Mongolian wrestling, known as Bökh, is the folk wrestling style of Mongols in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Buryat Mongol regions, Kalmyk Mongol and other regions where touching the ground with anything other than foot or palm of hand loses the match. Bökh means "firmness, reliability, vitality, wrestler", from Mongolic root *bekü "firm, hard, solid; fighter, strong man"Starostin, Dybo, & Mudrak. (2003) Etymological Dictionary of the Altaic Languages "Proto-Mongolian root *bekü", Wrestling is the most important of the Mongolian culture's historic "Three Manly Skills", that also include horsemanship and archery.
Genghis Khan considered wrestling to be an important way to keep his army in good physical shape and combat ready. The court of the Qing dynasty (1646–1911) held regular wrestling events, mainly between ethnic Manchu and Mongol wrestlers. There are several different versions, Mongolian, Buryatian (in the Buryatia of Russia), Oirat and Inner Mongolian.
Mongolian wrestling, Khalkha wrestling (Khalkha bökh) - traditional Khalkha Mongolian wrestling. Buryat wrestling (Buriad bökh) Bukh noololdoon - Oirat wrestling or Western Mongolian wrestling Southern Mongolian wrestling - (Khorchin wrestling) jacket wrestling that wear jacket made of cow leather, long pants with chaps over and boots. Khuresh - traditional Tuvan jacket wrestling, in southern Siberia. Influenced by Mongolian wrestling. Khalkha Mongolian and Tuvan wrestlers wear almost the same jacket.
History Cave paintings in Mongolia’s Bayankhongor Province, dating back to around 7000BC in the Neolithic age, depict two naked men grappling while surrounded by spectators. The art of Bökh appears on bronze plates discovered in the ruins of the Xiongnu empire (206 BC–220 AD). Originally, Bökh was a military sport intended to provide mainly strength, stamina and skills training to troops. Genghis Khan (1206–1227) and the all later Emperors of the Mongol Empire (1206–1368) and also the Emperors of later Khanates were keen to support the sport for this reason so wrestling events were included in local festivals, or Naadam. Wrestling became a key factor when deciding the candidate rankings in imperial martial exams plus outstanding wrestlers were entitled to high distinctions.Bokh (Mongolian Wrestling) - China culture The Secret History of the Mongols (written in Mongolian in 1240 AD) in Chapter 4, Paragraph 140 records a wrestling match between Buri the Wrestler and Belgutei that took place in Eastern Mongolia on the Year of the Monkey (1200 AD):
One day Genghis Khan had Buri Bokh and Belgutei wrestle each other. Buri Bokh belonged to the Juchhen tribe. Formerly Buri Bokh was able to hold on to Belgutei by one hand, drop him to the ground by one leg and keep him immobile there on the ground. Buri Bokh was a nationally famous wrestler. However, on this occasion when Buri Bokh and Belgutei were made to wrestle with each other Buri Bokh fell on the ground despite being an undefeated champion. Belgutei managed with great effort to press Buri Bokh down at the shoulder and proceeded to sit on his belt area. He then glanced at Genghis Khan from the corner of his eye. Genghis Khan bit his lower lip. Belgutei understood the meaning of this, held Buri Bokh firmly, jerked him at the chest and buttocks and broke his back. Buri Bokh said with his back broken: "I never lost a match to Belgutei. I fell purposefully to please the Khan out of fear but now I have lost my life." Having said this he died. Belgutei broke his back, dragged him and then left his body. The eldest of the seven sons of Kabul Khan was Okhinbarkhag. The second eldest was Bartanbaatar. Yesukhei Baatar (father of Genghis Khan) was his son. The third son (of Kabul Khan) was Khutugt Monkhor. Buri Bokh was his son. Whenever Buri Bokh wrestled he far outperformed the sons of Bartanbaatar. He was close friends with the brave sons of Barkhag. This was how the national wrestling champion Buri had his back broken by Belgutei.Inscriptions de l'Orkhon recueillis par l'expedition Finnoise 1890 et publiees par la Societe Finno Ourgienne. 1892, Helsinki, p. 4
Axel Heikel of the Finnish expedition to Mongolia wrote about a wrestling competition the expedition witnessed during their ten-day stay in Urga (now Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia) from 27 July until 7 August 1891 "Now there took place an entire week of wrestling between Mongolian athletes. The location was an open public square in front of a temple in the middle of the city. Thousands of spectators had gathered all around. These were kept in order by police agents. Ladies of high rank were jostling their way through the midst of the crowd. Only one side of the square was reserved for the lamas, who were dressed in shiny robes of red and yellow and sat with their legs crossed in long rows on both sides of a baldachin, under which was enthroned on an altar the "Gegen", that is to say, the "God-Man" sent from Tibet. In front of the throne stood two attendants with ceremonial tiger-skins slung over their shoulders. The champions advanced two at a time, coming out from opposite sides of the square, accompanied by their seconds. They had their chests, legs and arms exposed and advanced doing most comic dances, certainly to ensure the elasticity of their muscles during the last minute. As soon as one of the wrestlers touched the ground, no matter how lightly, he was judged the loser of the bout. Then the victor proceeded to leap his way forward and prostrated himself before the god, offering his thanks for the victory. After that he went to the judges to have his name written down, in order to fight the next day with another opponent who had equally brought down his own opponent that same day. The prizes given to the final "invincibles" consisted of goats and sheep etc. Ten days later there was to take place a horse race in a steppe close to Urga, wherein a thousand racers would participate, but we couldn't wait until then. These kinds of national festivals, which one could call the Mongolian Olympics, take place every year, but the ones which take place every three years seem to be the most impressive."
