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:
Well, It think it is my favorite of the series I presented so far. It was taken just before "Buzkashi - Act 4". I like the curve of the white horse (in front) trying to cut the way of the brown horses on its right. When the rider is holding the buz with his two hands, he can only drive his horse with his legs and through balancing his body. The very good Buzkashi horses are the ones which can anticipate the right moves and be very responsive to the rider's command in such difficult situations.

And yeah, the buz was a male :-)