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The Games We Play

 


 

While most of the world has been riveted to the latest war bulletins, rising costs of living, or planning protests, a few young men and women have been training all year for horseback archery, building up their body strength for tug of war, training falcons and producing beautiful crafts, to participate in the World Nomad Games in the rugged mountain valleys of Kyrgyzstan.  

Although this is the 6th World Nomad Games, the earlier games have not been on the sports radar the way the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, World Cup Football or Wimbledon are. This year thanks to the expanding reach of social media, “the spirit of people echoing across time” reached out to us from the scenic shores of Lake Issyk Kul.

There are sports we never knew the names of like Tenge Ilu, Asyk Atu, Zhamby atu, with thrilling horseback archery by both male and female contestants, or Kushbegilik eagle hunting and some familiar games from bygone days like Kok Boru known to us as Buzkashi. Participants dressed to reflect ancient cultures with an ease that made it difficult to visualize the jeans and T-shirts they probably wear the rest of the year. There were no specialist Nike, Adidas or Puma logos, no famous sports commentators, no Third Umpires.

The brainchild of Askhat Akibaev a prominent Kyrgyz philanthropist, what started as an idea in 2008 became the first World Nomad Games in 2014, bringing together groups from across the globe, like the Siberian League of Tradition Keepers, to celebrate ancestral heritage and create a global movement. 

Maria Cholbon, a celebrated Siberian Shaman, sees the World Nomad Games as “a true breakthrough — not only in the world of sport, but in people’s consciousness.” While, like other sports, it involves skill, determination, and training, “there is no elitism. You simply step forward and show what you are capable of”.

When the USSR was dissolved in 1991, the restoration of the Central Asian republics brought the steppe cultures of a past world back to life - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The cultural hold of European colonisers was more deeply embedded and is only just being critically assessed some eighty years on. 

Games and sports can be seen as war where no lives are lost. It is fierce competition where the loser shakes the hand of the victor. Yet, games were also enlisted by colonisers to further cultural and political dominance alongside the more overt impositions of language, administrative, legal and economic systems.

Games that dominate the world today such as cricket, football, hockey, boxing, wrestling and athletics follow European rules and regulations. Not only did these displace the value of traditional games, subjugated countries learned they could only assert themselves by excelling in these sports. The Indian film Lagan describes this transition, as a motley village team defeats a British Raj team at cricket to be spared three years of taxes. The Mohammedan Sporting Club based in Kolkata in the 30s became the first Indian-owned team - a cultural weapon to break the monopoly of British regimental teams.

Japanese and Chinese martial arts have established themselves internationally while maintaining their traditional rules. But the raw exuberance of the World Nomad Games has opened up a whole new space for cultural re-assertion.

The Traditional Sports & Games Pakistan Association was established in 2014 by our equivalent of Askhat Akibaev, Nawab Furqan Khan, to preserve and promote Pakistan’s traditional sports and games. Kushti, naiza baazi or tent pegging, gutti or lifting stone weights, bull racing, gilli danda, patang baazi, and even kanchay or marble competitions, kept alive in villages, urban bastis and rural festivals,  are being highlighted once again. The Horse and Cattle show of the 60s was a grand spectacle of traditional games alongside celebrating Pakistani livestock and agricultural produce. Tent pegging has a new generation of enthusiasts including women. Pakistani male and female contestants participated with honours in 23 disciplines at the 2026 World Nomad Games.

The message of the World Nomad Games as expressed by Maria Cholbon asserts “It is possible to preserve your traditions while being part of the modern world. It is possible to show the world who you truly are — without having to become someone else. “

 

Durriya Kazi

September 21, 2026

Karachi

durriyakazi1918@gmail.com

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