Even though naadam’s original nickname is “three manly games” meaning the wrestling, horse-racing and archery, the fourth game came into the naadam’s official agenda since 1998. It is the mongolian knuckle-bone shooting (Shagain Harvaa), another UNESCO registered world heritage.

For each naadam, there will be a special tent areas or building space dedicated to knuckle- bone shooting games. Once you are there, you should follow a few steps to understand the

game.

Pick any one game first

Knuckle bone is a team game. It is tiny version of bowling too. Instead of bowling targets, there will be ankle bones or other little bones of herd animals. Instead of bowling ball, there will be a ‘bullet’, a polished piece of deer horn, that fly light and fast. Instead of bowling conveyer, there will be a line of people sitting on two sides and helping the player to get his or her bullet back after a shot. Knuckle-bone games will be organized at once in many spots. Pick any one of them. A crowd will be circling one little carpet and making ‘uukhai’ noise or a long song sounds. In the north end of the carpet, there will be a small wooden structure. Actually, this is not just one little drawer. This is a composition of several structures: Aravch or target bones and bullet catcher, and Zurkhai or Target area, and the target bones lined up to be shot. The more bones are arrayed on the Target line, the earlier stage the game is. If you catch the players having only one to two target bones remaining at Zurkhai line, then it must be the closing, the most competitive stage of a certain round. Make sure not to leave that particular game because it will be over soon and dramatic cheers will explode when the last target is hit. Also, look at the carpet. By the end of the carpet, there will be two longish woods on which little bones are arrayed. The more the bones collected on any of the woods, the better players are on that side. The crowd would sit on two sides representing the team they support or participate in.

Watch the shooters’ age and gender

Each team of knuckle-bone shooting shall have six, seven or eight players. In some naadams, there’s a rule that each team must have mixed age groups. There shall be at least two children, two young and middle aged persons and two elderly members. It will be considered a very confident and full team if women are in the team. However, in the other naadams, the entire game is organized separately for each age groups: Children under 17, adults 18-60 and the seniors above 61.

When you watch knucklebone shooting game where each age group is separately competing rather than mixed age teams, it will mean that it’s the most competitive game going on. Children, and adults are not allowed to use shooting devices and they must shoot a target using only their fingers. However, elderly and the women are allowed to use shooting devices. Middle finger is mainly used as the “gun” to shoot a knucklebone placed on a polished wooden stick-path. The shooter will use of his knees as a base for the path. Well trained knucklebone shooters calculate the strength of his finger, the angle he or she will shoot towards the target and the weight to precisely knock the target bone off the line.

Don’t tell rude words

When you watch knucklebone shooting game, you’ll feel an unusually friendly atmosphere surrounding that little carpet. The entire game space is a circle with the diameter of 5 meter. In this little space, people are crowded to participate and support one particular game. Then, you’ll notice that no one is saying rude words, no one is angry, and even someone misses the target, people would be singing strange song notes rather than cursing the target. So, the knucklebone game’s social role is to teach younger generation how to compete politely, and how to work as a team. It is a place that teaches the people philosophically calm team spirit.

Winning team will go to next level

During the state naadam, many teams participate in knucklebone shooting. Each team that won their first opponent team will go to the next level to fight with another team that won the first round. In this way, the best team is determined after 10-12 games that involved 80- 100 teams totally. In the state naadam, the best team of every province, every UB city district is eligible to apply to participate. Additionally, knucklebone shooting association of Mongolia makes the list of eligible teams to participate in the naadam. In order to be eligible to participate in the naadam, the teams must participate in other games in past, and win local knucklebone games that were organized by the Association’s members and affiliates. There are traditional knucklebone shooting places called local “shagain toirom”, meaning “knucklebone circle”. In past, the khans, lords and religious leaders would find auspicious spring days to gather the community and the friends at a certain picturesque place, and would stay there for several days playing knucklebone shooting against each other’s teams. Such circles would be a place protected from wind, where travelers with just a light tent could stay for days. There was a saying that whatever happens in life, real friends meet at least once a year at the knucklebone circle. A famous knucklebone circle in Bulgan province, called “Khanginakhiin

shugui”, and “Honhor lake circle” were the places for the dignitaries to come together each spring when Bird Cherry trees blossom. Each year, very province organizes a province-wide competition before the state naadam so that they could send their best teams to the state naadam. In the province naadam, every soum is eligible to send one team for the province naadam. In some provinces, some companies, enterprises can send their teams to the naadam too. During other events, teams are invited quite freely.

Pay attention to the uukhai song

When a shooter concentrates his attention for his shooting, two different sound will start. His supporters will start mellow, helping melodies while his opponent team members will try to distract the shooter by their sharp loud voices. Such a voice battle will not be the case for every shooting, especially in the early stage. However, the closer the race, the closer the end of the round, the more psychological battle will go on. Sometimes the teams won’t make sound during the actual concentration, but right after the shooting. Still the sounds will be fighting to bring success or failure for the shooter’s next shooting. The trick is the shooter must be very calm during the entire game in order not to be distracted by the battle of the voices.

Can a tourist try the game?

Yes. Any team that’s lost in a round is free. It means they can just take their time and play the game without competing anyone. A tour group can arrange a time and place with such a free team and just play the game. Knuckle bone shooters are team-spirited polite people, if they had time and a space, they would be happy to share their techniques with guests and let the guests to play the game. To visit a team (most teams in countryside would have a tent), it would be good idea to bring a gift or two which can be shared by the team members. Outside Mongolia, mongolian communities organize knucklebone shooting games. Any tourist who can find such a game occurring in her or his country, can visit and participate in the game.