KABUL — The announcer roared over the public
address system as a lone rider separated from a melee of horses and galloped
towards a chalk circle drawn in the middle of a muddy field in the
Afghan capital.
اضافة اعلان
Despite being pursued by what appeared to be a
cavalry charge, the rider dumped his “prize” in the circle and raised an arm in
triumph.
Kandahar had taken the lead against
Kunduz in
Sunday’s grand final of Afghanistan’s national buzkashi championships.
Banned as “immoral” when the Taliban first ruled
from 1996 to 2001, the hardline Islamists have embraced buzkashi since
returning to power in August, and the winning team hails from their heartland
despite it having no real tradition of the sport.
“Unfortunately, buzkashi was not allowed previously
and was only played in provinces where the Taliban didn’t rule,” Qais Hassan,
the owner of the winning Kandahar team, told AFP.
“Today, luckily, buzkashi is not only being played
all over Afghanistan, but the government, the Islamic Emirate, is organizing
this competition.”
The sport is both spectacular and violent — a lot
like the country, many Afghans are quick to tell you — and steeped in history.
Two teams with six horsemen a side fight for
possession of, traditionally, a beheaded animal carcass — buzkashi means
“dragging the goat” in Persian — with the aim of dropping it into the “circle
of truth”.
Injuries are common
It has been played for
centuries in
Central Asia, with slight variations from country to country.
These days a 30kg stuffed leather bag resembling a
carcass is used instead of the real thing, but the skills required to compete
remain the same.
Horses and riders can be substituted from 12 on each
side — a necessity as injuries are common, although most riders shrug them off
after brief treatment.
The mounts barge violently against each other,
rearing and throwing their hooves into the mix. Riders lash the flanks of their
steeds — and frequently their opponents too.
Sometimes a horse and rider fall, and on Sunday a
member of the Kunduz team broke his nose, but the powerfully built 50-year-old
soon returned to the fray.
Kandahar and Kunduz were also finalists last year,
but the game was called off in controversy after a security alert with just 40
minutes played.
This time, the contest took place under tight
Taliban security, six months after the fundamentalist Islamists returned to
power.
As spectators waited for the action to start,
religious songs were broadcast over the public address system and white Taliban
flags fluttered in the breeze.
The sport has become commercialized too.
Large billboards were set up around the field, and
riders wore different-colored numbered jackets — some even sporting advertising
patches.
Since returning to power the Taliban have promised a
softer version of the harsh rule that characterized their first government,
when they banned most sports — including
football because it showed men’s legs.
“The government has allowed the independence of the
Olympic administration and along with buzkashi, we have football, wrestling and
other sports — all supported by the government,” said Ahmadullah Wasiq, head of
Afghanistan’s national TV, which co-organized the tournament.
For the record, Kandahar won 2-0, with the winning
team carrying off a handsome trophy presented by a senior Taliban official.
The mud and rain made conditions treacherous, but
Kandahar’s Abdul Salam Aymaq — who took up the sport as a teenager — shrugged
them off.
“There was nothing difficult for us,” the 32-year-old told
AFP.
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