Wrestling – a unique combination of traditional sports and cultural elements – is one of the three main sports of the Naadam Festival in Mongolia.  Wrestling also has thousands of years of historical development in Mongolia.

According to an ancient rock-carving, dated back to the Bronze Age (7000-11000BC), portraying a wrestling festivity found in Ulziit soum of Dundgobi province, wrestling has well been exercised in the territory of Mongolia for over 7000 years. With regard to its vast open territory and nomadic culture, Mongolian wrestling has certain uniqueness such as no weight or field limitation, expanded time and countless tricks.

Throughout its history, Mongolian wrestling has been developed in three main streams: Mongolian bull wrestling, Khalkh wrestling, and Inner Mongolian wrestling. They have similarities in the wrestlers’ costumes, wrestling dances, rituals of judges and attendants and the wrestling field. However, they are differentiated in the rules of winning/losing. Touching a head, knees, or elbows are counted as losing in the Khalkh wrestling, for instance, while touching back is counted as losing in the Mongolian bull wrestling.

Wrestling costume

There are four main parts in the Mongolian wrestling costumes:
1.    Four-sided soldier hat
2.    Shoulder vest & snug shorts (zodog & shuudag)
3.    Cloak
4.    Traditional boots

Hat: A Wrestler’s hat has lots of significance in its garments. Four-sides, for example, connote the four major provinces Mongolia used to be divided into in the early 1900s; and nowadays, silver carvings of a champion, a lion, an elephant, and a hawk – titles given to winning wrestlers – could be placed on the sides of the hat. Mongolians, in general, never put their hats or caps, which go on top of a person, on the ground. Especially, wrestlers’ hats are treated with special care and dignity and therefore, never put on the ground or elsewhere considered non-sacred.

Shoulder vest & snug shorts (zodog & shuudag): Only men are allowed to exercise the Mongolian wrestling. However a legend tells that, in the early days, a female wrestler competed in the national wrestling competition on behalf of her aged father and ultimately won the game. At the time, wrestlers wore a vest that covered their chests and therefore, the female wrestler was able to compete throughout the game without being noticed of her gender. Since that incident, at Mongolian wrestling, participants were obliged to wear a chest-open shoulder vests.

Special techniques and fabrics are used for making wrestlers’ costumes which usually come in red or blue. Blue obviously signifies eternal blue sky in Mongolia and red signifies eternal flame which would be carried on through the generations of wrestlers of Mongolia.

Cloak: In the wrestling field, wrestlers come in two wings: right and left. Wrestlers with the highest titles lead each wing and wear cloaks, made of delicate fabrics and special technique. Nowadays though, it is uncommon that a leading wrestler wears the cloak.

Traditional boots: Traditional Mongolian boots have upturned toes which enable wrestlers stay stable, and not to be trapped. For extra stability, wrestlers tie straps around their boots.

Muscellaneous

In 2011, Mongolians registered their wrestling in the World Guinness Records under the title – ‘a wrestling with the largest number of participants’ by collecting 6000 wrestlers at one time. During the opening ceremony of the wrestling game, Prime Minister of Mongolia – Mr. S.Batbold – highlighted that the gathering of 6000 wrestlers simultaneously in a country with a population of 2,8 million is a truly record setting event.