Tuesday 19th March 2024
19th March 2024

Buzkashi: a Warriors Game

by Jul 16, 2021Culture & Art, Traditions, Cultural Heritage

In our article below we will introduce the very popular, ancient Easter equestrian sport, buzkashi. You can also meet Afghanistan’s celebrated buzkashi player Gulbadin Malakhel.

Buzkashi literally translates as “goat-grabbing” in Persian. It’s one of the oldest sports in the world. Afghanistan’s national sport is like polo, but with a headless goat or sometimes a calf. The object seems simple: the horse-mounted player called “Chapandaz” must grab and maintain possession of the disemboweled carcass, circle around the field, and deliver it into a chalked circle, called the “circle of justice.”

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Buzkashi, Afghan tradition

Buzkashi is the world most dangerous sport

The sport has been played for centuries across Central Asia, passed down to generations relatively unchanged. Buzkashi is the most enduring and iconic symbol of Afghanistan. There probably is no more fitting example of sport imitating Afghan life than Buzkashi. To many Afghans, it is not just a game; it is a way of life.
Major matches are often held in winter after Friday prayers. That’s Buzkashi season. Like any popular western game, it draws thousands of passionate fans, involves big money, and even sometimes makes news. Its popularity has never waned during its long history.

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The old 500 Afganis is also included in this popular sport

Origins of Buzkashi

The origins of Buzkashi are lost in the myths and forgotten history of central Asia. Some say it was the pastime of the feared horsemen of Genghis Khan — when battle exercises were disguised as a sport— others say it first originated centuries ago when Afghan tribes would gallop up on horseback to steal a goat from the flock of their rival tribe.
Some historians believe that the game was invented some 600 years ago during the migration of the nomadic Turkic tribes from China and Mongolia.
During those days, Buzkashi was training for war. Today, Buzkashi itself is the battle.

Variants of Buzkashi

There are different variations of Buzkashi being played all across Central Asia, China’s western region of Xinjiang, and even in some parts of Russia and Ukraine, all playing their own versions. There are several different aspects of the game that change depending on where you are. In some countries, it’s two teams against each other; in others, it’s every man for himself. However, there are two main types of Buzkashi, “Tudabaraia” (traditional grassroots game) and “Qarajai” (modern government-sponsored version). Even though both share similar objectives, Tudabaraia is relatively simple compared with Qarajai.

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Buzkashi /Uzbegistan, Parkent/

In Tudabaraia (coming out of the crowd), to score, the rider must grab the carcass and then race away from the starting circle in any direction and remained free and clear of other riders. It’s mainly played in rural areas where the competition is every bit as fierce and rules are minimal.
In Qarajai ( black space), where games are very formal, the task is much more complex as the rider must circle around the field carrying the calf/goat and then return the carcass to the team’s designated scoring circle; called the “circle of justice.”
The Afghan Olympic Federation has introduced official rules which are strictly observed, however, only for contests in Kabul. Rurally, Buzkashi is seldom played according to “official” rules.

Rules of Buzkashi

Buzkashi is governed and ruled by its own tradition. It doesn’t really have many rules, and the rules vary by country, but no matter which version of Buzkashi you find yourself watching, the basic objective remains the same: the rider, who successfully carries the carcass past some defined point or throws it in a certain area, is designated as the winner.
Most of the matches have no teams, no clock, no clearly defined playing field and aren’t governed by a referee, but there are still a few rules that players are expected to obey:

• A rider cannot attach the carcass to their saddle; all 100+ lbs. must be held by hand or wrapped by the leg.
• The number of games played and points needed to win a match isn’t set.
• A rider must remain on their horses during the match to be eligible for play.
• Riders may whip their opponents’ horses, but they are not allowed to hit opposing players in order to knock the carcass out of the grip of their hand or leg.
Other than these rules, it seems that almost anything goes.

An in-depth conversation with an adore champion: Gulbadin Malakhel 

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Gulbadin Malakhel is a Star of Buzkashi

Gulbadin Malakhel is a star of the game in the northern city of Kunduz. He comes from a storied Buzkashi pedigree. The family has produced some of the best Chapandaz in the country; his brother Khyber is also a renowned Chapandaz who rides for Kandahar. Adored by fans, Gulbadin is tall, built like a brick wall, and spends a lot of time at the gym. At the age of 30 – still considered young by the Buzkashi standards – he is at the top of his game.

We have an informal chat with Gulbadin, better known as Kalakov (Afghan slang for the Russian assault rifle), for his hard-nosed style of play. He represented Kunduz in the recently held National Buzkashi league in Kabul. He is also a member of the Afghan national team and has toured abroad to countries like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan to compete in international events. He is due to play in turkey next month.

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Gulbadin Malakhel

“I have been riding horses since I was a mere boy. I used to watch my father and uncle play. I was forbidden to play until I was 18. After years of arduous practice, I was able to wear the vaunted Buzkashi cap. A Chapandaz takes years to mature. There is a saying in Afghanistan: It takes a man and a horse half their playing life to get good at playing Buzkashi,” he told Boast Magazine.
Gulbadin said that he had inherited the love of the game from his uncle, Ahmed Gul, who was a legendary rider and was known all over Afghanistan in the late 1970s. “He was my childhood hero; watching him play inspired me to play Buzkashi,” he said.

Understanding Afghanistan’s beloved ‘goat grabbing’ national sport

The champion Chapandaz helped us grasp the fierce game. “Buzkashi is a highly individual sport, a war of all against all. It’s alarmingly fast and highly physical. To kick things off, the headless carcass—that’s been decapitated, gutted, stitched, soaked in water a day before— is placed in a centre circle. After the signal, horsemen race to grab the carcass and then maintain possession, fighting off each other. The object is to get control of the carcass and bring it to the scoring area. The game goes in rounds. Every time someone manages to score, the round ends. The winner wins a cash prize, and the game restarts. Eventually, after several games, the announcer calls for the final round when the big prize is awarded,” he explained.
Answering a question about the hardest part of the medieval sport, Gulbadin said his favourite task of the game is also the hardest: picking up the goat. And not surprisingly, in a game with hundreds of riders all fighting to do the same thing. To do it, a player puts the whip in his mouth, leans over the side of the horse, nearly falls off, pulls the muddy, slippery carcass up and under his leg, and rides off.

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Gulbadin Malakhel

An Ideal Chapandaz

I asked Gulbadin about the qualities of an ideal Chapandaz. Replying to my question, he said that the sport demands the highest degree of horsemanship, agility, raw power, and a warrior spirit.
The Chapandaz is a tough breed of men. They undergo decades of observation and vigorous training. It’s is widely believed that a Chapandaz does not mature until he reaches his forties. Being a Chanpandaz is like a badge of honour and earns a considerable amount of respect in the local community.

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Gulbadin Malakhel

Due to the high intensity of the game, a Chapandaz body faces an extraordinary level of stress; proper nutrition is therefore incredibly important. “I avoid food that is very rich in protein. A proper amount of dairy products, fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, and meat is the perfect nutrition plan when getting in shape for a game”, he answered when asked about his diet.

Stallions of Buzkashi

Buzkashi horses are known for their hard-charging spirit. A champion horse can cost about $50,000 each. They train just as hard as—if not harder —than the Chapandaz himself. Their training starts at 5 or 6 and they don’t reach their prime until they’re 10 to 15. A healthy Buzkashi stallion can play for 20 years.
“A horse is treated as a member of the family. It is raised and trained with meticulous care. A good horse is strong, quick, fearless, and sneaky and knows the game as intuitively as its rider. They are built to last and know the goat and the circle,” he continued.
Due to the decades of war, Afghanistan lost its capacity to breed champion horses. Today, they are imported from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. It’s widely accepted that success in the game is “80 percent horse, 20 percent rider. There is also an Afghan saying that ‘better a poor rider on a good horse than a good rider on a poor horse’.”

The world most dangerous sport

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Buzkashi

Buzkashi is often called “the most dangerous sport in the world”. Fractured limbs and nasty cuts are inevitable. Players and horses often walk away from games bloodied or worse, with broken bones or dislocated shoulders. Gulbadin, who has endured almost every injury in the book throughout his career, said that intensive training, protection, and excellent communication between the horse and rider could help minimise the risk of injury.

“Buzkashi is not for the faint-hearted. I’ve seen men breaking their legs, their arms, and their heads. I’m seen people and horses almost dying on the field, but I have never been afraid,” he added.

Darkest days of Buzkashi

Pointing out the darkest days of Afghanistan’s national pastime, Gulbadin said that during their five-year rule from 1996 to 2001, the ultraconservative Taliban banned Buzkashi alongside kite flying, music playing, women’s education, and anything else the hardline group considered un-Islamic and as “immoral.” “During those days, there was a sharp decline in Buzkashi matches. There were not enough horses around, and most of the Chapandaz fled the country due to continued violence,” he told Boast Magazine.

In recent years, the group has also claimed several high-profile attacks at Buzkashi matches. In 2013, a suicide bomber attacked a match in the Northern Province of Kunduz, killing at least seven. In January of 2017, an explosion in the Balk province killed a local anti-Taliban militia leader and his bodyguards. Even today, Chapandaz must take ever greater risks to earn a livelihood and keep the tradition alive.

Sponsors of the game

The centuries-old sporting tradition has sponsorships from various companies and influential figures like politicians, businessmen, and warlords. They spend vast sums on acquiring the best horses and riders. By offering prizes, they display their power to assert influence over their respective ethnic groups. But, no one embodies Buzkashi more than Abdul Rashid Dostum in Afghanistan. The wealthy warlord turned Afghan general is the leading Buzkashi sponsor. He spends heavily on Buzkashi players and sourced prime horses from Central Asian countries to replenish Afghan stocks decimated by the war.
The stallions of General Dostum cost up to $70,000. Gulbadin told us that whenever Dostum is hosting, fat winnings are guaranteed. He remembered a match played in Mazar-e-Sharif— the citadel of the sport—where Dostum awarded a price of $20,000 to a winner.
“Without Dostum, Buzkashi is as good as dead,” he said.

Major tournaments and the big games

The country’s biggest annual tournaments are held in Mazar-e-Sharif, Kunduz, Badakhshan, and Kabul, where provincial teams go head-to-head for the national championship. Most matches attract thousands of spectators and are often televised. In such competitions, horse owners in the audience offer hefty prizes, at least by Afghan standards, for the victors: It could range from $100 to several thousand dollars.

Conclusion

As it is played today, Buzkashi has been in Afghanistan for hundreds of years and shows no sign of slowing down. The sport is seen as a metaphor for power, prestige, and hierarchy in a conflict-ridden country. It reflects the boldness and fierce competitive spirit of the Afghan people. The time-honoured sport is fascinating to watch and offers an intriguing insight into Afghan society. Similar to Afghan politics, there are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies in Buzkashi. Ultimately, there is only sheer strength and the courage to use it. In a land of creeping fear and insecurity, this brutish entertainment serves as a source of happiness and celebration for the general public.

You may also be interested in our article on another ancient tradition, the Nowruz: The Persian “New Year”. >>

Habib Afridi
Latest posts by Habib Afridi (see all)

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