Buzkashi

Buzkashi, meaning “goat pulling” in Persian, is the wild, mad as a bag of cats sport of Tajikistan and its neighboring ‘Stans.’ Think polo – but with a headless, eviscerated goat instead of a ball, hundreds of riders, and no formal teams. Rooted in the nomadic cultures of Central Asia and played for hundreds of years, riders, or chapandaz, battle for control of the goat while dodging rivals (and the occasional whip or elbow) in scenes reminiscent of a Napoleonic battle painting. The rule book is less of a book and closer to a couple of sentences, with the match often overflowing into the fleeing crowd (something I can testify to first hand) games can last for hours until one rider hauls the goat across a hay-marked goal line in the dirt. Once a pastime of the steppes, Buzkashi is now a beloved spectacle at festivals and major gatherings such as weddings.

Meet 4 year old Abdulqadir, during a quiet hilltop moment with the Buzkashi match still thundering away in the narrow valley below us. We were setting up our flash equipment and taking portraits of some riders from his group of family and friends. Unprompted, he strolled into our makeshift hilltop studio on his biblically large horse. Made to look even larger by Abdul’s diminutive presence on top of him, feet tantalisingly close to actually reaching its stirrups. Yet with the confidence of a Tajik John Wayne, he turned his horse onto the mark I gestured at and posed without direction.

Buzkashi matches vary wildly in size. It could be a hundred riders, anywhere up to 300+ as it was on this day for a wedding celebration. Prizes for each ‘goal’ vary from cash and livestock through to cars as the biggest prize towards the end of the tournament which can last anywhere from 3-5 hours in length.