Astana, Kazakhstan – A dozen horses collect collectively, mud rises from the sandy floor of the sector, and riders stand in stirrups, steering their mounts towards a wierd goal: the headless, disemboweled carcass of a goat mendacity within the mud.
A rider efficiently lifts and lifts the physique beneath his legs from a multi-legged spinning creature composed of hooves, tail, head and human fists, and rushes towards the objective, with two groups of seven horsemen chasing him from all sides – some To guard him, some will cease at nothing to cease him. The chance of damaged fingers and jaws is all too actual.
This isn’t a film, however a kokpar competitors, an equestrian sport broadly identified in Central Asia and the thrilling climax of the fifth World Nomad Video games, which concluded on September 13 this 12 months.
The fifth World Nomad Video games, held within the futuristic Kazakh capital of Astana, have fun the sports activities, tradition and unity of the nomadic peoples of Asia’s Turkic nation.
The biennial occasion, held 10 years in the past in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, with participation from 30 nations, got here after former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev stated that within the fast-paced world of globalization Occasions, the Olympics could be an effective way to showcase the tradition of the area.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated on the Olympic opening ceremony on September 8: “We’re descendants of good and courageous nomads who’ve preserved their distinctive identification and introduced us Civilization of the Savannah.” The accountability is to cherish this sacred heritage and cross it on to future generations. “
Tokayev also addressed the suffering in other parts of the world, especially in Gaza, while emphasising the games’ role in strengthening friendships among nations, much in the same way as the recently concluded Olympics.
In the same way that France used the Olympics to showcase Paris and French culture to the world, so Kazakhstan used its first time hosting the World Nomad Games to showcase the origins of the Kazakh steppes, symbolising the peaceful interconnections of past nomadic empires beneath a traditional nomadic yurt.
‘Three games of men’
This year’s event, the first held in Kazakhstan, was possibly the largest to date, featuring more than 2,000 athletes from 89 countries ranging from Angola to Argentina, Hungary to Sweden, and Turkmenistan to Zimbabwe.
They all came together to participate in 21 traditional games that have their roots in the “three games of men” (archery, wrestling and horse racing), which testify to the skills of the peoples who ruled the steppes of inner Asia for thousands of years, from Silk Road traders to the Golden Horde that preceded the 15th century Kazakh Khanate.
Besides kokpar, some of the most interesting games were audaryspak, a horseback wrestling competition where a sportsman must wrestle his opponent from his horse, and kusbegilik, a hunting game with birds of prey (majestic golden eagles, falcons and hawks) whose flight speed is assessed by launching them on a lure or counting how long it takes the bird to reach a bait in its owner’s hand.
There are additionally a number of totally different types of wrestling, such because the native Kazak Kureishi and Kurashi wrestling, that are carried out completely in a standing place, and the mighty Nomadic Strongman competitors, which incorporates weightlifting, a javelin-throwing problem and a 200kg (440 lb) bare-handed bullock cart.
The competitions additionally transcend sport and embrace technique reminiscent of Togyzkumalak (a board recreation wherein gamers win by amassing the best variety of stones) and stay performances of aitys, duels of improvised music and poetry from Kazakh and Kyrgyz people that turned the 2015 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Kazakhstan received with a complete of 112 medals, together with 43 golds, adopted by Kyrgyzstan with 65 medals and Russia with 49 medals, however there have been loads of surprises.
Italian feminine judoka Betty Vuk, a member of the Italian Kazak Quresi Basis, received the one Italian medal within the conventional Kazakh wrestling competitors on the Nomad Video games. Gold medal, additionally the primary gold medal.
Different profitable nations embrace Hungary (which received eight medals, together with one gold, greater than Turkey, India, China and Turkmenistan) in addition to Romania, Poland, Moldova, France and Australia, underscoring the rising recognition of conventional Central Asian sports activities and martial arts world wide attraction.
Whereas the 2026 occasion will return to Kyrgyzstan, future video games could also be held exterior the steppes.
“Maybe by 2030 or 2032, it will likely be potential to host the World Nomadic Video games in North America as a result of we now have widespread floor there. […] Our geographical scope must be expanded and it ought to turn out to be a world undertaking that receives wider consideration,” Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Tourism and Sports activities Zarasbayev Serik Maratovich instructed the media. “We need to popularize our recreation and are asking anybody to assist unfold the phrase.”
Again at Kokpa, goats are made from rubber, however useless animals are the norm within the sport, which has barely totally different guidelines and names relying on the place it is performed.
Kazakhstan defeated Kyrgyzstan to win the gold medal and have become the ultimate champions of the Kokpa Championship.
