< Magazine Index > < Index For This Edition > < Subscribe >

The ancient game of Buzkashi has been played in northern Afghanistan since the days of Ghengis Khan, the Mongol warrior whose army swept across Asia in the 13th century. It is a fierce game of competition played on the steppes of Asia by expert horsemen. The Mongols lived and died in the saddle. Today, it is played in the Afghan provinces of Maimana, Mazar-i-Sharif, and Kataghan. As a rule, women are not allowed to watch.  The carcass of an animal is used. Goats are preferred, but small calves will do if goats are in short supply. A carcass is soaked in cold water for 24 hours before the game. This is done so the carcass will remain intact and not be torn to pieces as hundreds of chopendoz horsemen independently compete to grab and carry the carcass to the winning circle.  Usually, a the carcass is beheaded, its four legs are cut off from the knee, and its insides emptied before soaking. Sand is sometimes packed inside for extra bulk. Once the carcass has been prepared for the game, it is called a boz in the language of Turkoman.

. Mr. Ginger's article entitled, "Afghanistan before War,"  also appears in this issue of Escape from America Magazine.  He has been traveling to Afghanistan since 1976.  The game of buskashi has been played on the Steppes of Afghanistan and Russia for centuries, since the days of Ghengis Khan in the 13th century. Ginger's experiences in Afghanistan paint a picture of a people firecly proud of their Asian heritage, and a country where war is no stranger. This article and the accompanying article entitled, "Afghanistan Before War," originally appeared on the Bootsnall.com website, reprinted with their express permission. .. Additional Resources Asian Directories  BootsnAll.com  Contact Mr. Ginger Afghanistan before War  . Books on Afghanistan . .

To begin the game, a pit is dug and the boz is placed into it so that the top of the boz is level with the ground. A large circle is drawn around the pit. This circle is called the hallal, which means "circle of justice." Far to the right of the hallal is a pole, and far to the left is another.  The chopendoz horsemen encircle the hallal containing the boz, and on a given signal, compete to grab it and gallop away around one post and then the other before returning and throwing the boz back into the hallal.  The other riders try to prevent that by attacking the rider and trying to steal the boz away. The chopendoz who returns the boz into the hallal is considered the winner.  He may have stolen the boz a few meters from the hallal. The chopendoz strive to win at any cost. It is a Machiavellian game, where the end justifies the means and all means are utilized.

In centuries past, the distance between the poles was many kilometers, and the game of Buzkashi would begin at daybreak and last till sundown.  The distance these days may be shorter, but the fierce struggle for winning remains. The chopendoz are remarkable horsemen and frenzied competitors, where anything goes. Smashed noses, wrenched shoulders, and shattered thigh bones are not at all uncommon.
 

The chopendoz wear high leather boots, a quilted, padded jacket over a long chapan, and a fur hat traditionally made of fox or wolf skin. They carry short whips, which are made of a handle attached to a piece of wood about one foot long encased in leather. The chopendoz not only whip their horses but also whip the other riders, especially the one carrying the boz. In days past, the whips were made up of a handle attached to thongs tied to balls of lead.  The chopendoz of old also carried a knife and sometimes stabbed an opponent's horse or even it's rider when attempting to steal the boz. It was not unknown for chopendoz to be killed in a fiercely competitive game. Nowadays, it is a little more civilized, but riders still get hurt. They are a tough breed of men. Bone breaks do not stop a chopendoz. The chopendoz will stop just long enough to bandage the break and then remount his horse and continue the game.

 

The Buzkashi horses are bred for the game and possess special qualities. When the chopendoz falls off his horse during the game, the horse halts in an ever prevading cloud of dust and mistified sweat and waits for the horseman to remount, again. Once the boz is in the hands of rider, the horse will gallop with unbridled speed back to the hallal. Those who train Buzkashi horses feed them eggs and butter at regular intervals along with their normal feed of oats and barley. If the horse gets too fat, the trainer will perform the kantar, which means standing the horse in the sun for hours, bridled and saddled every day for weeks on end. The sun not only burns away the fat but also teaches the horse patience.

According to unwritten rules of the game, nobody can tie the boz to his saddle, or hit his opponent on the hand to snatch away the boz. Like-wise, tripping the opponent by using a rope is forbidden. However, these rules are not strictly observed in local matches. A player who is thrown can use a rider less horse to continue the game. When horsemen are carried away by their excitement, they ride their horses into the crowd to beat their opponents, but they are still chased by other riders. If the game is played near a river, chopendoz have been known to conspire to have other opponents drowned.

Winners are awarded prizes of chapan, turbans, cash or rifles. Not all horsemen may own their horses.  Most of the Buzkashi horses belong to rich men who can afford to buy them and hire trainers and riders. Of course, much betting takes place in the crowds that assemble to watch the game. A chopendoz is treated with great respect and considered to be an honored member of Afghan society. His fox fur hat is the highest honor for a player.
..

In this romantic adventure of wild Afghanistan, master storyteller James Michener mixes the allure of the past with the dangers of today. After an impetuous American girl, Ellen Jasper, marries a young Afghan engineer, her parents hear no word from her. Although she wants freedom to do as she wishes, not even she is sure what that means. In the meantime, she is as good as lost in that wild land, perhaps forever.... "An extraordinary novel....Brilliant." THE NEW YORK TIMES ~ Click Here - to order.

This book by Joseph Kessler, "The Hosemen" was made into a blockbuster movie in 1971, starring Omar Sharif and Jack Palance. "A tale of a foreign country (Afghanistan), a foreign game (buzkhazi), and a foreign mind. Kessel approachs the wants and desires of anyman/everyman and allows the reader access to the whys and wherefores of these motivations. He plays the reader like an expert fisherman, and one vacillates between loving and hating the protagonists. A must read for anyone who likes adventure and/or treatises on the human condition." Amy Leider ~ Click Here - to order.

This extraordinary debut is an account of Elliot's two visits to Afghanistan. The first occurred when he joined the mujaheddin circa 1979 and was smuggled into Soviet-occupied Afghanistan; the second happened nearly ten years later, when he returned to the still war-torn land. The skirmishes that Elliot painstakingly describes here took place between the Taliban and the government of Gen. Ahmad Shah Massoud in Kabul. Today, the Taliban are in power, but Elliot's sympathies clearly lie with Massoud. Although he thought long and hard before abandoning his plan to travel to Hazara territory, where "not a chicken could cross that pass without being fired on," Elliot traveled widely in the hinterland, visiting Faizabad in the north and Herat in the west. The result is some of the finest travel writing in recent years. With its luminous descriptions of the people, the landscape (even when pockmarked by landmines), and Sufism, this book has all the hallmarks of a classic, and it puts Elliot in the same league as Robert Byron and Bruce Chatwin. Enthusiastically recommended for all travel collections. Ravi Shenoy ~ Click Here - to order.

.