A favorite Afghan pastime reflects the values of the country: strength, courage, and horsemanship.The dozens of turbaned horsemen on their prancing steeds assemble on a dusty field on the outskirts of this city in northern Afghanistan. Despite their shouts and cracking whips, however, the riders intent is peaceful. As they do on most Friday afternoons after prayer, the horsemen have gathered for a friendly match of buzkashi, or goat grabbing.Across northern Afghanistan, as well as in neighboring Central Asian states, this winter sport has been an enduring pastime for centuries. The object of the game is for a member of two competing teams to pick up the carcass of a decapitated calf or goat from the ground, carry it around a flag, and return it to a circle in front of the judges.It is not surprising that a game that prizes courage, horsemanship, and brute strength would be one of the most popular forms of public entertainment here.Buzkashi is sport reduced to its simplest form, with no contrived sideshows or complicated rules. And, as many things are done in Afghanistan, the seeming chaos of a buzkashi match actually follows a deliberate system that is not always obvious to the foreign observer.

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