The Guide to World Nomad Games on Horseback
The World Nomad Games are less than 20 days away, scheduled to take place from September 8 to 13 in Astana. Today, Kazinform News Agency invites readers to take a closer look at nomad games on horseback.
Baige
Baige is a race over various distances. This race is held on flat ground, and there is a division of races by the age of the horse. For example, Alaman baige is a long-distance race (25 km), where horses of all breeds from the age of 3 years are allowed to race.
Kokpar / Kok Boru
Kokpar is one of the most ancient and exciting games of Central Asia, which has not lost its popularity to this day. This horse game is also known as Ulak Tartysh in Uzbek, Kok Boru in Kyrgyz and Buzkashi in Tajik.
The main goal of kokpar is to drag the carcass of goat (in modern competitions a special dummy is used) to the opponent's finish circle. The team consists of 12 riders, of which 4 are players on the field, and 8 are reserve players.
According to one legend, wolves would take sheep's head to the cubs, who would play with it. People began to call it wolf play.
There is also an opinion that instead of a goat carcass, the Kazakhs used a wolf carcass. Hence the name kokpar, which means blue wolf. When hunters could not share the beautiful wolf skin, a competition was announced.
Men aged 15 and over can participate in kokpar. Players are divided into three age categories: boys (15-17 years old), youth (18-20 years old) and adults (21 years and older). Horses participating in the game must be over four years old and have the appropriate training and a medical certificate.
Tenge Ilu
Tenge Ilu is one of the oldest games of the Kazakh people. The goal of the game is to ride a horse as fast as possible and pick up bags of money from the ground on the go. This sport is quite difficult, you need to be able to stay in the saddle, quickly ride a horse and at the same time bend down to the ground and pick up small bags of money.
Young people also go through the school of this game before participating in another national game, Kokpar, which was mentioned earlier.
Audaryspak or Horseback Wrestling
Audaryspak is the name of Kazakh folk wrestling on horses. In this competition, you need to knock your opponent off his horse using grabs and pulling him towards you or forward.
This game originated in the distant past and was an excellent training device for warriors. It develops not only wrestling skills, but also the ability to hold on tightly in the saddle.
Zhamby atu or Horseback Archery
Zhamby atu is a national sport in which archery is performed at a target at a certain distance while riding a galloping horse. The specialty of Zhamby atu is archery at great speed and accuracy in a matter of seconds while riding a horse.
The horseback archery competition is conducted in four styles – Hungarian, Korean, Turkish, and Kazakh (Zhamby atu).
Differences between styles of mounted archery include emphasis on technique, the traditions of each culture, the number of attempts, and the distance to the target.
