The ancient Greeks knew of only one “wrestling heroine” Atalanta. But the epic tales and traditions of the nomads from the Caucasus to Mongolia abound with girls and women, such as Lady Hero/Gunda the Beautiful, Banu Chichak, and Saikal, who challenge men to wrestling contests.7 Wrestling is a traditional nomad sport of great antiquity; personal athletic triumphs were believed to ensure heroic victories in battle. Archaeologists have found wrestling images on bronze plates in Xiongnu sites. In folk wrestling matches on the steppes, adversaries were not matched by weight, age, or size. Opponents grabbed each other’s arms or waist and pushed and strained until some part of the rival’s body was forced to touch the ground. Evenly matched competitors might be locked together for hours. The erotic nature of a man and woman wrestling was obvious in the ancient Greek vase paintings of Atalanta, and this sensuous aspect of wrestling as foreplay comes through in many of the love-contests in traditional nomad tales.
The most famous “wrestling heroine” of Central Asia was the great-great-granddaughter of Genghis Khan of the Mongols. Aijaruc (Turkish, “Bright Moon”), also known as Khutulun (“All-White”) was born ca. 1260 and grew up with fourteen brothers. Her Turkish name, given in various spellings by Marco Polo, may have been a translation of her real name; “Bright Moon” was a traditional Uzbek name. A tall, powerfully muscled young woman, Khutulun excelled in horse riding, archery, and combat on the steppes around the Tien Shan range. Marco Polo described her style of warfare in terms of falconry: riding beside her father, Qaidu Khan, at the head of their army of forty thousand, she would suddenly “dash out at the enemy host, and seize some man as deftly as a hawk pounces on a bird, and carry him back to her father.” Her parents were anxious to see her wed. But Khutulun declared she would marry only the man who could defeat her in wrestling. Many men tried and failed, paying ten or even a hundred horses for the chance to grapple with her. Soon she owned a herd of more than ten thousand. When she was about twenty, a worthy, strong prince came forward with one thousand fine horses. Khutulun promised her parents she would let him win. A crowd gathered. Their struggle continued for a long time in suspense. In the excitement, Khutulun forgot her promise, and with a terrific surge of energy she threw the suitor to the ground. Finally, some years later the undefeated Khutulun did choose a husband but without wrestling him first. She became the commander of the army after her father’s death.8
An oral story cycle of Turkmenistan, also recited by Kazakhs, Uzbeks, and Karakalpaks, tells the adventures of the bandit hero Koroglu, based in the seventeenth century but drawing on earlier tales. Koroglu meets an invincible, bloodthirsty woman warrior named Harman Dali (“Crazy-Brave”). A beguiling berserker, Harman Dali thrives on killing suitors who accept her by-now-familiar challenge: “I’ll only marry the man who beats me at wrestling and I chop off the heads of the losers.” Their wrestling bout is described in humorously lascivious detail, until Koroglu is so enflamed with desire that he gives up. But his life is spared and his singing wins him one night of love.9
World History
