A popular equestrian sports game of the central Asian Turkic peoples: Kok-Boru/Ulak-Tartysh

Abstract

In Kok-Boru (also known as Buzkashi, kokpar, and kupkari); the goat is slaughtered and the throat is cut off from the neck, the head is decapitated, the forelegs are cut off from the knees, the hind legs are cut off from the hock, the cannon bone is cut off, and the internal organs are gutted, and then stitched up from the belly with a strong band or cord (the carcass is sometimes steeped in salt water so that it will not break when the players pull it in). Buzkashi is a traditional equestrian game found only among the peoples of Central Asia and played with the carcasses of goats or calves. There were several versions of kok-boru, one of the old Turkic games, under different names (Ulak-Tartysh, Torpok-Tartysh, Buzkashi, etc.) during engagement-wedding ceremonies, mourning ceremonies from region to region, or playing with the carcasses of torpok (1-2 years old cattle/calf or heifer) and goat or ram or male goat. These carcasses are the main element of the game. Even with different accents and dialects, only the common name "Kok-born" (Grey Wolf/Boz- kurt/Blue Wolf/God Wolf) will be able to reach the Turkish world today. Because the game has several risks, the Soviet system changed and reshaped the form, ideas, and rituals of the game. But the popularity of Kok-Boru was so great that it could somehow preserve the archetypal cultural codes every time (Hamchiev et al., 2013:10). © 2023 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.