Let the Nomad Games Begin!
September 16, 2018 7:48 AM   Subscribe

"It would not be good for the whole world to become New York." A thousand yurts -- "the Czech Republic delegation, for example, was a group of male friends who fished around for an easy sport." -- "The American kok-boru team, some waving their own cowboy hats, brandished the flag of Wyoming" -- "The British ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Robin Ord-Smith, was a bit flummoxed about how his country could participate in the Games. “We don’t really do nomads,” he said. Then, an inspiration: Scotsmen!"
posted by Hypatia (12 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
The British ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Robin Ord-Smith, was a bit flummoxed about how his country could participate in the Games. “We don’t really do nomads,” he said. Then, an inspiration: Scotsmen!

Ahem.
posted by acb at 8:13 AM on September 16, 2018 [7 favorites]


Ahem.

Well, quite.
posted by Grangousier at 8:18 AM on September 16, 2018 [3 favorites]


The politics of this are super weird. Hungarian Prime Minister Orban shows up because he thinks it's connected to Hungarian ethnic roots and wants to push a nationalist narrative, but on the other hand, the rhetoric of most of the other people interviewed seems to be about celebrating diversity. (On preview: Also Ord-Smith's glaring omission of the Travellers.)

The horseback riding and crazy archery skills are awesome though. Also I bet that Wyoming kok-boru team could potentially get good, if they practice. There are still a few people in that part of the US who basically grow up in the saddle.
posted by Hypocrite_Lecteur at 8:21 AM on September 16, 2018 [4 favorites]


Some of those horses look intensely unhappy. In the horse wrestling picture the apparent winner is physically bracing himself against the reins, causing his horse to pull its head as far back as possible to try to escape the pain.

There are cultural differences in what should be expected of a working animal, but at some point it's just abuse.

For those interested, Wikipedia has a pretty good article on buzkashi (aka kokboru, kokpar, ulak tartysh, and other names).
posted by jedicus at 9:13 AM on September 16, 2018 [2 favorites]


Kyrgyzstan should check out the World Indigenous Games. Some photos.
posted by fings at 11:10 AM on September 16, 2018 [3 favorites]


That was the first thing I thought of, fings!
posted by jrochest at 11:26 AM on September 16, 2018 [2 favorites]


My cousin Shaun, who did a Peace Corps placement over thereabouts, went to the Games. The pictures he posted on FaceBook are amaaaaaazing.

He also mentioned that at least one woman from the U.S. was competing in a riding event, and it made me curious about whether she took her own horse or borrowed one locally (given animal quaratine rules and all that).
posted by wenestvedt at 11:27 AM on September 16, 2018


My new desktop from the indigenous link...
posted by jim in austin at 12:05 PM on September 16, 2018


That picture of the young people and the horses resting in the grove is amazing. It's like a window into the past.

Horseback archery is getting super popular in the US too, I have to try it some time soon.
posted by fshgrl at 1:46 PM on September 16, 2018


Well, I was there. I got to attend about half of the experience. I was at the opening ceremony, several kok-boru matches, a bit of wrestling, and a couple of days up at the "Ethno-Village" (referred to as the "yurt encampment" in a couple of places--this was up in the mountains).

Overall, it was a nice event. The opening ceremony was a big deal, and crazy busy and crowded. There were traffic issues because Cholpon-Ata only has one main road going east and west, and it was getting shut down for motorcades to go by. We got to see (we think?) President Erdogan's motorcade go past.

Once things got underway, the kok-boru matches were surprisingly....normal. It was like being at some college sporting event. Yes, you're watching men on horseback fight over a dead goat, but they have regular uniforms, with names and numbers, there are referees, play-by-play, and instant replay on big video screens where you can watch the goat go in the goal again. It's all very up-to-date. There are popcorn vendors in the stands. Team USA got beat by a Russian team from Krasnoyarsk.

A lot of the interest was around the traditional wrestling. This was held in the "Gazprom Arena" next to the main stadium (yes, that Gazprom--the Russians still have a strong presence here). A lot of the global competitors were in the wrestling area. We got to chat with a guy from Madagascar who was here to wrestle. The rules for the individual games were very traditional, but the setting was like a regular, well-managed sporting event anywhere.

The big attraction was the "Ethno-Village" up in the Kyrchyn Gorge. The gorge is a parkland setting in a beautiful valley high in the Tien Shan mountains north of town. There were hundreds of yurts set up, along with a couple of very medieval-looking wooden reviewing stands and lookout towers. The entire setting was marvelous. My immediate comment was "this is like a Renaissance Festival, except for real". For Minnesotans, it was like RenFest, the Minnesota State Fair, and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Pow Wow all rolled up into one big thing.

I missed some of the formal events in the mountains (I missed a lot of archery, which I kind of regret), but just wandering through the camps was great. Most of the people camping in the gorge, and most of the people attending, were Kyrgyz, and it really seemed like everyone was having a great time. Regular people from the city were showing up and putting on their fur hats and silk robes, and a few of them in full leather armor in the style of Genghis Khan's troops. People were making fresh bread in traditional clay ovens. Older women were singing in traditional folk music groups, in traditional dress. There were people making carpets, and equestrian gear, and all variety of things. There was a big bazaar area with lots of traditional items and crafts for sale (and touristy trinkets, too). There were giant bubbling pots of lamb stew, and all the kumiss you could drink. All this in a green valley, with fir trees climbing up the slopes, and tall mountain peaks defining the edge of the gathering.

The "parking shuttles" from the main parking area were young guys from local farms, who rode over on horseback, and were offering to take people on horseback over the fields to the main camp area for a small fee.

There were lots of opportunities to have your photo taken with a golden eagle. Did I mention the camel rides?

Over at one end of the camp, there were yurts that had been set up by international representatives. There might be U.A.E. people in one yurt to talk to, Koreans in another, and the USA cowboys cooking up a big kettle of chili and offering it to people passing by.

The only thing that made me sad about this--in two years, the whole thing moves to Turkey for the 2020 games. I don't think it'll be exactly the same without the enthusiasm and enjoyment that Kyrgyz people put into their event, the Kyrchyn Gorge camp especially. I hope there's something comparable for local folks to enjoy in the upcoming couple of years regardless.
posted by gimonca at 5:16 PM on September 16, 2018 [20 favorites]


That was such a nice report, gimonca! thank you for taking the time to share.
posted by twoplussix at 6:41 PM on September 16, 2018 [2 favorites]


of all places, New York is most likely to support people keeping in touch with their culture tho?
posted by gusandrews at 7:18 PM on September 16, 2018 [1 favorite]


« Older I'm just popping out for a moment   |   2:01:39 Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments