Buzkashi, literally translated as “goat grabbing”, is a Central Asian game where the goal is to get a goat carcass from one side of the field to the other while on horseback. Although it is often played in teams, in Tajikistan it is every man for himself. I had the pleasure of seeing the game played on November 6, 2019, Tajikistan’s Constitution Day.
In this picture, the players wait for the game to begin.
Not every person plays at once. The game had multiple rounds, with multiple prizes. Here, horses wait patiently with their handlers. During the few hours I was there, not a single horse misbehaved after getting too close to another horse.
Here is an up–close shot of the game. In order to get your horse moving and move others out of the way, the players would use whips. Additionally, the goat would start on the ground, thus players had to keep others clear when they tried to pick it up.
My classmate Jake and I went exploring. People were selling food, as well as materials. Here, Jake is looking at a whip that he ended up buying for around the equivalent of 15 dollars.
When we went exploring, we were able to find the prizes for the winners of the game. The prizes included a car, money, and as seen here, livestock. The baby cows were adorable, and I was mimicked by a local when I “aww’d” at them.
Another prize was a camel. I found it incredibly interesting to see the camels as I had not seen many of them back home in Texas. I wish I could have talked to a winner to see how he felt about winning a camel. I wondered about that, as well as how a winner would feel about winning livestock if he did not have a farm.
By: Sydney Martin
Program: Eurasian Regional Language Program, Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Term: Spring 2020
AC Study Abroad 