| Naadam
just means “festival” – a tradition
of a get-together, mainly for contests of strength and
horsemanship, that goes back to Genghis’s time.
As well as the rather “communist-style”
National Naadam in July (the communists “centralised”
it to keep an eye on people) there are local and regional
Naadams too – more details on the following page.
|
Inner
& Outer Mongolia
The independent country we know as
Mongolia today is what the Imperial Chinese called “Outer
Mongolia”. Yes, there is an Inner Mongolia too!
For more details about what these names meant, and how
you can visit Inner Mongolia as well, see pages 34-35
(overleaf). |
Mongolian
Naadam Festivals
“I have volunteered to return
to Mongolia” the Mongolian Cultural Attache in
London told us, to our surprise. “It is a deep
shame to me, that my son is eight, and has never ridden
a horse.” Prowess in the “three manly sports”
(wrestling, archery, and horsemanship) has taken pride
of place in Mongolian life for thousands of years. They
would be quietly practiced in the cold winter months
– when bitter weather would keep herdsmen from
even their nearest neighbours for nearly half the year.
The melting of the snows meant not
only the chance for riding – but to travel to
clan gatherings for tests of skill. This is Naadam.
The Communist authorities who took power in 1924 in
Mongolia were worried by Naadams – or any kind
of public meetings where they could not control the
events. So they centralised Naadam in Ulaanbaatar, and
banned regional Naadams, saying they encouraged slacking
from work, and were associated with heavy drinking (both
of these accusations are, however, true). Although the
Communists have gone, the National Naadam you can see
in July is still largely their creation.
The Buddhist dances, ceremonies and
music have been stripped-down to a fragment of their
original content... and the administration and organisation
remains “communist” in the sense of being
a hopeless mess (3 years ago they moved all of the horse-racing
from 3pm to 5am, without telling anyone except the riders,
for example – and this is the highlight of the
closing ceremonies). However, it IS very spectacular
– although not everyone might be ready for 8 non-stop
hours of Mongolian wrestling? |
If you
cannot travel in July, there are two other Regional
Naadams – which frankly we find more fun? There
is more music and dance, the wrestling is a shorter
series of bouts, and there’s horse-riding at a
time everyone can watch it – the three days of
the National Festival are contracted to one day of concentrated
fun and competitions.
All of the Trans-Siberian Trips going
through Mongolia at the time of Naadam celebrations
have been clearly marked, so you can either opt for
them – or avoid them if heavily crowded events
are not your kind of thing? There is a supplementary
price for any Naadam dates, due to the prices of accommodation
rising slightly for the festival, in addition to the
Festival Admission Ticket that we’re sure you’ll
want if you’ve come for Naadam! |
