FFXIV Lore: Xaela Naadam vs. Mongolian Naadam
Bless the internet– if I hadn’t been idly researching I’d have never known that the Naadam is a real event! And it’s next week, July 11th-15th, taking place in the Mongolian capital city of Ulaabaatar.
Quite unlike the FFXIV iteration of the Naadam, wherein powerful Xaela tribes literally fight each other to the death for the right to rule the Azim Steppe until the next Tsagaan Sar (Lunar New Year), the Mongolian Naadam Festival was once a mass training exercise where Mongolian soldiers would show off their very best men in a series of quintessentially Mongolian contests. Since the event of Mongolia’s independence, however, it’s more like Mongolian Olympics where people from around the nation come to join in the revelry in the most favorable month of the year during the nicest week–the second week of July, which should be noted is NOT the actual Tsagaan Sar (literally, “White Moon”) which is in winter.
Given that there’s no snow on the Azim Steppe map, the “fraction” of the Steppe that we see in-game is either too far south for snow (I mean, we DO see a sliver of the Nhaama Desert that the Dorthal camped out in), or we can safely say the Xaela begin their new calendar years in summer.
Instead of beating the crap out of your brethren like the Xaela do, the Mongolian Naadam features three main games: wrestling (okay, that’s admittedly close to beating the crap out of your brethren), which we commonly see NPCs engaged in on the FFXIV Azim Steppe, archery, and horse racing. There’s also side attractions; opening and closing ceremonies, music and dance shows, food, and people turn up in colorful traditional silk and cotton “del” costumes to celebrate the occasion. I’ve also read it’s a great place to meet potential spouses.
2006 Naadam ceremony in Ulaanbaatar.
In FFXIV, the ovoo is the objective of the Xaela Naadam–an aetherial symbol over which the Xaela tribes all fight to attune themselves to, thereby earning the title of “khagan” as well as their rule over the Azim Steppe. According to Cirina, during the Tsagaan Sar, “all bonds of hierarchy are broken”, and any one Xaela can become the next khagan at the Naadam, even if they aren’t their tribe’s current khan/khatun.
With the exception of Malqir tribe, the Mol, and a few possible others, it seems most tribes base said khan/khatun off of contests of strength that are regularly held, though not always to decide leadership. Sometimes, it seems those contests determine who will be their best warriors participating in the Naadam. (See: the Oronir side quest “The Tournament” which comes from a chain of quests offered by the Oroniri cook, Esugen)
Apparently, you don’t even have to be a Xaela to participate! However, those non-Xaela who would participate are put to trial in the footsteps of a great Xaela hero of eld called Bardam, whose gauntlet is a series of tests of strength and agility called “Bardam’s Mettle”. Only those who survive it are fit to be considered Warriors of the Steppe, and may fight for the Xaela tribe of their choosing. Should one such newly-appointed Warrior survive it, they can be certain the khans and khatuns of stronger tribes will try to convince them to fight for their tribe (but in the most aloof manner possible, lest they seem–Nhaama forfend–desperate)!
The Xaela Naadam, and the ovoo in the center of the fray.
While there’s no equivalent for Bardam’s Mettle in the Mongolian version of the Naadam, the ovoo does have a basis in Mongolian religious practice!
The Xaela ovoo is a symbol laid into the ground by the Gharl tribe, whom, according to the FFXIV Encyclopaedia Eorzea, carry soil in a sacred urn from each camp (or, “iloh”) to dump at the next, and this tradition has carried for so long that it’s believed the Azim Steppe is now of one soil.
The Gharl tribe invokes the ovoo for the Naadam.
The Mongolian ovoo is a similarly round, cairn-like stone heap that functions much like an altar. It’s customary to go around the ovoo three times in a clockwise direction while travelling and add a rock to the pile or leave an offering, but apparently if you’re in a hurry, just honking your car horn as you pass will suffice. They’re also used in more ritualistic ceremonies in which a blue scarf (representative of the sky) is tied to a stick placed in the ovoo, and a ceremonial meal is enjoyed with the leftovers from an offering meal. I’ve been seeing a lot of horse, ram, and sheep skulls left at these ovoos was well.
A Mongolian ovoo, with herd animal skulls in the foreground.
That’s all I’ve got for you in the way of the Xaela Naadam and its basis in real Mongolian culture, but I’m sure I’ll have more Xaela lore analysis in the near future, because this was enlightening. You know how the phrase goes. “Please look forward to it!”
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