Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Naadam - the three manly sports

So, I've been promising for some time to post a bit about Naadam.  It's quite the event in UB and throughout Mongolia.  Since it's based on the three manly sports of wrestling, archery and horseracing and I have a thousand pictures (won't bore you will all of them) - I thought I'd break it into a couple of different posts.  Let's start out with a bit of history....

Naadam is the most widely watched festival in the country, and has existed for centuries in one fashion or another. Originally it was a religious festival as an annual sacrificial ritual honouring various mountain gods and to celebrate a community endeavour. Now it formally commemorates the 1921 revolution when Mongolia declared itself a free country.

History aside - it was good fun and a little bit nuts a little like Mongolia. 

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