Buzkashi

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Game of Buzkashi in Mazari Sharif, Afghanistan

Buzkashi, Kok-boru or Oglak Tartis (Persian: بزکشی buzkashī: goat grabbing) (Uzbek, Tatar, Turkmen: kökbörü, kök "blue" + börü "wolf", Kazakh: көкпар, Kyrgyz: улак) is a traditional Central Asian team sport played on horseback. The steppes' people were skilled riders who could grab a goat or calf from the ground while riding a horse at full gallop. The goal of a player is to grab the carcass of a headless goat or calf, and then get it clear of the other players and pitch it across a goal line or into a target circle or vat.

The game is known as Buzkashi in Afghanistan and among Persian-speaking populations of Central Asia. While Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan refer to the game as Kok-boru or Oglak Tartis.^[1] It is a National sport in Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan.

[edit] Sport of Central Asia

Even though it is known as a popular Afghan sport, Buzkashi began as a sport of the steppes. It is a popular game among the south Central Asian nomads such as the Hazaras, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, Dungans, and Turkmens. The Turkic name of the game is Kökbörü. Kök = "blue", börü = "wolf", denoting the grey wolf - the holy symbol of the Turkic people. Other Turkic names of the game are Ulak Tartish, Kup Kari, Kök Berü, Ulak Tyrtysh. Kökbörü is the most popular national sport of Kyrgyzstan. In the west, the game is also played by Kyrgyz Turks who migrated to Ulupamir village in Van district of Turkey from the Pamir region.

Competition is typically fierce, as other players may use any force short of tripping the horse in order to thwart scoring attempts. Riders usually wear heavy clothing and head protection to protect themselves against other players' whips and boots. Games can last for several days, and the winning team receives a prize, not necessarily money, as a reward for their win.

The game consists of two main forms: Tudabarai and Qarajai. Tudabarai is considered to be the simpler form of the game. In this version, the goal is simply to grab the calf and move in any direction until clear of the other players. In Qarajai, players must carry the carcass around a flag or marker at one end of the field, then throw it into a scoring circle (the "Circle of Justice") at the other end. The riders will carry a whip, often in their teeth, to fend off opposing horses and riders.

Buzkashi is often compared to polo. The similarities and differences are both fairly obvious: both games are played between people on horseback, both involve propelling an object toward a goal, and both get fairly rough. However, polo is played with a ball, rather than a headless animal; and mallets are used to propel the ball. Moreover, polo requires more teamwork, whereas buzkashi, although contested by teams, is more of a free-for-all contest. Polo matches are played for fixed periods totaling about an hour; traditional buzkashi may continue for days, but in its more regulated tournament version also has a limited match time.

The calf in a Buzkashi game is normally beheaded and disemboweled and has its limbs cut off at the knees. It is then soaked in cold water for 24 hours before play to toughen it. Occasionally sand is packed into the carcass to give it extra weight. Players may not strap the calf to their bodies or saddles. Though a goat is used when no calf is available, a calf is less likely to disintegrate during the game.

Serious Buzkashi players train intensively for years, and many of the masters (called chapandaz) are over forty years old. Playing well also requires specially trained horses that know to stop still when a rider is thrown and to gallop forcefully when their rider gets hold of the calf. These horses can sell today for as much as US$ 10,000 to 15,000.

[edit] In fiction and popular culture

A game of Buzkashi, played in Afghanistan, is featured in an early scene of Rambo III.

The opening scenes of the Indian film Khuda Gawah, which was filmed in Afghanistan and India, show Amitabh and Sridevi engaged in the game.

The game is the core and subject of a novel by French novelist Joseph Kessel titled Les Cavaliers (aka Horsemen) as well as of the film of the same title featuring Omar Sharif.

The game is also a key element in the book Caravans by James Michener and the film of the same name starring Anthony Quinn. A scene from the film featuring the king of Afghanistan watching a game included the real-life king at the time, Mohammed Zahir Shah. The whole sequence of the game being witnessed by the king was filmed on the Kabul Golf Course, where the national championships were played at the time the film was made.

Buzkashi also featured briefly in John Huston's film The Man Who Would Be King.

The 1983 Tom Selleck film High Road to China features a spirited game of buzkashi.

Buzkashi is briefly mentioned in the Khaled Hosseini book The Kite Runner, wherein the main protagonist, Amir, witnesses an accident at a Buzkashi game where a chapandaz is trampled to death.

The game is shown briefly in the movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story during advertisements for the fictional ESPN 8 (El Ocho) television channel.

It is also shown briefly in the December 2006 Bollywood Movie "Kabul Express"

[edit] References

1. ^ The traditional Oglak Tartis among the Kirghiz of the Pamirs

• G. Whitney Azoy (2003), "Buzkash:i Game and Power in Afghanistan," 2nd ed. Waveland Press.
• "Ancient Kyrgyz game may captivate Europe," The Times of Central Asia, 9 Nov. 2006 (www.timesca.com)
• V. Kadyrov, "Kyrgyzstan: Traditions of Nomads," Rarity Ltd., Bishkek, 2005 ISBN 9967-424-42-7

[edit] See also

• Pato, a similar horseback Argentine sport
• Horseball, another game played on horseback

[edit] External links

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