As can be seen from this text the Urga games (1778–1924) took place at the old central square which would have been located just to the north of present-day Sükhbaatar Square. The square can be seen on pre-revolutionary paintings of Urga. A 1967 Mongolian painting shows an old Urga wrestling match in detail, with the wrestlers wearing the same "Zodog" and "Shuudag" as they do in the present-day games (1924–present). The avarga (Titan) Jambyn Sharavjamts (born 1876) was a famous champion who gained recognition starting from when he was 18 years old and continued to compete with extraordinary success in state Naadams during the Qing dynasty period (until 1911), the Bogd Khan period (1911–1924) and the People's Republic of Mongolia (1924–1990). Sharavjamts was invited to take part in the state Naadam of 1945 (footage still exists) and succeeded in defeating three wrestlers at the age of nearly 70. He retired from wrestling in 1951, during the 30th anniversary of the People's Revolution with many decorations and medals including the Labor Achievement medal.
On 17 September 2011 the Mongolian National Wrestling Match was held with the attendance of 6002 wrestlers. Thus, it has become the largest wrestling competition in the world and is recorded in the Guinness Record Book.Photo news: Mongolian National Wrestling in the Guinness Record Book : InfoMongolia.com : News and information about Mongolia, Mongolian language lessons
Competitions Mongolian wrestling is the most popular national sport and a vital cultural piece for all Mongols around the world. When a male child is born in a family, Mongols wish him to become a wrestler. There are many competitions that take place each year in Mongolia, west and south-eastern Russia and northern China. The biggest one is the National Naadam festival, takes place in Mongolia between up to 1024 wrestlers.
Mongolian National Naadam In Mongolia, the Naadam ('Game' in English) takes place in July each year. The biggest competition is the National Naadam competition in Ulaanbaatar, which has the largest number of wrestlers and live radio and television broadcasts throughout the country, with overseas streaming, enabling the reach to go beyond to countries all over the globe. Naadam is divided into three classes based on the Mongolian administrative divisions. LevelNamePlaceDateParticipating wrestlers1stNational Naadam WrestlingUlaanbaatarJuly, 11-13512 wrestlers, 1024 in big anniversary year2ndAimag (provincial) Naadam WrestlingEach 21 Aimagapproximately July, 8-10 or middle July128 or 256 wrestlers3rdSum (district) Naadam WrestlingEach 329 Sumearly July32 or 64 wrestlers
For the Naadam in Ulaanbaatar, the matches are held in at the National Sports Stadium, while in the countryside for smaller scale Naadams the matches are generally held in a small stadium or on an open grassy field; however, they can also occur on a soft dirt area not littered with gravel. Since there are no weight classes in the Naadam of Mongolia, a small wrestler can compete against an opponent over twice his size. Smallest wrestlers usually weigh around 70 kg, while the biggest are over 160 kg. The median weight of a competitor at the Naadam is around 115 kg.
Traditionally, the wrestlers are not randomly matched. The host of the Naadam has the privilege to arrange these matches and would often lend their favorites an advantage. Sometimes such arrangements would result in serious disputes between hosts and visiting wrestlers. Although the modern wrestling codes since 1980 stipulate that a lot drawing method be used, this is usually only done at major cross-regional Naadams and championship matches. At the grassroots level, the traditional system is still used.
Rank can only be attained during the Naadam festival. The number of rounds won by each wrestler determines rank. The lowest rank is the Falcon of Sum, given to the top four wrestlers at the soum level Naadam in any 329 sums of Mongolia. Highest rank is "Champion". The rank is held for life.
Level TitleMongolianProvision1NationalState Grand ChampionУлсын дархан аваргаWin 4 times or more in National Naadam Wrestling2State Wide ChampionУлсын даян аваргаWin 3 times in National Naadam Wrestling3State ChampionУлсын аваргаWin 2 times in National Naadam Wrestling or win once in National Naadam Wrestling at the tournament with 10 rounds4State LionУлсын арсланWin in National Naadam Wrestling5State GarudaУлсын гарьдRunner-Up in National Naadam Wrestling6State ElephantУлсын заан Semi-final in National Naadam Wrestling7State HawkУлсын харцагаQuarter final in National Naadam Wrestling8State FalconУлсын начин1/8 final in National Naadam Wrestling9AimagLion of AimagАймгийн арсланWin in Aimag Naadam Wrestling10Elephant of AimagАймгийн заанRunner-Up in Aimag Naadam Wrestling11Falcon of AimagАймгийн начинSemi-final in Aimag Naadam Wrestling12SumElephant of SumСумын заанWin in Sum Naadam Wrestling13Falcon of SumСумын начинSemi-final in Sum Naadam Wrestling
If a wrestler secures five or more wins in a Naadam but doesn't surpass their previous record, they are honored with a title () instead of being promoted. For instance, if a State Hawk wins six matches in a State Naadam for the first time (having previously won six times to attain the State Hawk rank at a lower rank), they are honored with the title of Unen Zorigt, which translates to "truly brave", and assume the designation of Unen Zorigt State Hawk ().
Danshig Naadam