Page | 57to let smoke escape from indoor heaters during the winter. The floor, either wood or dirt,
is also covered with felt.^307 The door is always set to the south side of the ger in order to
avoid the strong northern winds and to receive additional inside light.308,^309
Sports and Recreation
Mongolia’s three traditional “manly” sports—
wrestling, archery, and horse racing—are the
focus of Naadam, a festival celebrated each July
in Ulaanbaatar and numerous towns around the
country. Of the three sports, wrestling is the most
popular. Wrestling competitions do not have
weight classes, so frequently the best wrestlers are
among the largest.^310 Mongolian wrestlers use
simple grips and holds while standing on their
feet, with the sole goal being to get one’s
opponent on the ground first. Some of Mongolia’s better wrestlers also compete in judo,
where some of the wrestling techniques translate well. Overall, Mongolians have won 19
medals in the Summer Olympics since the nation first began competing in 1964—13 of
the 19 medals were for wrestling and judo.^311
Horse racing—which occurs on the open steppes rather than on an oval circuit—is
another popular sport in Mongolia. Jockeys are young (between 6 and 12 years old), and
distances are long (15–30 km or 9.3–18.6 mi).
(^312) The oldest horses run the longer
distances. Winning horses receive the title of tumnii ekh (“leader of ten thousand”) and
special attention from spectators after the race.^313
Of the three traditional Mongolian sports, archery is usually the only one in which
women participate.
314
(^307) Ministry of Tourism, Government of Mongolia, “The Ger,” Asia-Planet.net, 2002,
The bent bows are made in the traditional fashion, using wood,
http://www.asia-
planet.net/mongolia/culture.htm
(^308) BBC Two, “Darhad Life,” n.d., http://www.bbc.co.uk/tribe/tribes/darhad/index.shtml
(^309) Bioregions.org, “Traditional Mongolian Ger,” n.d.,
http://www.bioregions.org/pdfs/GerOwnersPamphlet.pdf
(^310) Michael Koln, “The Culture: Sport,” in Mongolia, 5th ed. (Footscray, Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planet
Publications, 2008), 35.
(^311) DatabaseOlympics.com, “Mongolia: Medals Won,” 2011,
http://www.databaseolympics.com/country/countrypage.htm?cty=MGL
(^312) Rebecca Byerly, “Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia - Naadam Festival,” CNN, n.d., http://www.mongolia-
attractions.com/ulaanbaatar-mongolia-naadam-festival.html
(^313) Michael Koln, “The Culture: Sport,” in Mongolia, 5th ed. (Footscray, Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planet
Publications, 2008), 35.
(^314) Rebecca Byerly, “Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia - Naadam Festival,” CNN, n.d., http://www.mongolia-
attractions.com/ulaanbaatar-mongolia-naadam-festival.html