Photos

THE GAME:
“The buzkachi is a traditional game of Afghanistan and of the Central Asian steppes. The body of a beheaded ram is stuffed with wet sand to make it heavier. A white circle ( hallal ) is drawn with lime on the ground. At an equal distance on the right and on the left sides of the hallal two masts are erected. At a signal given by the judge(s) the participants rush to attempt to grab the carcass and throw it in the white circle after ridding around one of the masts. Once a rider has secured the carcass he may be immediately challenged by other competitors who will wrestle with him all along or be left alone while he goes to turn around the mast and then be assaulted on his way back to the hallal . Buzkachis can be pleasant affairs among members of the same clan or brutal encounters between highly-skilled horsemen of different groups, particularly when the monetary and prize incentives are high. (extracts from “Vents d’Est” – Pierre Claquin)”

THE PHOTO:
Halim the guy in blue is holding the buz, squeezing it between his right leg and his horse, while being assaulted by rivals. I like this photo as it shows some of the team work in the game. You can see the buzkach (in light blue jacket) helping by pulling the bridle of Halim's horse to keep it running away from rivals. The riders in front (right side of the photo) on the contrary are are here to "block" Halim and slow his break through. Despite the fact that only the Hallal winner will get the reward (no sharing) you often witness some team work between riders from a same province or district.

In the background, the city of Mazar-e-Sharif where cell phone network antenna grow like mushrooms. On the right side, a russian silo still in use.