Monthly Photos　December 2021

Photos taken by ILCAA staff and associates are posted here once a month; most of them are taken during their field research in Asia and Africa.

(The copyright belongs to the photographers.)

Inner Mongolian wrestler who won the Mongolian wrestling competition held in Tokyo

This is a picture of a Mongolian wrestler who came to Japan from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China to participate in the Mongolian wrestling competition held in Tokyo in October 2013. Inner Mongolian wrestler wears a tight short sleeved vest made of cowhide, which often has silver or copper fasteners embedded in it. Also wears large white trousers, patterned knee pads, and wears cowhide boots. It is said that the influence of shamanism remains in such flashy costumes.
Traditional summer competitions in Inner Mongolia, named Naadam, often compete by 512 wrestlers in tournament. The top four wrestlers, including the winner, will be presented with a necklace of various colors of silk called “Janga” and will be praised as an excellent Mongolian wrestler.
Mongolian wrestling has been described in Mongolian history since at least the 13th century, and is recognized as an important intangible cultural heritage of the country in China.

6 October, 2013
Roka Koshunen, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo
Photograph by KUREBITO, Tokusu

*An article related to this photograph runs in “FIELD PLUS” Vol.24.
Please also have a look at it.