NAADAM FESTIVAL CELEBRATES MONGOLIAN HERITAGE
A photo essay by Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert: 8/24/01

The formerly Soviet area of Asia often expresses independence in painful ways. Poverty claws at Kyrgyzstan. Spousal abuse is up in Uzbekistan. Holy war threatens to ravage Tajikistan. Traditions re-emerge in these countries, often in the service of violence or craven political goals. In Mongolia, tradition affords a break from these patterns- at least for the national Naadam festival. Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert visited Naadam from July 9 to July 14 and shot these photographs in and around the capital of Ulaan Bator. Today, Mongolia faces intense challenges, from drought to increasing hegemony from China. But, as these photos show, its people also manage to celebrate its land and traditions.

Naadam, a sports and cultural festival, has occurred in its current form for at least 200 years. It survived Soviet occupation and preserved traditions from ancient times. The festival ‘s name invokes "three manly sports." These days, the festival is less brutish than that name might imply. Women participate in archery and horse racing (they don’t wrestle) and children race horses. The drinking, indigenous singing and storytelling that accompany the events have always given the festival much of its heart, and they continue to delight natives and visitors today. The victorious wrestler dancing in Sutton-Hibbert’s first picture may exult in a manner familiar to anyone who’s watched American football, but he’s also channeling traditions unique to his country. The crowds sing victory songs to the winning horse, celebrating both the triumph and the beauty of what surrounds them.

Naadam, while celebrating land and heritage, also acknowledges current challenges. Authorities have required farmers to prepare their feedstocks throughout August and September to guard against a particularly harsh winter. Normally, many smaller naadams occur throughout the summer, each with heavy feasts and revelry. Mongolians cannot afford excess revelry these days. But ten years after Soviet occupation, they can immerse themselves in their national history.

click here to begin

Email this article
Posted August 24, 2001 © Eurasianet
http://www.eurasianet.org

	The Central Eurasia Project aims, through its website, meetings, papers, and grants, to foster a more informed debate about the social, politcal and economic developments of the Caucasus and Central Asia. It is a program of the Open Society Institute-New York. The Open Society Institute-New York is a private operating and grantmaking foundation that promotes the development of open societies around the world by supporting educational, social, and legal reform, and by encouraging alternative approaches to complex and controversial issues. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the position of the Open Society Institute and are the sole responsibility of the author or authors.