Mongolian Racing Where Genghis Khan Once Galloped

It was the final day of the annual Nadam Festival, a raucous two-day event that draws horse riders, wrestlers and archers from all over Mongolia to compete in what people here call the “three manly sports.” It is one of the most vivid athletic spectacles in the world, and its roots can be traced back to competitions of martial prowess that took place among Genghis Khan’s warriors.

On Saturday morning, as Munkherdene and thousands of others watched, more than 600 stubby 5-year-old horses were set to sprint across this wide expanse of steppe west of Ulan Bator, the Mongolian capital.

The day before, Munkherdene, who has never won a medal, raced one of his father’s stallions here in what was his final chance to ride in Naadam. (There would be no more races among stallions in this year’s festival, and he would be too heavy next year.)

The Nadam Festival, usually held from June 4 to 9 (lunar calendar), is one of the most exciting and colorful festivals in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. At the center of the festivities are the fierce horse racing, archery and wrestling competitions, the traditional sports of the Mongolian warriors (the three "manly" sports, though young girls and women participate in the horse racing and archery contests).      

In Mongolian, the word "Nadam" means "amusement and entertainment" and can be traced back to 1225AD, when Genghis Khan mounted an expedition to the west and conquered Khwarezm. In order to celebrate the victory they held the magnificent Nadam Fair. The Mongolians used this exciting gathering as a big occasion to compete in the horseracing, Mongolian wrestling and archery, which were regarded as the three basic skills of men.

Torchbearers and spectators tried various means to showcase their ethnic Mongolian culture , when the Olympic torch passed through the capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region on July 8, 2008.

Torchbearer Wang Liping, a performing artist, mimicked the act of horse riding during his run, while wrestler Shanamu Gerile wore a wrestler's hat in a bid to remind people of the Mongolian tradition.

Traditionally known as "the people on horseback", the Mongolians are proud of their milk production, which accounts for almost half of China's total.

The Mongolians are also proud of their traditions, such as Nadam, which means entertainment in Mongol, but is in fact a traditional mass meeting and an annual gala of the Mongolian with a history dating back to 1225, when Genghis Khan beat Hualamo. In order to celebrate his success, a grand Nadam was held. Initially Nadam was an occasion to showcase Mongolian's age-old "Three Manly Skills", namely boke (Mongol for wrestling), horsemanship and archery.

"The Olympic Games for the people across the world is like nadamu for us Mongolians," Gerile, a local wrestling hero who made his name first through Nadam, said.

Genghis Khan (1167-1227), crowned the "emperor of all emperors," and his army of fierce Mongol horsemen, known as the "Golden Horde," conquered two thirds of the then known world. The Mongols were a fast-moving, cavalry-based army that rode small sturdy ponies. They stayed in their saddles for long period of time, sometimes days without ever dismounting. They had little opportunity to stop and build a fire for their meal. The entire village would follow behind the army on great wheeled carts they called "yurts," leading huge herds of sheep, goats, oxen, and horses. As the army needed food that could be carried on their mounts and eaten easily with one hand while they rode, ground meat was the perfect choice. They would use scrapings of lamb or mutton which were formed into flat patties. They softened the meat by placing them under the saddles of their horses while riding into battle. When it was time to eat, the meat would be eaten raw, having been tenderized by the saddle and the back of the horse.