Mambo

In winter times, when the cold allows horses to carry out a violent effort without collapsing, expert cavalry men gather on the steppes of Northern Afghanistan to confront themselves in a fierce battle over the carcass of a goat. This is buzkashi, which litteraly means "goat grabbing". It first came to Afghanistan as Gengis Khan and his groups of 1,000 men (the "hazaras") were looting villages by grabbing cattle and women.

These horsemen are called Tchopendoz. They are mounted dare-devils who don't fear anything. They are dressed with thick velvet pants and a colorful tchapane, or long turkmen coat. They wear strong leather boots in which they put wood logs to protect their legs and hurt each other. Their heads are covered with a fox fur hat, which brings them the foremost respect from other people. In their hand they hold a leather whip on which they seal lead bullets to rip their opponents' faces. On their belt is tied a knife that can be stuck into one rider or his horse... The prestige of the tchopendoz is according to the number of scars on his face and body. It is not scarce to see broken limbs in the course of a game. When hurt, the tchopendoz jumps back on the saddle to continue the competition. His honor is at stake!



There are two kinds of game, the tudabarai and the qarajai. Tudabarai is the traditional game, it is played exclusively in the northern provinces. There is no team, all riders play individually for themselves. These games are the most feroce and violent ones. The goal is just to get hold of the eighty pound carcass. It's as simple as that! But one has to see a game to realize how tough it is to lift the carcass, extract from the scuffle, ride and at the same time keep the trophy free from other riders' hands. One wins when he has shown clear superiority over other tchopendoz: If he is able to keep possession of the trophy and flout others for a while, then he is the winner. There is not set circle, the aim to carry the carcass away in any direction.

Old turkmens tell stories of a time when tudabarai games lasted for entire days and tchopendoz rode miles and miles into the steppes. It is difficult for an audience to watch a tudabarai because riders go out of sight. Tudabarai is not meants as a show or a public event. Tudabarai is wild, violent and cruel. Sit down with a "white beard" from Northern Afghanistan, and he will tell you amazing stories about games where riders steal each other's horses and set up machiavelic plans to get rid of an opponent.

40 years ago, the King of Afghanistan decided to make buzkashi the national sport of Afghanistan, and another form of the game was created, the qarajai. Qarajai is played in teams. The aim is simple : grab the calf carcass, gallup round a wooden post and drop the dead body into a cirle drawn on the ground, the "hallal" or circle of justice.

There is no referee in the tudabarai, there is usually accordance among riders as to who is the best tchopendoz. There is a referee in the qarajai. He is the judge and shouts "hallal!" when one scores. Every time a tchopendoz scores, he comes towards the audience who award him bank notes, and sometimes clothes. There is no limit of participants for a buzkashi. Small local games involve a handful of horses while large games gather more than a hundred horses. It is worth noting that women are not allowed to watch a game, it's exclusively masculine.

Every year in October, for the King's birthday, tchopendoz rally Kabul with their dreadful horses for a buzkashi game in which they compete in teams : One team for each province. Thus, the game has now spread to other provinces and is known from every afghan. It has become the national pride of the country. A buzkashi federation was created, with an antenna in major provinces. The Kunduz tournament is held for a week around the New Year, in March. It is the largest buzkashi competition, which marks the end of the season and the last games of the year.



We can generally say the games are tamer nowadays. Original tudabarai is scarcely played, and Qarajai is becoming the common game. Although it is not as violent as tudabarai, it can be really tough. Watch a one-hour game, and you will surely see a horse die out of effort and a rider struck unconscious if not severely injured. The game is terribly dangerous for both riders and horses.

Riders perform amazing stunts to rip off the carcass, they unbalance their mount and they risk falling any time. They take the most considerable risks by diving into the scuffle to grasp the carcass. There is not set rule, everything is allowed to get hold of the trophy, so tchopendoz don't hesitate to go violent, use their whip and sometimes their knife. When a rider falls to the ground, he is doomed to be crushed under the hooves of the hord. It is not a game for the weak!

Sometimes, Tchopendoz decide to ally and get rid of one of their opponents: They attract the unfortunate one and drown him in a nearby river for example. They can also push an opponent down his horse and drag his body on the ground at full gallup! You don't get out of a tudabarai unharmed, and if you not well prepared, then you are lucky if you stay alive.

Similarly, riders require the most extreme effort from their mounts, they don't spare their resources. Riders treat horses without care, it is common to see a horse collapse dead in the middle of a gallup. Horses must be strong, they are trained to fight. They bite each other, rear and kick to get out of the scuffle, so they often show injuries. Only stallions are used for buzkashi, and only the most violent and powerful ones can make it.

The tchopendoz and their horses offered a fierce resistance to the russian invaders. Hords of courageous afghan warriors were charging against the tanks. 50.000 russians were killed, the invasion was stopped, and the strong USSR was defeated by these raw dare-devils.



Tchopendoz compete only four months a year, but they make enough money to live until the next season. They also earn a lot of respect and become members of the high society when they have proven to be good buzkashi players.

Tchopendoz don't owe their horses, they belong to powerful commanders who organize competition to defy their political opponents. Indeed, the winner of the game is neither the team, the rider or the horse, but the commander who organizes the contest to show his power by attracting numerous participants. It's all about bragging rights! The commander pays a lot of money to feed all his guests but this is the opportunity to show his authority: The more people attend the game, the more powerful he is. This is priceless in Afghanistan, honor being the main thing.

Once the game is finished, the winning tchopendoz gets the carcass. It is known as the best meat. It is indeed very tender after the schoks it endured...