Golden Eagle Festival Mongolia

eagle festival mongolia

The Golden Eagle Festival or Eagle Festival is an annual traditional Festival of Kazakh eagle hunters in Bayan Olgii aimag, western Mongolia. This fascinating festival to bring and promote their unique heritage to their next generation to the world. The Kazakh eagle hunters catch small animals such as foxes and hares with specially trained golden eagles, showing off the skills both of the birds and their trainers.The Mongolian Eagle Hunter’s Association run by the Eagle Festival is held during the first weekend in October.

eagle festival mongolia The eagle festival starts with an impressive opening parade, which is Kazakh eagle hunters holding their eagles on horseback. They call their eagles from the top of the mountain and the eagle must reach on the arm of his master. It shows that how they eagles feel affection to their eagles. Also, some cultural events and small competitions such as traditional coin grabbing game while riding on horseback and Urainkhai archery are organized in during the festival around the arena. After the festival you can enjoy the folk performance in local theatre of Ulgii town.

Prizes are awarded for speed, agility, and accuracy, as well as for the best traditional Kazakh dress and more. The entrants compete for the Best Turned Out Eagle and Owner, Best eagle at Hunting Prey and Best Eagle at Locating awards.

mongolia eagle hunters

The young eagle hunter Kazakh girl Aisholpan is featured in the 2016 documentary which becomes the first female to enter and win the competition.

According to the tradition of Mongolian and Kazakh people, they teach children life lessons through homeschooling. And the children have to study those lessons at a young age while they are helping daily work stuff. For instance, girls started to learn sewing their own clothes. Kazakh women make embroidery decoration for her home and it is so colorful and beautiful. As this tradition, Aishol-pan, do the same. She sews her own clothes and home decoration too. As a little girl in Mongolia, Aisholpan dreamt of flying an eagle like her Dad. No malls, no Shake Shacks. Nope. Just mountains, tents, gers, and goats. Aisholpan was born into a Kazakh family of nomad herders going back 12 generations.

A smaller festival, the Altai Kazakh Eagle Festival, is also held each year in the nearby village of Sagsai in the last week of September.