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تصویر بندانگشتی

Tent-Pegging Cavaliers Hoping To Revive This Ancient Sport

At least 15 cavaliers from different provinces participated in a tent-pegging competition in Khost province on Friday. 

The game, also known in Afghanistan as Naiza Bazi, is a mounted cavalry sport of ancient origin, and is one of only ten equestrian disciplines officially recognized by the International Equestrian Federation. 

The sport has been a popular fixture for generations in Afghanistan – particularly in the eastern provinces and across the Durand Line in north Waziristan. 

Tent-pegging refers to a specific mounted game with ground targets as well as to an entire class of mounted cavalry games involving edged weapons on horseback, for which the term "equestrian skill-at-arms" is also used.

The International Tent Pegging Federation (ITPF) has 28 member countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, India, Germany, Britain, Australia, South Africa, UAE, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Norway, Sudan, Qatar, Netherlands, Namibia, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Iran, Canada, Bahrain, USA, Egypt, Russia and Denmark.

In Afghanistan, tent-pegging games are held every Friday and cavaliers from north Waziristan also participate. 

“We should be provided good grounds for the sport so that we revive the history of our ancestors,” said Bahadur Khan, one tent-pegging cavalier.

Tent-pegging has a long history in Afghanistan and the game has many fans, said Shanak, another cavalier, who is from Logar.  

“We are very interested in this game. People also like this game. All who have attended today have come because of the passion they have for this game,” he said. 

Other cavaliers said they have limited access to facilities such as decent grounds or stabling for their horses. 

“There is a lack of grounds and a lack of attention by government. But the cavaliers are very skilled,” said Ali Akbar, another cavalier, who is from Khost. 

The organizers of the event meanwhile said the sport brings together people from different provinces and they see it as a platform for unity among Afghans. 

The specific game of tent-pegging has a mounted horseman riding at a gallop and using a sword or a lance to pierce, pick up, and carry away a small ground target or a series of small ground targets.

The broader class of tent-pegging games also includes ring jousting, in which a galloping rider tries to pass the point of his weapon through a suspended ring; lemon sticking, in which the rider tries to stab or slice a lemon suspended from a cord or sitting on a platform; quintain tilting, in which the rider charges a mannequin mounted on a swiveling or rocking pedestal; and Parthian archery.

Tent-Pegging Cavaliers Hoping To Revive This Ancient Sport

These horsemen have called for government to take an interest in this ancient sport and provide decent facilities.

تصویر بندانگشتی

At least 15 cavaliers from different provinces participated in a tent-pegging competition in Khost province on Friday. 

The game, also known in Afghanistan as Naiza Bazi, is a mounted cavalry sport of ancient origin, and is one of only ten equestrian disciplines officially recognized by the International Equestrian Federation. 

The sport has been a popular fixture for generations in Afghanistan – particularly in the eastern provinces and across the Durand Line in north Waziristan. 

Tent-pegging refers to a specific mounted game with ground targets as well as to an entire class of mounted cavalry games involving edged weapons on horseback, for which the term "equestrian skill-at-arms" is also used.

The International Tent Pegging Federation (ITPF) has 28 member countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, India, Germany, Britain, Australia, South Africa, UAE, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Norway, Sudan, Qatar, Netherlands, Namibia, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Iran, Canada, Bahrain, USA, Egypt, Russia and Denmark.

In Afghanistan, tent-pegging games are held every Friday and cavaliers from north Waziristan also participate. 

“We should be provided good grounds for the sport so that we revive the history of our ancestors,” said Bahadur Khan, one tent-pegging cavalier.

Tent-pegging has a long history in Afghanistan and the game has many fans, said Shanak, another cavalier, who is from Logar.  

“We are very interested in this game. People also like this game. All who have attended today have come because of the passion they have for this game,” he said. 

Other cavaliers said they have limited access to facilities such as decent grounds or stabling for their horses. 

“There is a lack of grounds and a lack of attention by government. But the cavaliers are very skilled,” said Ali Akbar, another cavalier, who is from Khost. 

The organizers of the event meanwhile said the sport brings together people from different provinces and they see it as a platform for unity among Afghans. 

The specific game of tent-pegging has a mounted horseman riding at a gallop and using a sword or a lance to pierce, pick up, and carry away a small ground target or a series of small ground targets.

The broader class of tent-pegging games also includes ring jousting, in which a galloping rider tries to pass the point of his weapon through a suspended ring; lemon sticking, in which the rider tries to stab or slice a lemon suspended from a cord or sitting on a platform; quintain tilting, in which the rider charges a mannequin mounted on a swiveling or rocking pedestal; and Parthian archery.

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