Wrestling
Mongolian wrestling is a bit like wrestling found other places, except that there are no weight divisions, so the biggest wrestlers are usually the best. Mongolian wrestling also has no time limit, with short breaks, until the first wrestler falls, and anything apart from the soles of his feet and palms touch the ground.
Before each elimination bout, wrestlers limber up and honour the judges and their individual with a short dance called a ‘eagle dance.’ After the bout, the loser must take off his jacket and walk under the right arm of the winner, who then makes a lap of honour around the flag.
By tradition, the wrestlers enter the arena from the left or the right.
Archery
Archers use a bent bow made of layered horn, bark and wood. Usually, arrows are made from willow, arrowheads from bone, and the feathers are from vultures and other birds.
Male archers stand 75m and women usually 60m from the target. The target is sometimes a line of 360 round leather grey, red or yellow rings on the ground. After each shot, special judges who stand near the target emit a short cry called a uukhai, and raise their hands in the air to indicate the quality of the shot. The winner who hits the targets the most times is declared the best archer.
Horse Racing
There are normally six categories of horse racing, depending on the age of the horses. There are no tracks or courses, it is just open countryside. The horses in each category are taken from the starting line to a designated landmark a suitable distance away, and then race back. Jockeys prepare for months for special races, particularly at Naadam, and horses are fed a special diet for weeks beforehand.
Before a race the audience, often sings traditional songs. The young riders sing a traditional anthem called a gingo before the race, and scream ’Goog’ at the horses during the race.
The five winning horses are admired by the crowd, and traditional poems are read out. The five winning riders must drink some special ‘airag’, which is then often sprinkled on the riders’ heads and on the horses’ backsides. During Naadam, a song is also sung to the two-year-old horse which comes last.