Khuresh
The national wrestling of the Tuvans; it is in the Russian register of sports.
About
Khuresh is the national wrestling of the Tuvans. Before the contest the wrestlers perform the devig, the eagle dance, which shows an eagle flying higher and higher. The wrestler who falls first or touches the ground with a knee loses.
The wrestlers wear tight sports trunks and a short jacket with long sleeves. Contests are held every year at the Naadym festival and at Shagaa, the New Year.
History
As O. Karataev writes, among the Turkic and Mongolic peoples of Southern Siberia the great festivities ran through three contests: first wrestling, then horse racing, and last archery. The eagle dance that Tuvan and Mongol wrestlers perform before a bout with their arms raised, and the three slaps on the thigh, go back to the idea of the three levels of the world: the eagle stands for the upper world, the maral deer for the middle world and the bear for the lower one.
The age of the wrestling is shown by archaeological finds: plaques of the Saka period (sixth to third centuries BC) and objects found in Ordos show wrestlers without upper clothing, in wide trousers. At a contest the spectators sit round in a circle; two seconds were appointed for 16 or 36 wrestlers and four for 66.
Peoples
Research: Vasif Namazov, Turan Games Concept
