Word: buzkashi
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Buzkashi has actually always been a political game. It's not the horsemen who are the stars, but the sponsors of the event - those who put up the prize money, invite the guests and field the best string of horses and palawans, or wrestlers, as the riders are called. The game originated hundreds of years ago in the north of Afghanistan, hard-pressed against the central Asian steppes. There it was the Khans, or great leaders, who demonstrated their power and influence by holding games and settling the inevitable disputes. Political rivalries were played out on the field...
...what once used to be a uniquely northern game became nationalized in the name of a cohesive Afghan identity. There was even talk of promoting Buzkashi as an Olympic event. And national leaders, from the king to the presidents, held games to consolidate power and weaken their enemies...
...just that there are no rules in Buzkashi - there aren't even teams. The game ends when the calf falls apart and no one can pick it up anymore. The boundary markers are mere suggestions. Often the scrum for the bloody calf spills into the stands, scattering spectators with peals of laughter, hoots and screams. Hooves fly, and so do elbows. Teeth - both human and horse - are bared...
...Buzkashi is the best way to understand Afghanistan in this new era," Whitney Azoy, author of Buzkashi: Game and Power in Afghanistan, told me. "It's all about unbridled competition for power, and the fact that no one can hold it for very long. Individuals rather than institutions are still the prime movers, and here individuals constantly shift sides and make new alliances...
...running the country as if he were a Western politician, and it has earned him little respect. Perhaps this new initiative will turn his reputation around. Instead of being laughed at as the "mayor of Kabul," as his detractors often call him, he could be known as a great Buzkashi sponsor. And in Afghanistan, that's a leader worth following...