Where's Dara?

14 December 2006

Today we went to a Buskashi match. Sitting amongst the elders, who were wrapped in turbans and tribal coats, we watched the ancient game play out on a cold, overcast day.

Gabriela, our head of office, had told me the day before that Mir Alam, a famous Buskashi player and local commander, had invited all the internationals of the office to watch the three day game. Purdel, one of our assistants, was excited by the prospect and had attended the opening lunch yesterday.

Buskashi is one of the ‘must-do’ Afghan experiences, and one that is not necessarily easy to find. It is virile and violent game played in the winter or early spring. Men on horses fighting over the carcass of a sheep… dragging it across the field, trying to get it into their team’s circle.

The audience watches the battles from above. The audience is almost exclusively men. When I mentioned to my Gender Assistant that there was a game and asked her if she wanted to go, her eyes looked excited but her mouth said no. “Come,” I said. “You will sit with Gabriela and I—you will be an ‘international woman’ for the day.” She was persuaded, and she came.

The game pitted three teams against one another: Kunduz, Samangan and Takhar. Kunduz and Takhar were from our region, while Samangan was from the neighboring one.

Unfortunately for us, the teams were equally matched. What this translated into was a lot of fighting over the carcass in big, barely moving clumps of horses and few breakaway gallops. No real action.

I should explain the rules of the game a bit more. As I said, the players fight over the carcass. In order to move the carcass, a player must be holding the carcass by their hand (i.e. dragging it along, not carrying it on the horse) while managing to ride the horse. If a player drops the carcass, he or another player must grab it while still remaining on the horse. No jumping down. Certainly is a game of skill and strength.

Given these restrictions, the battle for a dropped carcass is intense and can be fierce. While in possession of the carcass, opponents make every attempt to dislodge it from the player’s grip.

The game we watched mostly involved attempts to grab the dropped carcass. In sports fans terms: a bit, well, boring. Indeed, about an hour of sitting in the biting damp cold of Kunduz, the diehard audience, began to disperse, as did we.

Here are some pictures from our perch above the field (apologies for the quality):

Players setting up, and being told the rules.

The carcass at its starting point.

Gaby, Ghizal, and Mohiuddin at the match.

Referee talking to the crowd

And the game begins!

After the carcass is dropped, a new argument amongst the players ensues.

The battle continues...

Movement begins...

The many hatted crowd

And now a breakaway

Victory!