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| General Information |
Bukh is traditional Mongolian wrestling recognised by UNESCO in 2010 as part of Naadam festival which includes Bukh, horse-racing, and archery, the three sports of men in the country (Tomikawa 2006). Bukh is standing wrestling played by only male wrestlers trying to make each other’s backs, knees, and elbows touch the ground.Bukh is played in an open grassy area with no weight classes. The competitions take place during holidays, including Naadam festival in the second week of July. Wrestlers participate in several rounds of matches in the festival, which decides the rank of each wrestler. They perform a dance imitating animals like lions, tigers, falcons and the mythical bird, Garuda, before the match begins, showing their bravery, power, and grace.
Bukh does not involve ground-fighting techniques unlike many other wrestling styles. This is the result of Mongolian military traditions consisting of cavalry troops (Fields 2010). It is known that ground fighting was not developeddue to its disadvantages against an armed opponent on the horse (Fields 2010).
Bukh has two mainstream variations, Khalkhbukh in Mongolia and Ujumchinbukh in Inner Mongolia, with different attire, traditions, and rules (Tomikawa 2006). The former is a popular sport in Mongol, but the latter being part of China is not as much(Tomikawa 2006). |
| History/Development |
Historians and Mongolian authorities claim that bukh originated more than 7,000 years ago. |
Transmission
(Policies/institutions) |
Mongolian wrestlers take part in international wrestling competitions and have been outstanding particularly in Japanese sumo by adapting their techniques. According to DashzevegiinAltankhuyag, a former sumo journalist from Mongolia, more than 40 Mongolian sumo players in Japan (Graceffo 2020). This started by Japan’s recruitment of Mongolian wrestlers in 1992, when Mongolia suffered severe economic woes in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union(Graceffo 2020). Many Mongolians applied for the Japanese recruitment to make money in Japan as a sumo wrestler and 6 boys became the first sumo players (Graceffo 2020). |
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| References |
- Graceffo, A. (2020). “Mongolia’s Sumo Champions”, The Diplomat.
- Fields, A. (2010). “Mongolian Martial Arts.” In Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation, edited by T. Green and J. Svinth, 77-81. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
- Tomikawa, R. (2006). “Mongolian Wrestling (Bukh) and Ethnicity”. International Journal of Sport and Health Science (4):103-109. | | |
