The legend of Nadam

A traditional form of sports activities loved by Mongolian people in China. Nadam, which begins on the fourth day of the sixth lunar month every year, is a grand gathering of Mongolian people. Nadam is a transliteration of Mongolian, meaning "entertainment" or "game".

/kloc-At the beginning of the 3rd century, Genghis Khan unified 82 tribes in Mongolia. In order to review troops and maintain and distribute grasslands, he holds a large-scale "mutation platform" (big gathering) from July to August every year, bringing together the leaders of various tribes and holding Nadam to express unity and friendship and pray for a bumper harvest. At first, only archery, horse racing or wrestling competitions were held. During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, archery, horse racing and wrestling were combined and became a fixed form. Later, the Mongols also called these three sports Nadam. In Yuan Dynasty, Nadam was widely spread in Mongolian grassland area and gradually became a military movement. The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty stipulated that Mongolian men must have three basic skills: wrestling, horseback riding and archery. In the Qing Dynasty, "Nadam" gradually became an organized and purposeful entertainment activity convened by the government on a regular basis, which was held every six months, one year or three years in units of Sumu (equivalent to township), flags and leagues. This custom has been inherited to this day, and the Mongolian people hold the Nadam convention every year.

Nadam convention can be divided into three types: large, medium and small. In the large-scale Nadam, there are 565,438+02 wrestlers and about 300 good horses, which last for 7 ~ 65,438+00 days. Medium-sized Nadam, with 256 wrestlers and 100 ~ 150 horses, lasting for 5 ~ 7 days; Little Nadam consists of 64 wrestlers or 128 horses, lasting for 3-5 days. People of all nationalities and religious beliefs can sign up for the competition.

When Nadam was held, herdsmen in Fiona Fang, a pastoral area hundreds of miles away in Fiona Fang, were dressed in festive costumes, and people came to visit by horse, car and unicycle in an endless stream. During the Nadam Conference, tents were set up and extensive material exchange meetings were organized to promote production. Various forms of cultural activities are also held in the evening. Nadam convention is deeply loved by people in pastoral areas, which has effectively promoted the development of mass sports activities.