Polo: Shandur Polo Festival, ancient freestyle polo at 3738 meters
Polo is not just a game in the northern parts of Pakistan; it is a way of life. Polo is played extensively in the northern areas that comprise of Chitral, Gilgit and Skardu in its purest form, not evolving to the modern era polo.
History of Polo dates back to the 6th Century BC in Central Asia where it was played for training cavalry units. The game was played in a battle style where more than 100 players participated from both sides. From central Asia, the game travelled to Persia and became so popular with the Persians that it was declared as their National game. From Persia, the game moved to Arabia, Tibet, Japan and China. Polo became the cause of beheading of all the players involved in Apaochi dynasty in China, where the king’s close relative died while playing the game in the 9th century AD.
Polo spread to the northern parts of Pakistan from neighbouring Central Asia. It was played between small states and villages in Gilgit, Hunza and Chitral. Polo was not only played for entertainment purposes but also for deciding disputes among the local tribes. The losing team had to surrender its point of view on the dispute.
Polo is traditionally played between two rival teams of the region representing two different areas of northern Pakistan. The teams are from Chitral and Gilgit and the matches are played on the green plains of the world’s highest polo ground at Shandur.
Shandur, the world’s highest Polo ground is situated at an elevation of about 3738 meters above sea level. Shandur pass is one of the four mountain passes to enter Chitral valley. Other passes include The Dorah Pass from Badakshan in Afghanistan, Lowari Pass from Dir, and Baroghil from the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan. Shandur pass connects the Chitral valley to the Gilgit region and enjoys the unique quality that the three mountain ranges Hindukush, Himalayas and Karakorum meet here. In a year, this pass is open for only 6 months from late April to mid-October. This pass has the world’s finest plains at high altitude with beautiful lakes and meadows for cattle.
Shandur is rightly called the “Roof of the world”, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan at 72’ 35 east longitude and 36’ 06’ north latitude on the globe. Shandur is 147 km from the town of Chitral and 211 km from Gilgit, the Capital of Gilgit-Baltistan legislative territory. The area can only be accessed in summers on a four wheel drive jeep on stony tracks.
There are various tales behind the Polo played here. According to some historians the 1920’s ruler of Mastuj, an area between Chitral and Gilgit, was given an order from the king to increase the interaction with his people and he used Polo to achieve this given task. He started a polo tournament between different areas under his command at Shandur.
Some give credit to, British Colonel Evelyn Hey Cobb, who first started Polo here in 1936 in an attempt to realize his dream of playing Polo in a full moon light. There is also an ancient tale which is very famous in the region that a King begged God to give him back his missing queen. God set a condition to sacrifice his two sons and hit them with a Polo stick into the opening in the mountains near Khaplou, an area located in Baltistan almost 200 km away from Shandur pass. If he succeeded in achieving such a goal he would regain his wife. This area is still present in present day Khaplou near a small opening in a mountain and is quite identical to what is mentioned in the tale.
One account states the game travelled to Shandur from Persia and Central Asia where Genghis Khan played it with the heads of goats, sheeps and other animals and sometimes with the heads of conquered armies. Another version of Polo is played in Afghanistan and Central Asia is known as Buzkashi, played with the whole carcass of an animal.
Free style Polo is played in Shandur every year in the first week of July where arch rivals Gilgit and Chitral face each other. There are six players in each side with two to three substitutes, in case any playing member gets injured. The game is played with no rules of modern Polo but there are some conventions. Th game is played for an hour with a 10 minutes break between two halves of 30 minutes each.
Shandur Polo festival is now a tradition of the area with hundreds of visitors from Pakistan and other countries. A tent village is organized by the local administration where there are lots of other cultural activities, including barbeques, music and dancing.
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