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Buzkashi: Like Polo, But With A Headless Goat

A chapandaz exhibits nearly perfect form: Whip in mouth, he hoists the buz — or ball — under his right leg and steers the horse with his left arm, during a round of buzkashi.
David Gilkey
/
NPR
A chapandaz exhibits nearly perfect form: Whip in mouth, he hoists the buz — or ball — under his right leg and steers the horse with his left arm, during a round of buzkashi.

Buzkashi is a centuries-old game in Afghanistan in which men on horses compete to pick up the carcass of a dead calf, carry it across a field, and drop it in a designated circle. See the full story here.

Copyright 2024 NPR

Sean Carberry is NPR's international correspondent based in Kabul. His work can be heard on all of NPR's award-winning programs, including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition.