with the onset of spring in kazakhstan (well, in the south anyhow. up in my neck of the woods it's getting to be a balmy 0 degrees celsius during the day), i thought i'd talk about kokpar, which essentially is headless goat carcass polo.
in the Borat film, the blundering TV reporter claims favorite Kazakh activities include naked mud-wrestling, shooting dogs and punching goats. while this isn't too far from the truth, in fact, a popular Kazakh traditional sport is kokpar, in which men on horseback fight over the headless corpse of a freshly killed goat.
here's an excerpt from an article i was sent about the rules of the game:
"Two teams participate in the game, which is held in an area 400-500 meters long and 20-30 meters wide (normally in the racecourse of the race track, in front of the stand). The bounds of the area at the frontal sides are marked with a line and two flags on both sides to serve as a goal. In the center of the area there is a 3 meter diameter circle – the place where the carcass of a goat is placed before the beginning of the game. With the referee’s signal the teams approach each other and stand in line against one another ten meters away from the circle."
"Mutual greetings of the teams’ captains being over, participants start the game. Its aim is to pick up the goat from the ground and take it to the goal. It is not an easy task, because the rivals try to snatch it out. The team, which manages to take the trophy to its goal more times, than the rivals, will be a winner. The game lasts 15 minutes and additional time – a quarter of an hour – is given in the case of a draw."
so, while you're enjoying the flowers budding and the birds singing, i'll be watching men on horses throw around a headless goat carcass. happy spring.
