Congratulations to the Braves — this year’s World Series champions. Even though the World Series doesn’t get the attention it did when I was growing up, it’s still a fall classic and it really is America’s national sport. Pretty much every country has a “national sport” of some kind. I’ve been to a lot of sporting events around the world that aren’t popular (or even legal) in the United States, like the bullfights in Spain or the cock fighting in Mexico. But one of the most bazar sports that I’m aware of is buzkashi — the national sport of Afghanistan.
I never attended a buzkashi “match,” but I’ve been near when it was played…. it draws a huge crowd of passionate fans, and involves big money — at least by afghan standards.
In addition to the interesting choice of a ball — the carcass of a goat, decapitated, de-hoofed and soaked overnight in cold water to make it stiff — the players are mounted on horseback and wear traditional Uzbek garb (turbans, robes, and scarves around their waists.)
The playbook isn’t complicated… only a minimally regimented strategy that requires, or more correctly, encourages, no-hold-barred violence. The referees carry rifles in case things really get out of hand. The playing field has no set boundaries and spectators are in constant danger of being trampled.
The objective of the game is to gain possession of the goat and carry it to a designated goal The winning players cook and eat the carcass.
The name buzkashi translates to “goat pulling” or “goat dragging.” It probably originated with nomadic Turkic peoples that moved west from China and Mongolia from the 10th to the 15th centuries. Today, it is played mainly in Afghanistan.
The game has two basic forms — modern and traditional. The modern version is played with teams of 10 to 12 riders. The traditional form has no formal teams — it’s every man for himself.
Both forms of the game are played in an implicitly political context. The competitions are often sponsored by khans (“traditional elites”) who gain or lose status on the success of the events. Their purpose is to demonstrate, and thus enhance, their capability to control events in the country’s ever-shifting power structure.
From what I’ve read, originally, buzkashi was training in preparation for war…. and apparently the games today look like a time capsule from the days of Genghis Khan, when battle exercises were disguised as sport. If it sounds like this game would appeal to you, you’ll probably have to go to Afghanistan — I’m pretty sure it won’t be an Olympic sport anytime soon.
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