The Kazakh people from Bayan Olgii, Western Mongolia, take part in the ancient sport of eagle hunting, using trained eagles to hunt for animals. Today the eagle festival promotes the ancient hunting sport in order to pass on the traditions to the next generation and is enjoyed as a sporting event. The Mongolian Eagle Hunter”s Association organized the eagle festival this year along with the Mongolian Tourism Association (MTA) for the seventh time with the aim to create a new type of tourist attraction.
Over 20 skilled eagle hunters came from the remote sums of Bayan-Olgii aimag to the annual Eagle Festival at the Chinggis Khan Khuree ger camp.
Awards are given at the Eagle Festival to the best eagle hunter, the best dressed participant in national costume, the best hunter with a good horse, and king eagle and the best hunter eagle. There is no limit to the age of participants and this year there were hunters aged 17 to 82 years old. These eagle hunters normally learn the skill of hunting with eagle from their fathers and their grandfathers. The challenge is to show how the hunter and eagle work together and communicate.
Hunters compete with the skill of their eagle in the ability to catch wolves, foxes and hares in the wild.
Other Kazakh traditional entertainment contests, such as capturing a leather bag from a running horse and catching a money bag, were held during the eagle festival.
The Kazakh people`s traditional “Hunting with eagles” is inscribed to UNESCO”s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
