The brutal, unifying sporting spectacle of Buzkashi

As Todd Antony finds himself standing in a valley of Tajikistan’s Fann Mountains at 6am on a freezing cold day – for a moment, it seems like something has gone wrong. The photographer has travelled to the country to photograph a buzkashi match – a sport played widely across Central Asia – driving across the countryside, through riverbeds and down valleys. But, when he arrives, nobody is there.

“One truck arrives, then a few seconds later another truck arrives, and then all of a sudden there’s trucks everywhere,” Antony remembers. ​“We’ve just gone from this place in the middle of nowhere to thousands of spectators, hundreds of riders, kebab fires, horses, trailers, and everything else. Out of nowhere, a mini city appears.” And as quickly as the crowd gathers, the game begins.

Soon, hundreds of horse-mounted riders (called chapandaz) descend onto the field with one goal – to capture a leather-wrapped goat carcass, which serves as a ball, and place it into the ​‘Circle of Justice’ – a chalk-marked goal. ​“It’s so atmospheric because of all the sound and dust and smoke. It’s like you’re on a Hollywood film set,” says Antony. His photo series, Buzkashi captures both the sport and its players, through images that feel reminiscent of Napoleonic battle paintings. His photo ​‘Generations’ from the series is currently exhibited at The National Gallery, as part of The Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize.

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Buzkashi, which translates literally from Farsi as ​‘goat pulling’, was originally played by nomadic tribes who travelled throughout Asia between the 10^th and the 15^th centuries. It has remained popular in Central Asia, with regional variants in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, northern Pakistan, western China, and Afghanistan – where buzkashi is the country’s national and most popular sport.

Although it’s been played for centuries, the game has few formal rules. Some matches feature hundreds of players, each vying to score with the goat carcass, which has been beheaded and had its legs removed. Games can last for four, five, or six hours – sometimes even days – and each match has a single winner, although in recent years informal teams have developed. ​“Often the horses don’t belong to the riders, they’re a patron’s horse – and so there will be a group of a half-dozen riders working together for their star-player,” says Antony, ​“Blocking, pushing, trying to help the other guy out.”

To score, players must hang from their saddles to scoop up the carcass – which can weigh anywhere from 30kg to 50kg – leaning off their mount in ways that seem to break the rules of physics. ​“There’s a couple of shots there where you’ll see someone almost 90 degrees off the horse,” Antony laughs. Once they possess it, players must barge through the crowds of other horsemen, who are all trying to intercept them.

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Riders frequently emerge bloodied or broken-boned, having taken an accidental elbow to the face, a stray whip to the hand, or a tumble from their horse. For players who do face a fall, there’s an immediate response. ​“They get them back up there straight away,” says Antony, ​“Then they’ll walk them off the field if they need to, but the thing is getting them back on the horse. It’s almost a superstition.”

In Tajikistan, buzkashi is played between late October and early March. The sport is mainly played in the valleys of the country’s many mountains, and snow often coats the pitches, helping to keep the horses cool during long matches. ​“It was the first time I’ve ever seen a horse sweating,” says Antony. 

While buzkashi can be physically demanding for horses, their riders and owners go to great lengths to ensure that the horses are treated well. In Afghanistan, patrons, who own many of the mounts used in matches, are judged on the health of their horses – an idea which is socially important in relation to the country’s long heritage of nomadic cultures.

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In the same way, the goat (known as the buz) whose carcass is used as a ball, is slaughtered in accordance with halal principles, but some local animal rights activists have objected to the use of dead animals. The Kazakhstan Animal Rescue and Education (KATE) group have long advocated for an alternative – and now in many places, including Afghanistan, the carcass has been replaced with a leather-wrapped, weighted bundle.

Fields can be as long as three rugby pitches in length and the spectacle of the hundreds of horses moving en masse feels uniquely cinematic. Yet it’s not just the sight that is overwhelming, but the sound too. Buzkashi matches feature many of the same trappings as a game of football – cheering crowds, commentators – but music is also played on karnays, which are straight, six-foot long, metal trumpets that flank each side of the field. ​“They’re constantly blowing – it becomes like a guttural thrum that’s sort of beneath the game the whole time. It has this rhythm to it and it’s sort of driving everything on. It’s incredible,” says Antony.

In Tajikistan, where Antony shot his photo series, buzkashi is mostly still played without formalised guidelines. But in other parts of Central Asia, regulations have been written and instated. In Afghanistan, Buzkashi is the nation’s most popular sport and to its followers, it’s more than just a pastime. ​“It is a way of life,” says Mohammad Yaftaly, a buzkashi content creator based in northeast Afghanistan. ​“Unlike many modern sports, buzkashi is not imported – it belongs to the land and the people.”

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Yaftaly runs the Instagram account @badakhshanbuzkashi, which highlights matches and teams but also details the cultural significance of the sport. He isn’t just a spectator though, coming from a lineage of buzkashi players that include his uncle and grandfather who both played for Badakshan, one of Afghanistan’s provinces. ​“Their legacy lives on in every match, every cheer of the crowd and every thunder of hooves across the field,” says Yaftaly.

While local games still play with relaxed rules, official games in Afghanistan have developed a definitive rulebook. Each game consists of two teams, each with 12 riders. Games are split into two 45-minute halves, with six players from each team competing in each section – and the games are supervised by a referee. What remains the same is the ferocity with which the same is played. ​“Watching a buzkashi match is unforgettable – the crowd is energetic, people shout and cheer,” says Yaftaly.

Despite its popularity, its history in Afghanistan has been complex. Between 1996 and 2001, the sport was banned by the first Taliban Government – who considered the game immoral – but when the government was overthrown in 2001, buzkashi again began to be played. When the Taliban took power for a second time in 2021, there were concerns that the sport would face another ban, but this never came to pass, while Taliban officials have since attended matches and tournaments.

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In Afghanistan, the most important date in buzkashi’s calendar comes in December, when the annual, national tournaments are held in Kabul. 11 teams, representing each of Afghanistan’s provinces, compete to be crowned the national champion, with thousands of supporters travelling the length of the country to support their local teams. Mohammad Yaftaly was among the supporters in attendance and he believes the tournament exemplifies the sport’s cultural importance. ​“It was a powerful reminder of Afghanistan’s identity and resilience,” he says.

Yafalty believes that buzkashi’s power to create a sense of unity directly correlates with its popularity. Afghanistan is diverse, with over 40 different languages spoken across provinces and ethnic groups – including Dari and Pashto; Turkic languages like Uzbek and Turkmen; and indigenous languages including Balochi, Pashayi, and Nuristani. Set against the backdrop of buzkashi, which is as competitive as it is brutal, it could be easy to assume that these differences would be magnified. On the field though, none of that matters. 

“During matches, ethnic, regional, and social differences fade,” Yafalty says. ​“Riders come from different backgrounds and supporters cheer together regardless of their ethnicity. Buzkashi creates that mutual respect.”

Rob Corsini is a freelance journalist. Follow him on Instagram.

Todd Antony is a director and photographer. Follow him on Instagram.

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