School girl doing the "etan," the national Afghan dance.  She wears the three colors of the
Afghan flag:  black, red, and green.



   Jeshyn, August 28-31, Independence Days, commemorating a 1920 peace
 treaty ending the third Anglo-Afghan war.  These dancers, one
 bearing the Afghan flag, celebrate by dancing to a drum.



Crowds gather on the outskirts of Kabul.  In the lower left corner is a red-haired non-Afghan.



 The game of buzkashi is relatively simple.  The object is to pick up, from a circle in front of judges,
the carcass of a beheaded calf, carry it around a prescribed point, sometimes up to a mile away,
return and drop it in the original circle.  The carcass often weighs over 100 pounds and is
 sometimes watered to make it heavier.  The objective of opposing players (there are two teams)
 is to prevent the player with the carcass from completing his goal.  Excitement and adrenalin
 levels run high.  Riders and horses often train together for years. 



 Here the rider, in addition to carrying the carcass of the "buz" (from "buzkashi") with his right hand,
holds a whip in his mouth, with which to spur on his mount.  The use of the whip would require
 that he hold onto the horse with only his legs.



Closeup of same rider.  Note similarity of garb to that of teammates to left of photo.




PREVIOUS
NEXT
BACK TO MAIN