NAGPUR: The founder of the Mongol empire, Genghis Khan, created the largest contiguous human empire in all of history. But the feared ruler, who died aged 55, was partly responsible for something he wouldn’t know. One of his biggest, unintentional legacies. Buzkashi — the national sport of Afghanistan.
Trying to find out the sport’s etymology on the internet is tricky business, but a few websites opine that Buzkashi was invented primarily as a shield to protect livestock against Genghis’ army, who would pillage, steal sheep and goats and leave trails of destruction in their wake.
The sport of Buzkashi is too macabre to even imagine for conservative minds, but it thrives. Just imagine polo or horseball, but replace the ball with the carcass of a goat (or a calf), sans the head, and you have Buzkashi — goat grabbing when translated into English. One of the more famous pop culture references to the sport was seen in Rambo III, where John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) partakes in a game.
The sport itself is simple. Riders, called chapandaz, on horseback fight for possession of the carcass, and the one who has it tries to escape before scoring a goal by dumping the remains of the animal inside a designated line or inside a basket or in a hole, depending on the rules set by the different tribes.
When Leslie Knott travelled to Afghanistan to set up a radio station for women in 2005, she had no idea that she would end up working on a film that would vie for Oscar honours. But that’s exactly what happened when she was an associate producer on Buzkashi Boys, a film that was nominated in the ‘Best Live Action Short’ category at the 2013 Academy Awards.
One of the first things that struck her after seeing Afghanistan was sport, and how it was acting as a totem to heal wounds of ghosts past. But what attracted her to Buzkashi was its raw beauty. “Buzkashi is extremely popular in more rural parts of Afghanistan,” she tells Express.
“Buzkashi riders are almost mythical in their athleticism. The strength they need to ride at 45 degrees on their horses whilst stretched out to pick up the carcass is awe inspiring.”
The image makes for riveting cinema, but it wasn’t as simple as assembling a few cameras, writing scripts and capping the film two weeks later. “We brought out a team from Los Angeles, who helped build and train the local staff. Each crew member had an Afghan counterpart. The logistics were massive — shooting in winter in Kabul, where access to film equipment is minimal.”
Cricket may have overtaken Buzkashi in terms of popularity and international recognition. But on March 20, the first day of the Persian New Year (Nowruz), when Afghanistan face South Africa in the World T20, Buzkashi riders back home will be getting their horses ready. Organisers would have finished soaking the carcass in water.