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Buzkashi in Afghanistan

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Charlotte's travel blog in Meymaneh, Afghanistan. She went on 18 of November 2006 for 1 day. She went for business. Charlotte went with a group of friends. She got there and around by car or van. Charlotte's travel verdict is: recommended.

Equestrian events were not on my to do list while visiting Afghanistan, but that was exactly where I found myself one Friday morning in the town of Maimana. Giant sand dunes provided seating for the hundreds of men and boys who had turned out to watch Buzkashi – the national sport of Afghanistan.

Buzkashi is played on horseback; and it is vicious. The goal of the game is to be the player who can grab the carcass of the goat (yes, it is a dead goat that has been specially prepared by being decapitated and soaked in water for 24 hours), and throw it into a circle that has been set out on the dusty playing field. What I witnessed was a pack of sweaty horses rearing, charging, and changing tact with the movement of the one player who has the goat. It is a game of keep away on horseback. The player who picks the goat up has to hold on to it with all of his might, while trying to escape the maddening horde of horses who are desperately trying to steal the carcass from him. I had heard people compare buzkashi to polo, but I was hard pressed to draw similar parallels, other than the fact that both games use horses.

With no boundaries of play, we spectators were constantly under threat of being trampled. Like a giant wave the crowd would scramble for safety as the centre of play moved sporadically and quickly toward us, and then would again retreat.

With no play by play commentary or translation as to why the play was randomly starting and stopping I sat back and admired the brightly coloured uniforms and the look of absolute ferocity on the faces of the players and horses alike. When one horse did finally make a clean break and cantered down the field to drop the goat into the circle, the crowd erupted with wild applause. It was a magnificent display of sportsmanship and an unexpected way to spend my Friday in Afghanistan.

Travel Blog Tags

afghanistan, buzkashi and maimana

Comments

Jimbo says...

Looks pretty crazy, certainly something you don't see every day. I recall they played Buzkashi in Rambo III! There's a useless bit of trivia for you.

Posted 562 days ago.
Charlotte says...

Yes, it has been featured in a few movies. Rambo lll was one of them! It is an awesome thing to watch, and Afghanistan is gorgeous if you ever have the inclination to visit a "dark tourist" destination.

Posted 562 days ago.
natpower says...

I love your pictures, that looks amazing. How did you find the hospitality in Afghanistan?

Posted 561 days ago.
Charlotte says...

Afghans are the most hospitable people I have ever met. Not only would they feed you a feast, even if their family was starving. They will literally take the clothing off of their back (or headscarves in my case) and give them to you if you even hint that you admire something they are wearing.
They are wonderful people.

Posted 559 days ago.
asa says...

Yea Rambo 3 was on last night and they had that game in it -- "I prefer football" Rambo says. His mujahadeen mate replies "football, what's that? do you play it with your foot?", "Not really" says Rambo.

Ha -- because it's real not football mate!

Anyway, yes, nice pictures.

Posted 558 days ago.