Horse Thief Sayat-Nova-Street- A fiction from Old Tbilisi
Buzkashi- Im Herzen der Steppe
The Window- A photo series of 8 images from Old Tbilisi
Avchala Fine Art- a collection of Contemporary Art
The other Georgia by Wilhelm Siepe
Impressions from Schiraki in South East Georgia, Caucasus
Zwei kaukasische Hunde: Grijsz (5 Jahre) und Alaia (7 Monate)
The opening of the show of the Georgian painter Nugzari Natenadze, Tbilissi 10.12.2004
Five images of Cattle drive in Tusheti at ZoneZero by Hans Heiner Buhr
The carcass is pretty heavy inside filled up with wet salt and
becomes easily 40- 50 kg.
The horsemen compete to grab it and gallop away and then dropping the carcass after some 50 or 100 meters. A judge on a horse controlls the game more or less but in any case he is ruling out the actual winner. The other riders try to prevent that by attacking the rider and trying to steal the carcass away.
Kup Kari is held only in the Winter saison, starting around end of October
till end of March. It begins at 10 or 11 am and may last till sundown at 5
or 6pm. Its a fierce struggle with smashing whips on horses and men, whinning
horses, raising dust and a allways running crowd. Twice men of the surrounding
crowd got ridden down by accident but it seemed the horses had a extreme sense,
they didnt hurt those men although it looked really frightening. The riders
are remarkable horsemen and fierce competitors, where anything goes. Smashed
faces, bloody ears, even we saw a horse with a beaten out eye. The horses
show a lot of courage, they are very good trained and are devoted to their
owners.
The riders wear high leather boots with a hugh heels, cushioned jackets
and a fur hat
or more modern tank caps.
The horses are bred for the game and possess special qualities. We saw mostly
stallions of pure or half pure Karabair breed, some horses seemd to have
some mongolian blood, some horses to have a wider relative of Akhal Tekke.
Winners get prizes in cash and in cattle. It starts with 10.000 Sum (10 USD) and goes up to sheeps, goats, joung bulls, camels even cars on big events. The game lasts around 15- 30 minutes, then starts the next round for a new price and with a new winner.
See here some impressions of the Kup Kari, held near Karshi, Uzbekistan on December1, 2003
Hans Heiner Buhr [Click the images]