NEWS
CHOVGAN: TURKMEN HORSE POLO
Not everyone has heard of ‘chovgan’ or knows what it is. It is an incredibly compelling and exciting game played on horseback, an extraordinary addiction to national festivities, which has helped young Turkmen warriors in tactic training from ancient times.
The game, which goes back to antiquity, was very common among ancestors of Turkmens, the Parthians, who were excellent horse riders even at an early age. The Turkmen name ‘chovgan’ comes from the word ‘chopegen’ with the same root, which means ‘a game played with a stick’ by either horse-mounted or unmounted players. Some scientists believe that the word originated from the old Turkmen word ‘urmak-chovmek’.
How is the game played? What are the rules? This national game rivals horse-riding in popularity. Chovgan players use 139-centimeter-long curved clubs with knobs on top and a ball 8 centimeters in diameter.
The game begins as two competing teams of riders with the clubs line up in the middle of the field opposite each other and a referee throws in the ball. Players try to drive the wooden ball into goals made from wooden pillars and positioned at each end of the field. One team attempts to score in the other team’s goal, while their opponents try to prevent a score.
Great Persian poets provided vivid and fascinating accounts of this old, exciting game in their poems. Among them were Firdousi, Saadi, Rumi, and others.
President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov gives a detailed description of the national Turkmen game in his book ‘The Akhalteke Horse: Our Pride and Glory’:
“Chovgan is an equestrian competition between two opposing teams. It became widespread among Turkmens in the Middle Ages. Later, the game spread to Europe and was named polo. The game is played on the flat, rectangular ground 200m long and 150m wide with the goal posts standing 3 meters apart. Each team has six players.”
The Turkmen game required strength, agility and quick reactions. Back in the past, chovgan was highly important to and popular among ancient warriors, who demonstrated their physical prowess and constant vigilance in it. Historical records reveal that Turkmen sultans and military commanders, such as Togrulbek, Gylych Arslan, Mahmyt ibn Sobuktegin, Alaeddin Keykubat, Bayramkhan, and Abdyrahim played the game, showing extraordinary courage and bravery.
Chovgan enjoyed wide popularity in India, China, Asia Minor, Southwest Asia, Transcaucasia, and Arab countries. During his eastward campaign, Alexander the Great liked the game considering it as the best combat training for his cavalry.
Although modern Turkmen polo differs considerably from its ancient precursor, it has retained its basic rules. Keeping up with the times, the distinctive national equestrian game has turned into a tradition.
Myahri Yagmurova