Naadam By Olivia Newman

Naadam is a Mongolian holiday consisting of archery, horse racing and Mongolian wrestling. It is also called "the three games of men."

Naadam takes place from July 9 to July 16.

Naadams origin was military parades and sporting events that took place after weddings and spiritual gatherings.

At first, it was only the men who competed, but now women compete in archery and girls compete in horse racing.

The first 2 days are devoted to sports and then for the remaining 6 days involve crafts, food, and other cultural experiences.

These are the events that take place during Naadam. Top left: Mongolian wrestling, top left: archery, bottom left: horse racing, bottom right: soldier parade.

The horse head fiddle, or Morin Khuur, is sometimes considered a national symbol of Mongolia and is traditionally played at the Naadam festival.

There are many different ethnic groups in Mongolia, each having their own distinct type of clothing. Traditional Mongolian clothing is often on display at the Naadam festival.
A tradition at the Naadam festival is Mongolian dance. It is usually quite light and flowing, similar to ballet.

Naadam is celebrated with three traditional games, horse racing, archery, and Mongolian wrestling. After that it is pretty much a festival with dancing and culture that goes on for aproximently 8 days.

Credits:

Created with images by scott.presly - "Archery at the Naadam" • Greg Kidd - "naadam_wrestling_mongolia" • John Pannell - "DSC_2656" • scott.presly - "Naadam horseraces" • scott.presly - "Preparing for Naadam" • jnissa - "mongolia08-34" • Enkhtuvshin's 5DmkII - "Дээлтэй Монгол/ Girl with Deel" • Bernd Thaller - "Dancing Child" • Marko Mikkonen - "untitled image"

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