There are a few things that most people, upon first glance at their Central Asia Lonely Planet, will remember most vividly about Kyrgyzstan: yurts and horse games. Most people who come to Kyrgyzstan get to see or stay in a yurt and drink kymyz to their heart’s content. But not very many get to see the traditional Kyrgyz horseback games. And yet this past weekend, I and several other volunteers found ourselves high in the passes of the Alay region south of Osh at the Nomad Horse Games Festival, one of the first of its kind in the world, organized by the Community Based Tourism organization here (If you’re planning a trip to Kyrgyzstan, CBT is one of the best ways to go).
The Alay region is a large expanse of mountains south of Osh, most famously home to Peak Lenin, the tallest mountain in the region at over 7,000 metres. It’s also home to many villages, jailoos (pastures), a road to Kashgar, China, a road to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, and the first stretch of the famous Pamir highway into the Badakhshan region of Tajikistan.
Our journey began with an hour drive on the first stretch of the M41 (the Pamir Highway), landing in the Chyiyrchyk (pron. Chi-yir-chik) Pass at 2389 metres of altitude. From there, it was up the mountainside, where we were welcomed by tens of Kyrgyz people in traditional clothing, all of whom smiled and encouraged us to taste boorsok (a kind of fry bread) with kaimak (a sweet cream that is used like butter), and wash it down with a swig of kymyz (fermented horse milk). After watching demonstrations of how to prepare several delicious local foods, we headed up to another pair of yurts to sit down to eat everything.
After lunch was when the real adventure began; the festival was organized to bring together over a hundred horsemen and their horses to play these traditional games. Some came from as far as 40 kilometers away, and the number of people surprised the organizers – more than five times as many horsemen and horses came as they had expected. It was to our great delight – the games we watched were exciting, entertaining, and unlike anything we had seen before.
As we hiked over the hilltop area where the games were taking place, the games were already going on. The first game was kokboru, which is also known as buzkashi in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and by a few other names. In official capacity, it resembles rugby, except played on horseback, and using a goat carcass instead of a ball. Formally it uses goals, but informally, it can be a never-ending game of keep-away played on fields that stretch as far as the eye can see. Our version was a more informal version, along the lines of keep-away, except played by at least fifty men on horseback.
It was festive and majestic; without boundaries, the game play moved in every direction, stretching across at least a kilometer of hillsides and pastures. It moved in and around the area we sat watching, and on at least five occasions, the action led to horses charging the spectator area. One time, I had horses galloping past me on both sides. It was quite possibly one of the most thrilling sport spectator experiences I’ve ever had.
The next game was horse wrestling, where two men on horseback attempt to send the other tumbling to the ground. It was very interesting to see, since there is a clear strategy and an unwritten code of fouls. First they would line the horses up so that, while facing opposite directions, their necks were touching. Then they would each rise from the saddle to try and pull their opponent off balance. Only one of the three or four matches we saw actually ended with a rider losing his seat, but it was still exciting to watch.
The third game was one where the young men would ride along at high speed, and from their saddles reach down to the ground to pick up a coin that had been placed there. Also supremely difficult, only one or two of the ten or so riders managed to swipe the little blue fabric set of coins from the ground, and the crowd erupted into applause when they did.
One of the most entertaining games was one where a young girl riding a horse gets chased towards a finish line by a boy. If he catches her, he can kiss her on the cheek, but if he doesn’t, then she chases him back to the start line. If she catches him, then she can hit him with her whip as much as she can until they either reach the start line or he goes out of range. The girl we saw riding was an excellent horseman, and she easily outran her pursuer. More exciting, though, she chased him fast enough that she got in several good swipes of the whip at him on the second run.
The day finally turned back to kokboru, and eventually we headed back to our yurt stay area to relax, watch the sun set, and eat a delicious meal of soup supplemented by a hearty dose of kymyz. People think I’m weird for it, but I actually like kymyz. It’s a light, perky, smoky and slightly “achoo” beverage that is honestly pretty refreshing at the end of a long day.
After dinner, we rolled out the tyshyks (thin mattresses) and fell asleep until the middle of the night, when we woke up to stand outside and stargaze. It was the darkest night I have ever seen. The only light was coming from the stars and from the occasional truck driving by on the Pamir highway at the bottom of the valley. The Milky Way shone so bright that it appeared as though it were clouds in Earth’s own atmosphere. And rather than a black expanse with points of starlight, the sky appeared to be so full of stars that even the dark spaces between were about to be shattered by more behind them.
It was all spectacular, and truly cemented my love and respect for this beautiful country and its people.
If you’re planning a visit to Kyrgyzstan, and want to see something like this for yourself, check out Community Based Tourism Kyrgyzstan. Their Osh branch is who organized this event!