That's a WHOLE lot of men...

Chinggis Khan considered wrestling to be an important way to keep his army in good physical and combat shape. Wrestling was also used occasionally as a way of eliminating political rivals. Mongol history records incidents of the Khans arranging to have political enemies killed via a wrestling match.  This Sunday was not AS serious but interesting all the same...

wrestling palace

The outfit of the wrestler has been developed over the ages to reflect simplicity and mobility. The standard gear of a wrestler includes:

zodag: A tight, collarless, heavy-duty short-sleeved jacket of red or blue color. Traditionally made of wool, modern wrestlers have changed to looser materials such as cotton and silk. The front is open, but tied at the back with a simple string knot, thus exposing the wrestler’s chest. The most interesting thing about this...According to legend, on one occasion a wrestler defeated all other combatants and ripped open the jodag to reveal her breasts, showing to all she was a woman. From that day, the jodag had to reveal the wrestler's chest.

Shuudag: Small, tight-fitting briefs made of red or blue colored cotton cloth. These make the wrestler more moblile. Also, they prevent one's rival from easily taking advantage of long pants or to avoid material to trip upon...wedgies are a common sight.

Gutal: Leather boots, either in traditional style (with slightly upturned toes), or commercial, Western style. The traditional style gutal are often reinforced around the sides with leather strings for the purpose of wrestling.

Mongol wrestling dance has its original forms in shamanistic rituals where people imitated movements of various animals. Today, apart from its aesthetic value, the dance is also regarded as a warm-up and cool-down procedure before and after an intense fight. 

Mongolian wrestling also has certain codes of conduct that concern more with proper etiquette. For example, when a wrestler's clothes get loose or entangled, his opponent is expected to stop attacking and help the former to re-arrange them-even though it might mean giving up a good winning opportunity.

Also, when one contestant throws the other to the ground, he is supposed to help the latter get back on his feet, before he dances his way out of the field.

Whether winning or losing, good manners dictate that the two opponents shake hands and salute each other and the audience, both prior to and after a bout...wish there was this amount of etiquette on the streets of UB!!