Folk wrestling in Mongolia

Wrestling dates back to prehistoric times and most of the cultures have developed different forms of grappling. Today I would like to write about traditional Mongolian wrestling and it's significance to the Mongolian culture. Originally it was called Bökh, and it was a military sport that improved the soldiers strength and stamina. Mongolian emperors were very supportive of this sport so it was often featured on the festivals. The results of the matches had an influence on military rankings and outstanding wrestlers were entitled to high honours. Wrestling together with horseback riding and archery belongs to traditional 'Three Manly Skills of Mongolia and are the country's most popular sports.

The wrestling competition had no weight or time limits. Before and after the match each wrestler performed an Eagle Dance that symbolised power, bravery, grace and invincibility. The costumes had a lot of significance, especially the hat. The four sides of the hat symbolised the four major provinces that Mongolia was used to dived into.The carved animals on the hats showed the rank of a wrestler.They went in in order of Falcon, Elephant ,Lion and Titan. Also there were streamers attached to the wrestler's hats on which yellow stripes indicated how many times the competitor has reached the final bouts. The hats were treated with dignity and were never put down on the ground.In traditional Mongolian wrestling women were not allowed to compete. The wrestlers had to wear an open chest vest because the legend says that once a woman won the whole competition and embarrassed the rest of male competitors. She was able to hide her identity because the vests used to cover the chest area.

Today's sketches are taken from a documentary called Chapter 13 - Naadam - Mongolian Wrestling: From the Heart of Asia - Mongolia Documentary