With the festive atmosphere of Naadam already in the air, wrestlers, horse trainers, archers, and knucklebone shooters across the country have begun gathering with their provincial and soum teams to prepare for the grand celebration. By tradition, the archery competitions of Mongolia’s National Naadam Festival begin with Uriankhai archery, followed by Buryat and Khalkh archery events.

One of only two female archers to have won the Buryat archery competition three times is J.Nyamdavaa, a native of Burentogtokh soum of Khuvsgul Province. She is an archer of the “Altan Duulga” National Archery Association in Sukhbaatar District, Chair of the Ethics and Oversight Committee of the Mongolian National Archers’ Association, a Khuikherei Mergen in Buryat archery, a Provincial Mergen in traditional (Khalkh) archery, and a Sports Master.

Archery runs in her family. Her father, writer and journalist D.Jugderkhuu, won the national archery competition at the 56th anniversary of the People’s Revolution in 1977 and earned the title of State Mergen (Master Archer). Inheriting her father’s talent and passion for marksmanship, she took up the bow and arrow herself and won the Buryat archery competition at Naadam in 2014, 2015, and 2018, earning the title of Khuikherei Mergen.

Although Khuikherei Mergen is not an official state title, it is a traditional exclamation and word of praise shouted when an archer hits the target. It publicly celebrates an archer as skillful, sharp, quick-witted, and exceptionally accurate before the Naadam audience.

 

The Naadam festival is just around the corner. Having spent many years drawing your bowstring on the golden-yellow range, you must be feeling excited.

 

My life, work, and achievements are inseparable from archery. Alongside our jobs, archers continue their training and preparation every year to entertain Naadam spectators through competition. I consider it a rare blessing to practice a traditional heritage sport that has been preserved through generations and has evolved into a recognized sporting discipline.

For an archer, the most important tools for success are a good bow and arrows. Two years ago, I had arrows crafted by Sports Master D.Dugarsuren, an archer from Bayandun soum of Dornod Province, and they matched my bow perfectly.

The state Naadam archery competitions begin with Uriankhai and Buryat archery. Because I stand first among the final eight competitors according to my Khuikherei Mergen ranking, I always strive to set a good example for younger archers and compete with a strong sense of responsibility.

 

It cannot be easy to emerge victorious among so many highly skilled archers who rarely miss their shots.

 

I come from a family of archers. Among the archers from my home province, I was the first to win the Buryat archery competition at Naadam three times.

The female archer with the most victories in Mongolia’s Buryat archery event is State Mergen (awarded to an archer who wins the state-level archery competition at the National Naadam Festival) D.Tsetseg, a native of Bayandun soum in Dornod Province, who has won 10 times. Behind her in the record books are State Dayan Mergen (awarded to archers who achieve exceptional success and sustained excellence at the state-level Naadam competitions) S.Enkhtungalag and myself, each with three victories.

In traditional Buryat archery, an archer who wins four or more times is called a Khoridoi Mergen, while one who wins three times is called a Khuikherei Mergen. These titles began being awarded about four years ago. They are roughly equivalent to the State-Wide Renowned Mergen title in Khalkh archery.

Buryat archery has unique traditions. During competition, archers and supporters chant: “Goyo daa bar aa gu, bar aa, Khuiherei Mergen!” as words of encouragement and praise.

The title of Khoridoi Mergen is not an official state title. It is awarded in Buryat archery when an archer meets specific scoring requirements during tournaments and Naadam competitions.

As mentioned earlier, Khuikherei Mergen is a traditional exclamation used to praise an archer who successfully hits the target. Through this chant, the audience publicly recognizes the archer as exceptionally skillful, alert, agile, and accurate.

 

At the 2007 Naadam Buryat archery competition, State Mergen D.Tsetseg won first place and you finished second. What went through your mind when victory seemed so close?

 

I had been practicing Buryat archery consistently and, in 2007, I earned my first major award by finishing runner-up at the national Naadam.

After winning, D.Tsetseg told me, “In Russia, Buryat archers use center-point scoring. If we had that system here, you would have been the champion.” Hearing those words from the winning archer herself felt meaningful. I thought to myself, “I will carry this praise from a highly respected master archer as a blessing for the future.”

