Eridengbayaer
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Eridengbayaer, Male, Mongolian, from Inner Mongolia, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Mongolian Boke (Ⅵ-16). The tradition is documented in Inner Mongolia. Within the regional tradition and school record of Mongolian Boke in Inner Mongolia: Boke is distributed extremely widely in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and its traditional form is found in the leagues and cities of Xilin Gol, Tongliao, Hulunbuir, Chifeng, Bayan Nur, Ordos and Alxa, among others. The various localities differ slightly in the cut of the wrestling costume, the conditions for awarding the jiangga and the step used for the entry; the differences in the rules between Ujimqin, Usu and Alxa in particular are the focus of researchers’ attention. The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Sports Federation is the protecting unit, responsible for organising boke events throughout the region and for unifying the regulations. Boke has a history of nearly two thousand years: it began to flourish in the early period of the Western Han dynasty, spread widely in the Yuan dynasty, and underwent unprecedented development by the Qing dynasty.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Eridengbayaer is anchored in the documented technical standards of Mongolian Boke in Inner Mongolia. Within the documented technical tradition of Mongolian Boke in Inner Mongolia: “Boke” is a Mongolian word meaning wrestling. It is one of the “Three Arts of the Mongolian Man” and belongs to the traditional sports of the Mongolian people. The competitive form of boke is simple and solemn. Under the traditional Mongolian requirements, a competitor wears on the upper body a “zhuodego” — a close-fitting sleeveless waistcoat made of cowhide or canvas — leaving the arms and upper back bare. The edges of the zhuodego are fitted with copper studs or silver studs, and the middle of the back bears a round silver mirror or a design such as the characters for “auspicious”. Around the waist is tied a “ceribuge” (apron) of red, blue and yellow silk. The lower body is covered by the baggy “banzele” (trousers) made of 32 chi or 16 chi of white cloth, over which is worn an outer pair of trousers embroidered with patterns of various animals or flowers, and the feet are shod in Mongolian boots or riding boots. The winner is presented with a matching “jiangga” (neck ring) of five-coloured silk. It is the mark of how many times a boke wrestler has won: the more victories, the more five-coloured silk strips on the jiangga. Boke competition begins amid the stirring and impassioned “uriya” praise song. The ground has no special requirement — a piece of level grassland or beaten earth is enough to hold it. The competitors enter the ground swinging their brawny arms and stepping in a dance that imitates the postures of lions, deer and eagles. The rules of competition are simple and clear: there is no time limit, competitors are not divided by weight, and any part of the body above the knee touching the ground means defeat. Boke requires the competitor to coordinate the movements of the waist and the legs, fully displaying strength and technique in the contest. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The zodog, tserebpeg and banzal": Wrestlers wear the studded zodog vest, a tricolour waist sash and wide white banzal trousers cut from sixteen or thirty-two feet of cloth. "The jangga collar": Winners receive the jangga, a collar of five-coloured silk strips that grows with each victory. "The lion, deer and eagle entrance dance": Amid the uria song of praise, wrestlers enter with arms swinging in steps imitating the lion, the deer and the eagle. "The uria praise song": The contest opens with the uria praise song and needs only a patch of flat grass or bare earth.
The zodog, tserebpeg and banzal
Wrestlers wear the studded zodog vest, a tricolour waist sash and wide white banzal trousers cut from sixteen or thirty-two feet of cloth.
The jangga collar
Winners receive the jangga, a collar of five-coloured silk strips that grows with each victory.
The lion, deer and eagle entrance dance
Amid the uria song of praise, wrestlers enter with arms swinging in steps imitating the lion, the deer and the eagle.
The uria praise song
The contest opens with the uria praise song and needs only a patch of flat grass or bare earth.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Eridengbayaer was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Mongolian Boke, with Inner Mongolia as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Mongolian Boke in Inner Mongolia: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Inner Mongolia as its declared area, and Inner Mongolia Sports Zong Association as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
Boke has a history of nearly two thousand years: it began to flourish in the early period of the Western Han dynasty, spread widely in the Yuan dynasty, and underwent unprecedented development by the Qing dynasty.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hada | Dongwuzhumuqinqi, Inner Mongolia | 05-2540 | Other regional school |
| Mengkenasheng | Wusu, Xinjiang | 05-2541 | Other regional school |
| Eridengbayaer | Inner Mongolia | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。