Each year, between November and April, when temperatures cool down, the Buzkashi season begins. Buzkashi – from the Persian words buz (goat) and kashi (to pull) – has been practiced in Central Asia for centuries and pits riders – the chapandaz – against each other as they pull a dead goat from one point to another on an ephemeral playing field. Ideally, this sport takes place in a valley, and spectators, sitting on the adjacent hills, spend the day eating plov, a Central Asian specialty, or drinking tea.

For the younger generations, Buzkashi is more than just a sport; it’s an initiation into Tajik culture and equestrian art. Although the primary function of the horse – moving through the Tajik valleys – has been replaced by the car, Buzkashi helps maintain a connection to traditions, to a time when a man’s stature was judged by the quality of his horse.

In this game, the man and the horse are one, and as a sign of changing times, women are starting to participate.