Seven years later, in 2014, I won my first national Naadam title. I won again in 2015 and became a two-time Buryat archery champion. Then, in 2018, I claimed my third title and earned the distinction of Khuikherei Mergen.

 

You compete in both Buryat and Khalkh archery. Your father must have been delighted to see his daughter become an archer.

 

My family never imagined that I would become an archer. As a child, I would accompany my father to the archery field and carry his arrows, but I never thought I would eventually take up the sport myself.

By the time I graduated from secondary school, my father was already elderly and had retired his bow, placing it in a place of honor in our home. In 1998, I had a dream that I can never forget. In the dream, my father’s bow was about to fall from the tip of a deer antler where it was hanging, and I rushed forward and caught it. Even after waking, the dream stayed on my mind. I took my father’s bow and went to meet Sh.Lkhagvasuren, a master archer from my province. He told me, “Go to the archery field.”

At that time, the Seventh National Traditional Sports Festival was taking place. He said, “I’m competing in the tournament, so I won’t have time to introduce you to the archers. Go and find Provincial Mergen L.Galsantseren from Dornogovi Province.”

Since it was a major national event, archers from every province had gathered at the range. While searching for L.Galsantseren, I met A.Mandal, the younger brother of State Mergen A.Khongor. He noticed my bow and exclaimed, “This is Jugderkhuu’s bow! Who are you? How did you get it?” He soon learned that I was his daughter.

That day, L.Galsantseren had me practice drawing the bow throughout the day. In the evening, he had me shoot several arrows and, the next day, included me on the youth team and entered me into the National Traditional Sports Festival.

The very first arrows I ever shot were with my father’s bow. The following year, I competed in the Naadam archery competition and achieved the qualifications for the title of Candidate Sports Master.

When my father heard that I was going to compete, he traveled from Murun to Ulaanbaatar several days before Naadam began. At the time, he told me, “Even after all the years you spent living in Russia, I never imagined that you would become an archer.” From the day I made my father proud and formed a bond with the bow, the national archery field has always felt like the place where I truly belong.

Dreams can be remarkably prophetic. That same year, I met State Dayan Mergen D.Norjmaa for the first time. She, too, had come to the archery field after dreaming that she was practicing archery.

 

Over the years, you have initiated and implemented many projects. Looking back now, they must bring back fond memories.

 

During my time as Secretary General of the Mongolian Archery Association, I was the first to provide live commentary on Naadam archery competitions through Mongolia’s national broadcaster, helping audiences understand the unique characteristics, strengths, and beauty of this sport.

In 2010, we installed a scoreboard at the archery field so spectators could see how many targets each archer had hit and how many arrows they had missed. I am proud that this initiative has continued for sixteen years.

Today, more and more young people are taking up traditional archery. As the sport grows, the association’s leadership and members must approach their responsibilities with even greater commitment than before.

When I first began archery, there were nowhere near as many young participants as there are today. In 2009, I launched an initiative called The Year of Drawing the Bow, aimed at promoting and popularizing traditional archery. It proved highly successful.

At the time, I often advised fellow association members and archers, “When people come to watch out of curiosity, don’t tell them they cannot touch the bow. Encourage them. Let them draw the bow themselves and help them understand the sport properly.”

In 2010, we declared “The Year of Shooting the Arrow” and organized archery competitions among organizations and institutions. At that time, just over 160 archers competed in the Naadam archery event. The number grew to 200 in 2011 and surpassed 300 by 2012.

 

It is said that in 2011 you developed the “Mongolian Bow and Arrow” program, imported training bows from China, and helped train young people, laying the foundation for the sport’s development in rural areas.

 

That year, I implemented the program in Khuvsgul Province together with L.Munkhbaatar, then a board member of the Khuvsgul Development Fund and now a Member of Parliament. Since then, traditional archery has developed rapidly in our province. In 2024, Khuvsgul’s men’s team won a bronze medal at the national team championship for the first time, bringing great pride to our community.

It is encouraging to see young people practicing the sport with respect for Mongolia’s cultural heritage and a desire to preserve and develop it further.

Today, every province has its own traditional archery club. Therefore, it is important that we unite our goals and continue advancing our cultural heritage, customs, and sport in a way that remains authentically Mongolian.

