Oghlaq Tartishish, a traditional Central Asian sport which could roughly be rendered into English as “Goat Tussle,” or “Contending over a Goat” and better known by its Persian name, buzkashi, is something you’ll inevitably hear or read about in any foray into the peculiarities of Uyghur culture. During my time in Xinjiang I heard about Oghlaq Tartishish frequently though I never had the chance to see an actual game in action. Recently I realized that the idea of riding around on a horse and fighting with other mounted warriors over a raggedy sheep carcass was cool enough by itself and I had neglected to look into the how the actual game works. Reading the following short article, taken from a May 2007 Uyghur newspaper, proved to be very enlightening. As usual, the original Uyghur text will pop up when the text is moused over.

A Look at the Past and Present of the Goat Tussle and Horse Racing

The goat tussle and horse racing are two of the popular traditional sports among the Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kirghiz, Tajiks, and other peoples of our autonomous region and over a long and continuous historical development have grown into a major player in the two cultural structures of the people.¹

Goat tussle matches and horse racing are usually reserved for winter, spring, Nowruz, weddings, festivals, special or auspicious occasions, and happy get-togethers. In earlier times, local elders of a particular area would gather together famous goat tussle experts and to raise the stakes of the horse games would use a calf in the place of a young goat.

Goat tussle matches are usually conducted as follows:

Before the match begins, the young goat or calf set aside for the game is slaughtered. Its head and hooves are removed and then it is disemboweled. After the goat or calf is readied, it is thrown onto the field of play that has been especially prepared for the match, and then mounted riders, divided into two groups, A and B, descend onto the field with their horses and begin to vie for the goat’s corpse lying on the ground. Whoever arrives first claims the goat as his spoils, taking it from the ground, darting off after securing the goat under his leg with the members of the opposing team hot in pursuit. Members of the goat-possessor’s team also follow suit, and without breaking ranks spend all their efforts on preventing the goat from being taken from the carrier as the members of the opposing team struggle hard to wrest it from them. The scene then takes on the appearance of a frenetic battlefield. Viewers of the match infuse the playing field with energy through their lively shouts and cheers. Among the goat tussling athletes, some are responsible for blocking the path of the player with the goat, while the stronger members of a team are responsible for defending the goat-carrying player as they all race towards the goal, and when the carrier arrives, he throws the goat into a designated container or structure. The goat’s corpse becomes the trophy for the team that attains victory.

Either large-scale or small-scale goat tussle matches and horse races can be held depending on the circumstances of a particular locale. Public organizations or wealthy individuals interested in promoting public sporting take on the task of supplying funds themselves and gather together goat tussle players and horse racers within their own neighborhoods or in nearby ones, hosting these unique games in the spirit of friendship and unity. A dedicated referee is hired to manage the regulations, scheduling, and hosting of the games. At the end of the events, the winning players are presented gifts. The winning horse of the races is adorned with a red cloth, and praise is given to the abilities of the horsemen and their steeds.

In 1949, a massive goat tussle game that used a calf instead of a goat was held in Yopurgha County [Mandarin: 岳普湖县, Yuepuhu Xian] between players from Yéngisheher [疏勒县, Shule Xian], Peyziwat [伽师县, Jiashi Xian], Maralbéshi [巴楚县, Bachu Xian] and other locals. During the game, a famous goat tussler named Nur Sidiq wowed the audience by flawlessly tossing the calf’s body right into a wooden hoop serving as the goal.

One day, I’m going to watch one of these games, hopefully one of those giant scale ones that last days and range over vast grasslands. Still, even though this article cleared a few things up for me, I’m not entirely sure how a beheaded, disemboweled goat carcass rendered raggedy and dirty by men and horses yanking and clawing at it can be presented with the same pride and glory of an Olympic medal or a giant, golden trophy – but hey! That’s just me.