Kyrgyzstan 3 – Eagle Hunters and Headless Goats

Kyrgyzstan - eagle hunters

Our last evening in Kyrgyzstan was spent watching two local traditions that are unique to this part of the world.  First up was a form of falconry with three nomad eagle hunters.

Though often associated with Mongolia, this form of hunting with the golden eagle on horseback actually originated here. In addition to posing for the camera, as seen above, they let the eagles loose to hunt (not shown).  First the eagle attacked a dead fox dragged behind a horse.

They then let the eagles loose to capture a live rabbit released in front of us. The rabbit had its lucky foot though, and lived to see another day — as a pair of hawks attacked the eagles and chased them away from the hunting field…!

To the Kyrgyz, horsemanship is a much-prized skill. Therefore, it is not surprising that among the most popular sports are games on horseback – one is wrestling on horseback for a goat’s carcass.  Two teams with equal number of horsemen each attempt to carry a headless goat (yes, you read that right…) to the goal. The regular playing field is 300 meters long by 150 meters wide. In the center of the playing field is a carcass of a goat, weighing on an average of 30-40 kilograms. Each game is 15 minutes long, and the objective of the game is to seize the goat’s carcass and deliver it into the goal post of the opposing team. The players are allowed to pick up the carcass, wrestle it from their rivals, and fling the carcass over to their team mates.

There are only a few rules to the game — all players must stay on their horse, the player with the goat must not use anything other than his body and horse to hold the goat, one cannot grab the bridle of the opponent’s horse, one cannot rear their horse, ram another horse at high speed, nor take the reins off the opponent’s horse.  Everything else is legal.

The video below gives a brief sense of the roughness of the game (rugby on a horse), as played that day. The man in the white shirt is the referee, who makes sure the (very limited) rules are followed.

Headless Goat Horse Games from Burt Johnson on Vimeo.

 

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