Chapter 3
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The Buzkashi Tooi

The book “Buzkashi” Game in Power in Afghanistan is written by G. Whitney Azoy is introducing the Buzkashi game in Afghanistan in details, but in the third chapter of this book which is about the the Buzkashi Tooi, he describes that how this game is held in the local places. First he explains the word Tooi, rite of passage, and marriage. Then he argues that the buzkashi tooi is a Khan’s activities. According to him, Khans are those who have some kind of influence on the people of the village. He writes that the Buzkashi game has three major sections, preparation, festivities, and after math. As he writes Preparation to the Buzkashi Tooi is one of the problematic parts of the Buzkashi Tooi. It concern with material resources, such as the procurement of goods necessary, the cooking of foods, and readying the guest houses. Tooi-wala, who is the festival responsible, involves some consideration, such as himself, his closest associates, his relatives, and the hosts. These responsible people are mostly the Khans. Because the Khans are related to more people, so they need to spend more money to have a successful Tooi. They need to invite more people from far distance places. These festivals mostly occur in the Khan’s son’s marriage, because the Khan is the leader a village so hundreds of people are invited. In such festivals, Buzkashi happens, which raise the name of the Tooi-Wala. While festivities begin with hundreds of people who were invited gather together in the Khan’s house. However, in the wedding fewer people get together but when Buzkashi starts many people come and watch the game. The people who are invited by Khan give money prize gifts to the Khan, which is called Shenak gifts. These gifts help the Khan to attend the Buzkashi Too in successful way. These prize gifts are distributed among the chapandazan during the game. The Buzkashi game continues for two to four days. In this game there is a person who acts as a referee which is called Tooi-Bashi. The Tooi-Bashi is also responsible for all the preparation of the game. Everybody agree on the decisions that Tooi-Bashi takes in the game in order to observe the game properly. He is also responsible for disputes settlement in the game. In Buzkashi Tooi according to the author the chapandazan become famous rather than the Khans. However, these statuses are temporary. At the aftermath of these kinds of tooies according to author, everybody goes to their home. People who came from far away, they stay and after a while they also leave. All the credit goes the Tooi-Wala who was the sponsor such festivals. If the game were held in an unproblematic situation, so the status of the Tooi-Wala increases among the guest and the villagers. The author of this book is comparing the Buzkashi game with the politic in Afghanistan. The Buzkashi game is like a competition between individuals and teams. This game is very famous in the north region among rich and wealthy people. However, he used some words improperly such as Tooi, Buzkashi Tooi and Tooi-Bashi. The informants who have been used in this book give the wrong meaning of such words. The “Tooi” in Dari language means specifically wedding. The word “Tooi-Bashi” means the one who have all the responsibilities of the wedding from begin to the end. These Tooi-Bashies are usually in the Khans kin weddings. In recent years the Buzkashi games are not held in such Tooies. They are now held like festivals and tournaments. The Buzkashi games usually appear in winter. The horses that are used in Buzkashi are very expensive so poor people cannot afford such kinds of games. However, the Chapandazan are not rich as the horse’s owners. In Kabul and northern region there are many rich people who have these Buzkashi horses such as Marshal Mohammad Qasim Faim, the vice president of Afghanistan, General Dustom in Jozjan province, Ata Mohammad Noor, governor of Balkh province, Hajji Barat one of the richest people in Mazar-e-Sharif, Abdul Latif Ebrahimi the first person of parliament and many more. In winters when these rich people are free, they hold Buzkashi games. Qasim Fahim the vice president of Afghanistan has a ground in north of Kabul. He usually celebrates Buzkashi on Thursdays. My house is located near this ground and I usually go to these games. Once I have been there, it was a snowy and cold day. There were more than twenty chapandazan in the ground. A scarified calf was on the ground too. It was almost 11:00. All people were waited to start the game but Mr.Qasim Fahim was not reached yet. He came to Buzkashi ground almost 12:30 and he went to the specific place where there were some other rich people who had horses and their chapandazan on the ground. After his reaching the game started. On the ground there were two guys who were acting like referees. Their duty was to control the game if there are no disputes among the chapandazan, one guy who had a loudspeaker with him and he was acting like a commenter of the game, and there was another guy who was responsible to draw the circle where the calf should be fallen by chapandazan in order to score. Furthermore, there was a close person to the vice president who was responsible of the pays to the chapandazan (Tooi-Bashi). The chapandazan were strong, well trained people. When the game started by the referee, all the chapandazan with their strong horses rushed toward the calf carcass. That was an individualistic game, so everyone was trying to hold the calf and carry it to the flag and bring it back to the circle where they held it. The ground in this Buzkashi game was that there was a circle in front of the VIPs and almost two hundreds far from the circle there was a flag. When the first chapandaz, Pahlawan Nazar Shah, who was riding Mr. Fahim’s horse, took the calf, the Tooi-Bashi yelled that if anyone who gets this score will get two thousands Afghanis. When the chapandaz was carrying the calf in a chapandazan crowded ground suddenly the calf fell down. So the game became interesting while all the chapandazan were seeking to get the calf, the Tooi-Bashi shouted that if anyone who scores this one well gets a hundred dollars. At the time, one of the other rich guy chapandaz was able to take the calf and cross it from the flag and put it inside the circle. As a result he earned the prize and also a hundred dollars from his horse owner. In conclusion, I recognized that these chapandazan can earn much more money from this game up to the end. This also showed that in Buzkashi game there is a competition between horse owners.