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Exhibition ‘nomadic’ Equestrian Games — Kyrgyzstan
A selection of photos from this report was presented during the “Nomads” exhibition.
The «nomadic» equivalent of our Olympic Games, these games brought together, for the first time, all the countries of Central Asia, with the aim of promoting the history of nomadic nations, their traditions, their way of life and their culture.
Kok boru (or Afghan Buzkashi) literally means «goat catcher» and is a traditional nomadic equestrian sport, played by men only. Riders try to catch the carcass of a decapitated goat and bring it to a zone called the «Circle of Justice». A distant predecessor of polo, it is a much wilder version. Kok boru: Kok ‘blue’, Boru ‘Wolf’, means the Grey Wolf – the sacred symbol of the Turkish peoples.