In the first year of Taliban occupation (2021) buzkashi continued. I haven't found an update. this is in Afghanistan, not Kazakhstan.
I'm going to check on the status of buzkashi in Afghanistan. I really doubt the Talibs will allow it, as it is a regional cultural thing. Afghans celebrate the first day of spring as the "New Year" (nowroz) but that comes from Zoroastrianism/Iran and the Taliban try to suppress it. The 60s were a time of great optimism for Afghanistan. No more.
I saw buzkashi in the north of Afghanistan near Mazar-i-sharif in 1966. As you note, it's played all over Central Asia. I have a few photos but yours are much better. The Afghan players wore their northern region coats and turbans. They beat the heck out of other players, other horses, and their own horses with whips. The horses were sturdy, like polo ponies. The field was clouded with dust. I doubt if the Taliban allow this traditional game to be played now, since they forbid anything not of their own interpretation of Islam, discounting any regional cultural influences.
Thank you for showing us all these beautiful photographs, and thanks also for the essay which puts the pictures in context.
Is this photojournalism or art? If making a beautiful image that is not for map-making, or forest monitoring, or any other scientific purpose, then edit away and don't say anything.
These were discards? All are beautiful, and keepers!
You are the wildlife whisperer! Somehow you get those critters to arrange themselves into the perfect poses!
Excellent photos, and I'm glad you were able to witness these rituals. I saw similar from a rowboat in Varanasi, but did not take pictures at the request of our guide. These rituals are just like our "viewing"/visitations to funeral homes.
Are most of the girls pregnant, or do they just look that way? (like zebras). Beautiful images.
Letting vegetation, no matter how interesting, block your storm drains is a baaaaad idea.
These gorgeous shots are what I think about when I think about Mongolia. Thanks for posting.
I missed the Knoxville Fair and thanks for these fine photos of what remains. I did get to the 1986 Fair in New Orleans. I loved it, especially the architecture and designs by Charles Moore, but almost nothing of that remains. I believe the NOLA Fair was a financial disaster, and the last of the breed.
All of PhotoLady's shots should be in a gallery!
Is this the new Cairo Museum?