KUPKARI

Dust from horses’ hooves, excitement around lamb/goat carcass, atmosphere of real competition among horsemen – all of these things you can see in Uzbek traditional game, called Kupkari. Here in Uzbekistan we say that Kupkari is a competition of real dzhigits (brave and strong young man, skilled horseman). Yesterday I went to this competition which was held in Parkent area and it was fun.

Kupkari also can be called as buzkashi or ulak, it is a traditional Central Asian competition. ‘Kup’ from Turkish means ‘many’ and ‘kari’ from Persian means ‘case, work’. So, the name defines the heart of the game: many dzhigits are involved in one case. And the case is about grabbing sheep’s carcass and hold it until you reach the finish line/open space, then you should throw it in the far distance and the game will be over. 

But it is worth noting that the weight of animal carcass is from 25 to 130 kg. Can you imagine how it is difficult to pick up heavy object at full gallop and after that hold it in your hands while a lot of competitors tries to get it. For me it’s almost unreal. But there is a good motivation for dzhigits. Of course, taste of win and proud, but prizes also can motivate players. In Kupkari prizes can be very different from carpets to sum amount, and the biggest prizes are usually body carcass (which was used in the game), foal or calf. Because games are held in the villages, so the prizes are relevant.

There are two versions of this game. The older version of this game is rather brutal one where everyone for himself. And the battle is against everyone. And the modern one is about team playing, where two teams are in the fight for trophy.

Usually Kupkari is held in spring or autumn. Because in Uzbekistan people traditionally celebrate big events such weddings in these seasons, as well as during the main spring holiday Navruz. It is on the 21st of March and for Uzbek people Navruz is New Year holiday. Kupkari games are often held during Navruz holiday. Yesterday event was hosted after the wedding and Father of the groom decided to organize game, by giving prizes. Participants came from different regions of Uzbekistan, even from distant ones to take part in Kupkari games. It began at 12 p.m. and ends in the evening. There were about 60-70 players and 300-400 visitors, didn’t count but there were a lot of people.

On my way home I thought that people need these kinds of event, something huge and bigger than just a party because everyone of us want to be the part of something bigger than we are. 

Photos made by Ernest Kurtveliev. 

I used photos of Kupkari games (not only from Parkent event).