Mambo

I first read Les Cavaliers in 2002, while I was living in Maimana, Faryab province. At that time the situation was tense and I was overloaded with work. I was having a tough time... I read the book in one shot, I couldn't believe my eyes: The action was happening here, in the hills of Faryab! The book changed my whole perspectives. Indeed I decided to extend my stay and find my own Jehol to learn and play buzkashi. Later, I also set off for a journey across the country in the hoofprints of Ouroz, the main character of the book.

Kessel came to Afghanistan for the first time in 1956. His purpose was to shoot a movie about the afghan horsemen with the french director Pierre Schondorfer. The movie eventually came out under the title La Passe du Diable (The Devil's Pass). It tell the story of a tchopendoz from Maimana who travels through Afghanistan to rally Kabul and compete in a national buzkashi game organized by the King Zahir Shah. Kessel also wrote a book about this first afghan experience, Le Jeu du Roi (The King's Game).

Kessel got fascinated by the beautiful landscapes of the country and by the wild spirit of its people. For the next ten years he matured a book, which was published in 1967 under the title Les Cavaliers. The book was translated the next year by the now famous Patrick O'Brian (The Horsemen).

It tells the story of Ouroz, a tchopendoz from Maimana, who travels to Kabul to compete in a buzkashi. During the tournament, he breaks a leg and awakens in hospital. Out of shame and outrage, he escapes and sets off for a journey accross the mountains to return to his village. On his way, he has to fight with fever from sepsis from the leg, a treacherous seravant, and the unfriendly environment of the central highlands...

The book was put to screen in 1971 by John Frankenheimer, starring Omar Sharif and Jack Palance.



For more information, see wikipedia: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Cavaliers_%28roman%29