festival is not only a celebration of athletic prowess but also a deep-rooted tradition that fosters unity and national pride.

Plan Your Trip to Mongolia

• Visit Ulaanbaatar in July to witness the main festival.
• Experience local Naadam celebrations in rural regions for a more intimate cultural encounter.
• Engage with locals, savor traditional foods, and immerse yourself in the vibrant atmosphere.

Ready to embark on a unique journey? Contact us to explore off-the-beaten-path travel experiences in Mongolia during the Naadam Festival!

The other important Mongolian holiday is Tsagaan Sar, literally the “White Month,” or New Year’s Day, which has been celebrated since the time of the Mongol Empire. Although Mongolia uses the Gregorian calendar, the lunar calendar is also used due to tradition and religious practice, and thus Tsagaan Sar usually falls in February or early March. As with most New Year celebrations, Tsagaan Sar focuses on happiness and an optimistic future, and the color white is considered an auspicious color in Mongolian tradition.

During the holiday and days preceding it, offerings are made to ancestral spirits or in honor of their memories. Blessings are made. Owing to Communist oppression of the holiday and a decline in religiosity, the holiday has changed considerably over the years.

Now, in addition to being a holiday that is both thanksgiving and a looking forward to a good year, it has become a holiday for visiting family and friends.  A central part of the celebration is food and buuz, devoured in great quantities, followed by liberal doses of vodka. The buuz serves another purpose: families often put a silver coin in one buuz, and according to tradition, whoever finds it will have prosperity in the coming year. At family gatherings in the countryside, the largest sheep in the flock, or in the city, the largest a family can buy, is cooked and eaten. It becomes, like the Thanksgiving turkey, a point of pride. The importance of food is marked in the preparations for the holiday, which often begin a month before the holiday.

During the Communist period, Tsagaan Sar came under attack. During the religious purges, the celebration of Tsagaan Sar was criticized, although during some years the criticism decreased. During World War II, herders received government approval to celebrate the holiday—perhaps because Josef Stalin, occupied with the Nazis, was too busy to notice or to care. In 1954 the holiday was declared a workday and the government again began a crackdown against it. Nonetheless, their efforts failed. While not willing to admit defeat, the government found a solution by making Tsagaan Sar “Collective Herders’ Day” in 1960. Not until 1988 did Tsagaan Sar receive official recognition as a national holiday.

Hunting with eagles is a traditional form of falconry for thousands of years, practised by the Kazakh people in Bayan-Ulgii, the westernmost province of Mongolia. It’s a rite of passage for Kazakh boys in western Mongolia who learn the crafts as early as 13. Passed down through generations, the tradition has a strict set of rules and practices. The hunts happen during winter when teams of hunters chase their prey on horseback and release an eagle to make their kill. Hunting once provided furs and meat during harsh winters, but the tradition is battling a dwindling number of hunters.

The Golden Eagle

Golden eagle is one of the world’s fiercest, with a wingspan of 6.6 ft, razor-sharp talons and the ability to dive at the speed of an express train — up to 190 mph.” Hunters prefer females because they are larger and regarded as more aggressive. Females weigh up to seven kilograms, which is a third heavier than males. It takes a great deal of strength to hold one of these large birds in your arm. When horses are on the move the eagles unfurl their wings for balance.

Training Golden Eagle:

Training eagles takes a lot of time, (3-4 years), must be done by one person, and requires constant daily attention. When the eagle is almost an adult, the trainer shows it the hides and furs of the animals it must hunt so that it becomes used to the smell and characteristics of the prey. All of this is done with special commands. Training continues by dragging a fox fur behind a galloping horse. Not all eagles can be so trained, but those that do show intense loyalty. Although never tethered they always return after killing their prey. Skilled hunters even manage to get the bird to kill the prey while scarcely leaving a mark on its fur.

The Golden Eagle Festival

The Golden Eagle Festival have been celebrated since 1999 with the aim of promoting conservation of Golden eagle and preservation of the Kazakh’s traditional unique culture of hunting with birds.  The festival comprises various competitions, in course of competitions which the eagle must catch a piece of fox fur pulled behind a galloping horse, the entrants compete for the awards of Best Turned Out Eagle and Owner; Best Eagle at Hunting Prey and Best Eagle at Locating Its Owner from a Distance, besides traditional horse games and camel races. Prizes are awarded for speed, agility and accuracy, as well as for the best traditional Kazakh dress, and more. Dark, rocky mountainous terrain forms the backdrop to the event, which incorporate cultural exhibitions and demonstrations followed by sporting activities and