Wrestling on horses and playing with goat bones: the sports competition you didn't know about

Thousands of athletes, world leaders, and tourists arrived yesterday, Monday, in Kyrgyzstan for one of the most unique sporting events in the world. The "World Nomad Games" kicked off with the participation of more than 2,000 representatives from over a hundred countries, who will compete for six days in traditional sports originating from the nomadic cultures of the region.

The opening ceremony took place at the new stadium in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, and this year saw an unusual presence of leaders from around the world, partly thanks to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, which deals with security, political, and economic issues, held in parallel. Sitting in the stands were Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, alongside leaders from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and other countries. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who also arrived in the Kyrgyz capital for the summit, was supposed to attend the ceremony but canceled his arrival following the severe flood disaster in Tibet.

Every year, one traditional discipline takes center stage, and this year it will be equestrian sports. For six days, riders will saddle up and compete in a series of events rooted in ancient nomadic traditions — from horse racing and archery while riding to wrestling on horseback. One of the prominent events will be the "Alaman Baige" — a long-distance race. Alongside the equestrian competitions, participants will also compete in traditional games, such as "Mangala" and "Shagai," which use goat bones.

But this is not just a sports competition. Parallel to the games, a large cultural festival will be held to celebrate Kyrgyz traditions and the nomadic lifestyle. As part of the cultural program, a large village will be set up where different regions of Kyrgyzstan will showcase their local traditions through the presentation of handicrafts, music, dances, customs, and rituals — alongside dishes from the local cuisine. In doing so, the organizers seek to turn the games not only into a competitive arena but also into a window into the culture that gave birth to many of the sports presented in them.

Among the thousands of athletes who will take part in the games will be some of the prominent names in traditional disciplines. One of them is the Kyrgyzstani Nurjan Malisbek Uulu, a player of Kok-Boru — a riding game reminiscent of a mix between polo and rugby — who has already won three times at the Nomad Games and is considered one of the top in the field in the country. Competing alongside him will be Tashmir Maylybashev, captain of the Kyrgyz team, who was chosen this year as the outstanding defender at the Victory Cup and has already represented his country at the games in 2022.

But it is not only local athletes who will take to the fields and riding tracks. Another prominent name comes from the United States: Nick Willert, captain of the American team in "Er Enish" — a wrestling discipline that takes place entirely on horseback, where riders try to knock their opponents out of the saddle. The discipline, which requires riders to combine physical strength with balance and control of the horse, is one of the traditional equestrian sports that will be presented at the games.

This is the sixth time the World Nomad Games are being held, taking place every two years. The competition was first held in 2014, also in Kyrgyzstan, which founded the event with the goal of preserving and showcasing to the world the sports and culture of nomadic peoples. The country also hosted the subsequent games before the competition first moved beyond its borders. Later, the games themselves migrated to Turkey and Kazakhstan — and this year, 12 years after they began, they returned to the place where it all started.