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Buzkashi is an Afghan national game, which originated in Central Asia and is played primarily by the Uzbek, Turkoman and Tajik peoples of northern Afghanistan. Buzkashi means "goat-pulling" and involves two opposing teams on horseback using the carcass of a goat or calf as their object of competition. The players aim to lift the carcass from the centre of a circle, carry it around a point some distance away, and then return it to its original place in the circle...so the objective is to keep possession of the carcass at all times, no matter what! Cash prizes are given to each goal scorer, as well as to the winning team. Some say this game was the fore-runner to Polo.
The military band you see in some of the photos, performing for the crowd before the start of the Buzkashi match is from Turkey, and is in fact the oldest military band in the world!
In some of the photos, you can also see the mighty peaks of the Hindu Kush mountain range towering up behind the players.
All the photographs in this gallery were taken in 2004/2005 by Edward Reilly.
The frame and mat combinations displayed here in Edward's galleries have been personally selected by the photographer himself. However, you can change the picture size, frame and mat to suit your own specifications by choosing the "custom frame" option (which you will see whenever you click on any of the thumbnails below). If you have any questions or comments for Edward, please feel free to email him personally.
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