Buzkashi
In his book “Buzkashi”, Whitney Azoy, a former officer at US embassy in Afghanistan, responds to how the traditional game of Buzkashi demonstrates the life of Afghans. The author tries to take an active part in the daily lives of Afghans to know more about the role of Buzkashi and its corresponding results to the lives of Afghans. Previously, when he was working as an officer, a friend suggested him to get familiar to Buzkashi as an approach to know the Afghans.
The game of Buzkashi in Afghanistan dates back to the time when the Turkic-Mongol people from North and east played it as part of their tradition. This game used to hold a special popularity in the north of the country because the north people were skilled horse riders. However, nowadays, different ethnic groups such as Uzbek, Hazara, Kirghiz, Kazakhs, Tajiks and Pashtuns play it.
The author points out three main dimensions to this game; Buzkashi as a commemoration, Buzkashi as a metaphor, Buzkashi as an arena for political process. Buzkashi as commemoration refers to how this game preserves the cultural heritage and the traditional burden of Afghan lifestyle along with its honor and masculinity. It’s more than just a simple entertaining game. The word Buzkashi is also used metaphorically to refer to a chaotic situation where everyone is following his self-interest and ignores others. The usage of the word is so prevalent in most northern and eastern provinces of Afghanistan because the game has a special popularity in these provinces.Based on the nature of the game which is all about power, agility and stamina, this game is used as a tool by some people who try to gain a fame among people and get respect. Although some participants may play Buzkashi for fun, for others, it means much more beyond the fun it carries. For people who try to gain political power through this game, Buzkashi is a game of political survival.
There are two different ways to play Buzkashi; one being called tudabarai, the simple and informal one, which is almost an individual game with no institutionalized total score at the end of game, and the other being called qarajai, a more complex form, which is formal with a team identification and an institutionalized total score at the end of the game.However, these two types of Buzkashi share the very same components such as horses, riders and carcass. What’s more, there are four orders to this game; the first order is the rivalry over gaining access to the calf carcass which then leads to a dispute of the second-order of the game where there is a competition to control over the dispute.
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The writer talked about three key proportions of this game; Buzkashi as a tributeor commemorative, Buzkashi as a metaphor or symbol, and Buzkashi as a field for political procedure. Buzkashi as a tribute or commemorative discusses that how this game reserves the cultural birthright and the customary liability of Afghan’s daily life along with its integrity and manliness, Buzkashi is more than as a simply engagingin a game. Metaphorically or as a symbol Buzkashi is refers to a disordered and hectic site in which everyone is thinking about his self-regard and its own benefits. The word Buzkashi is so widespread in most of the northern an...
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