Buzkashi, Afghanistan, 2004

On the first Friday after Eid-al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, horsemen, or "chapandars," gather for the season's first game of Buzkashi in Kunduz city in the northeast of Afghanistan. Originating with the nomadic tribes of Central Asia, Buzkashi is played predominantly in the northern regions of the country, where it has re-emerged since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Played either individually or in teams, the object is to carry a calf carcass - weighing as much as 100kg - into a circle in the field in exchange for prizes. Today, these games are frequently sponsored by wealthy commanders, who have considerably raised the stakes, at times offering several hundred dollars per point in a country where most civil servants still make less than 40 dollars a month.