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Journey to Afghanistan

BUZKASI
Chapter 11 - Page 29

Six weeks earlier I had heard of a Special Forces soldier competing in a game called "buzkashi" near Mazar-i-Sharif soon after the city was freed from Taliban control. I remember the article which admired his courage while questioning the safety of the practice. It would have seemed unbelievable then to have been told that I'd soon be headed toward that same field of competition. Now I was happy to be going only as a spectator, though accompanied by warnings of the possibility that some in the crowd hated us. We were to keep close together.

This contest generally consisted of two opposing groups of horsemen competing for the body of a decapitated goat. The goat was placed in a circle on one side of a large field. The objective was to reach down and lift the carcass up beside you, then to ride past a pole about one hundred meters away, and return to the original circle. Others tired to battle you for the goat. We were told historically the body of an enemy was used. During the winter I was privileged to watch this spectacle twice . Buzkashi had been banned during the Taliban rule.

Driving south from Mazar we passed the remnants of war, bombed out buildings, destroyed tanks, and signs warning of land-mines. Leaving the last of this ruin behind we could see several thousand people surrounding a large field with the backdrop of the Hindu Kush Mountains, huge red-rocked cliffs capped by snowy peaks glistening in the winter sunlight. A grandstand holding perhaps a thousand spectators, and roofed with blue sky, also rose to the south of the field. From a distance we could see many horsemen alternately racing about, then bunching together and then racing away again.

After stopping and disembarking we were told to keep a close eye on the horses and the movements of the crowd. Though the field was probably two hundred meters across, there was actually no boundary and the contestants might suddenly come riding through the surrounding spectators at breakneck speed. The entire throng was composed of men and boys. Hence Donna, Carol and Mukhabat, the lady members of our medical team, were a novelty with their uncovered faces, and drew about as much or more attention than the contest. Out of deference to the Afghan culture some wore a scarf over their head. In watching the Afghan men I sensed they generally rather enjoyed having these women there with them.

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