AGAINST the blue sky dotted with sparse white clouds, the 69-year-old Lamu was feasting her eyes on Mongolian wrestling matches meters ahead on the grassland. The popular traditional Naadam of the Mongols was being held for the first time after 28 years in her hometown of Sumu in the Authentic Blue Banner (county) of Xilin Gol League (city), Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region.

“Naadam has become an indispensable part of life for people on the prairie. We love it and embrace it like blood in our bodies,” says Lamu, who sat on a camp chair with her legs stretching out naturally on the grass.

“I like Naadam since I was a little kid. I still walk around to watch three to four Naadams every year even though I am an elder grandma. It’s just a fun time for people to enjoy a big party.”

With a long history of around 800 years, dating back to 1225 in stone carvings of Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongolian Empire, Naadam had been held as military training during the ancient Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The three events of Mongolian wrestling, horse-racing and archery became the Triple Skills that had to be mastered by every Mongolian men. Despite centuries of evolution, the Triple Skills remained unchanged, and has been adopted by the people on the prairie.

With a literal meaning of “games,” Naadam has been enriched by folk events generation after generation. Women are now allowed to compete along with their husbands and brothers as all the events are now open to all people regardless of age or gender. Every match is a do-or-die competition.

As a popular game on the prairie, the number of Naadams is very hard to be counted in Inner Mongolia every year as the Mongols host their own private Naadams to celebrate every possible event such as good livestock harvest, weddings, birthdays or other spiritual gatherings.

Lamu says that the ongoing Naadam was one of the biggest she has ever seen as the town, Saiyinghuduoga Sumu, had combined three Sumus decades ago under the administrative re-arrangement of the League (city).

“I came here with my two sons. One will compete as a wrestler and the other as horse rider. We don’t care who will be the winners, we come here just for fun,” Lamu says.

According to local governor Alatengbagen, there are roughly 1,000 competitors — one sixth of its whole Sumu population of 5,800 — in the key Triple Skills, as well as other events such as tug-of-war and Mongolian chess. The three-day Naadam has attracted more than 10,000 enthusiasts from the four ethnic nationalities — Mongolian, Man, Hui and Han.

Some of them even drove hundreds of kilometers to the fiesta.

Mongolian wrestling, also known as Bokh, remains the most popular event, with eye-catching traditional back-only jackets and colorful pants.

“Bokh is different from any other kinds of wrestling. All the matches are open classes, without limits of age, gender and duration. Any part of the body, other than the feet, touches the grassland, means defeat and elimination from the Naadam,” explains Huqun, a local young wrestler.

What made the 24-year-old stand out from the others is a cloth ring around his neck with colorful strips flowing in the wind.

“It’s a Jiang-ga, the holy symbol of top honor for our wrestlers. Only the winner of a 256-member tournament or who wins four times from any 128-member tournament, is eligible for the Jiang-ga,” Huqun says.

The number of strips means the number of victories in all Naadam events.

Huqun says his father was also a Bokh wrestler. He started to learn the game from his father at a very young age.

“It’s our tradition. I have been enjoying it since childhood,” says Huqun. “Four years ago, I joined a wrestling club in the Banner (county) for professional training. And last year I had my Jianga after winning a 256-man tournament.”

The 44-year-old Baoer was a former wrestler, but has switched to another “manly skill” — archery.

“I began to practice archery four years ago and established an archery association in our Banner (county),” says Baoer. “Now we have 57 members — 27 of them are competing at the Naadam.”

Baoer says all the archers have their own handmade bows, which is made of ox horn. He and his fellow archers train at a local school. Sometimes, they also teach students archery.

“It’s part of our traditional culture. I want to do something to help pass it down,” Baoer says. “Many of our students are very interested in archery. It’s a good sign and we are willing to help promote it.”

Apart from wrestling and archery, horse racing is the last but not the least of Triple Skills. Unlike the Western style, Mongolian horse racing in Naadam features events like horse walking, sprint, and 15-30 endurance races on the prairie.

Both sprint and endurance races are judged by the timing of their finish, with the latter being most attractive to teenagers, especially kids. Horse walking is further proof of the perfect communication between the horse and the rider, both spiritually and technically.

“In horse walking, the horse should lift or put down its legs on the same side at the same time. It makes the riders feel comfortable on the back of the horse,” says Taogentemur, who finished fourth in the horse-walking competition.

The 45-year-old horseman now breeds about 30 horses. For him, the horses are the members of his family. And riding a horse is one of the biggest passions in his life.

“A day would be boring and tiring if I didn’t sit on the back of the horse,” says Taogentemur. “I have two daughters, they are all good at riding. It’s like a kind of inherent skill for us herdsmen.”

The weather on the prairie is always changing. It started to rain as the competitions were still underway. But no one seemed to notice it — their eyes glued to the games on the grassland.

“Our herdsmen were very supportive when we decided to host the Naadam. They donated prizes worth 200,000 yuan, either in cash or livestock that included sheep, cows and camels,” says Alatengbagen, the governor of the Sumu.

“We host the Naadam for the people. The only criteria for a good Naadam is whether the people enjoy it or not. Obviously, we have had a successful Naadam,” says Alatengbagen.