National sports are among the most significant cultural treasures through which Mongolia demonstrates its history, sovereignty, and development to the world. For that reason, government leaders should pursue sound policies that ensure these traditions are properly developed and preserved as valuable national assets.

 

Do you agree that Mongolians must have something distinctive to be proud of in order to stand apart from other nations?

 

Absolutely. Foreign visitors are deeply fascinated by Mongolia’s cultural heritage and traditional sports. Much of that interest stems from the legacy of Chinggis Khaan and the conquests that united the Mongol Empire and carried Mongolian horsemen across much of the known world.

The bow and arrow, once weapons used in warfare to defeat enemies and conquer territories, have evolved in times of peace into one of Mongolia’s most treasured national sports. This transformation attracts considerable international attention.

Historians often note that Mongolian composite bows, crafted with horn components, were exceptionally practical. They could be carried comfortably, adapted to changing weather and climates, and performed effectively under diverse environmental conditions. These qualities contributed significantly to the military successes of Mongolian warriors.

The strength of Mongolian men, their precision in archery, and their ability to judge wind direction and environmental conditions are all closely linked to the tradition of the bow and arrow.

It is impossible to imagine Mongolia without horses and archery. The ability to calculate countless variables in an instant and release an arrow guided by intuition and experience reflects a distinctly Mongolian way of thinking.

An archer must understand and feel the bow and arrow before shooting. This is something difficult for outsiders to fully comprehend. Such unique thought processes, sensitivity, and long-term vision make traditional archery a truly extraordinary national sport.

 

It seems that traditional archery has also made you something of a researcher.

 

Since entering the world of archery, I have spent many years observing and studying it. I have seen people from Austria, Germany, Japan, Poland, South Korea, and the United States become fascinated with Mongolian traditional archery. Many spend years trying to master it, only to become frustrated and eventually give up.

To help foreigners understand Mongolian wisdom and culture, we should demonstrate it through our heritage and explain it in our native language. Trying to communicate every aspect of it through foreign languages alone is difficult. No matter how hard they try to understand, they cannot fully experience the same feelings we do.

For example, after shooting one arrow and preparing for the next, an archer can already sense changes in the bow caused by heat, cold, or shifts in weather conditions. Traditional archery is uniquely compelling because it forces each archer to discover themselves. It draws people in like a magnet.

Archers constantly compete with themselves and engage in an internal dialogue. They are always searching for answers and deeper understanding. Within this sport, one can see the dreams, ambitions, determination, confidence, and hopes of Mongolia’s youth.

 

I only recently learned that your father was a writer and journalist. I heard that you compiled his stories and novellas into a book.

 

My father wrote plays, feature articles, poems, and numerous books. Despite his busy professional life, he devoted himself tirelessly to traditional archery and won the national Naadam championship in 1977, earning the title of State Mergen.

To honor his legacy, I compiled and published his children’s stories in a book titled The Adventures of Hunter Dondoo. We officially launched it at the national archery field on April 19 and presented it to readers.

My father was a hunter. Through these stories, he sought to teach children how to respect, protect, and live harmoniously with nature and wildlife. He conveyed these lessons through both a hunter’s experiences and the amusing incidents of his own childhood.

Artists from the Khuvsgul Province Musical Drama Theatre have also adapted some of his works for the stage, making them accessible to wider audiences.

 

Many families in Mongolia practice traditional archery together. Yours appears to be one of them. You have even drawn your husband and son into the sport.

 

My family followed my example and began practicing Khalkh archery. My husband is a Provincial Distinguished Archer and a Sports Master. My son holds the title of Soum Mergen and Candidate Sports Master. My daughter-in-law has also started practicing archery, and I recently bought a bow for my younger son. My two grandchildren are still too young to begin shooting. 

Khuvsgul Province has produced many accomplished archers. Among them, Ch.Lamjav, Ts.Tserendulam, Sh.Lkhagvasuren, D.Jugderkhuu, G.Khangai, and Sh.Gansukh all won the national Naadam traditional archery competition and earned the title of State Mergen.

I strongly believe that future generations from my homeland will continue the achievements of these great archers and produce new holders of national archery titles.