Kraynak in Kabul: ESPN's Monday Night Buzkashi

Salaam Alaykom.

I recently took some basic Dari language and cultural awareness training. It’s part of the counter-insurgency strategy to have a better understanding of the local culture and how to deal with it effectively.

Salaam Alaykom means “hello, peace be upon you.”

A proper response is Wa Alaykom Asalaam, which means “and peace be upon you.”

I practice these sayings and others with the cleaning crew, who I believe is a mother with her two teenage kids and one of their buddies. When I say hello in Dari to them, they get a kick out of asking me questions in Dari to see if I know what they are saying. The worst part is they know English quite well, but enjoy watching me stumble through their language. I’m still learning swear words in Dari so please don’t ask me to share those words until I practice them more.

In most countries outside of the United States, football is the national sport. Not football in the sense of the NFL , but soccer. But Afghanistan is one of the few countries where soccer is not the national sport. It’s popular, but there is something better.

It’s called Buzkashi.

Translated, it literally means “goat grabbing.”

It’s a field game of 10 to 12 players per side. The teams must transport the headless carcass of a calf or goat, weighing up to 130 lbs., the length of a football field and back, and then over a goal Line, without dropping it or allowing someone from the other team to wrestle it from them. No knives or the direct physical attack of the person carrying the carcass is allowed.

[photo obtained from training presentation]

The origins of this game are believed to go back to the era of the Mongol conquest, when the Mongol riders would hunt, kill and pick up goats without dismounting from their horses. The story goes that Afghan horseman learned to fight back and retook their animals from the Mongols who wanted to ride away with the livestock. Today it is the official national sport of Afghanistan.

Supposedly one of their star buzkashi players retired two years ago, then cried on TV and said he wanted to come back. He went to a new team, then again said he was done. Then cried again and came back. What a crazy country!

The training also provided background on the various ethnicities, traditions, and history of this country that I’ll share in future posts. One startling fact is that the country was more advanced and progressive in the 1950’s than it is today. Due to decades of wars (Soviet occupation, civil war) and the working of the Taliban and their ultra-conservative ways, Kabul went from a city with theaters and other modern luxuries, to a virtually destroyed metropolis with two traffic lights and unreliable electricity.

The below images are of a Girls Scout meeting and women at a record store, both in the 1950’s. It looks no different than pictures of America in the 1950’s.