Vocabulary:

strength – сила

determination – решимость

saddle – седло

drag – тащить

adversary – противник

foe – враг

a cudgel – дубина

• Answer the questions:

1. Who can take part in Audaryspak?

2. What is very important in this game?

3. What are the main rules of Audaryspak?

4. How many groups can take part in it?

5. Why is it so important?

• Finish the sentences:

1. It was very important that the horse and the saddle …

2. All physical training of the Kazakh people is connected …

3. If somebody was trained well how to fight on a horse …

4. When they fight with cudgels, they try …

5. Audaryspak is very useful in …

Baige (horse race)

Horse racing is one of the ancient traditions of Kazakh people. Horses were the “wings” of the zhigit, so they trained them and spent many hours with their beloved race horses. Our ancestors could distinguish the good horses from the bad. So The Kazakhs held baige (horse race) at large tois, celebrations and at national holidays. At the races one might see hundreds of horses.

In Kazakh history there were ases (held the year following somebody’s death) of famous people like Saginai, Mamen, Sasan, Ulan-bulan and tremendous horse races were held. Our nation is always interested in joyful events, so they often organize horse races. It is difficult to predict a race horse from the others. The head of race horse must have little meat; they must have protruding ribs; swollen bones; they should be of unpleasant appearance; must have broad breasts and protruding nostrils. Those who believe that they have a winning horse and want to have a prize must care for their animals the month before a race. They should train this horse for race by riding long hours to make the horse sweaty. They then must feed and water the horse appropriately, and give an extra measure of oats. After a good ride, they should cool down the horse, and keep their animal safe from evil eyes, they covered him with a small horse blanket and made a special mask for his face.

Another important task is to select a person who would ride the race horse. The Kazakhs usually choose boys, because they are light and rode horses easily; however, such boys must have riding skills. In preparation for a race a boy would be instructed how to keep the horse’s eyes and under his ears dry; to use a whip; when to change speeds; to remember not to sit straight but to ride sideways, always observing the behavior of competitors. According to the kind of tois involved, the financial position of horse owners, and the number of participating horses, a horse race might be of short, middle, or long distances. So baige is longstanding and wonderful tradition.

Vocabulary:

horse race – конные скачки

ancient – древний

ancestor – предки

protruding ribs – торчащие ребра

swollen bones – увеличенные кости

broad breast – широкая грудь

nostrils – ноздри

an amble – иноходь

• Answer the questions:

1. When do the Kazakhs hold baige?

2. How do the Kazakhs take care of the race horses?

3. How is a person selected for a race?

4. Why is baige a wonderful tradition?

• Fill in the gaps:

1. Horse racing is one of the … of the Kazakh people. So the Kazakhs hold baige at … and at national holidays. 2. Our nation is always interested in …, so they often organize horse races. They would condition amount for a race … by riding … to make the horse sweaty. 3. The Kazakhs usually choose boys, because they are …, horses easily. 4. A horse race might be short … or long distances.

• True or false:

1. Horse racing is one of the modern traditions of Kazakh people. 2. Kazakhs held baige at large tois, celebrations and at national holidays. 3. They then would feed and water, and give an extra measure of millet. 4. Kazakhs usually choose boys, because they are strong and rode horses slowly. 5. Baige is an uninteresting tradition.

Kures (wrestling)

One of the ancient traditions of the Kazakh people is wrestling. The Kazakhs were proud of their famous singers, poets, folk singers, judges, batyrs (warriors) and athletes. Wrestlers would defend the honour of their clan for whom they wrestled. We are proud of our world-known wrestlers, like Baluan Sholak and Kazhymukan. Though there were few famous wrestlers remembered by name, the Kazakhs were eager to train their boys to be wrestlers from very young age. Wrestling took place in large celebrations, holidays, and fairs. There, clans would point to the wrestlers who would defend their honor. Among the Kazakhs, wrestlers respected and appreciated each other. Once Kazhymukan defeated Japanese, Turkish and wrestlers from other countries in an international event, and the world for the fist time knew that Kazakhstan had such competitors.

On his way home after a successful wrestling match Kazhymukan came to a kos (a small felt hut for travelling). When he opened it, he saw a giant man sleeping on his back. Kazheken (his pet name) admired the giant's body and greatly wanted to wrestle with him. So he waked him up and they began wrestling. It seemed to him that the larger man was very strong, and he was difficult to beat. Then Kazheken prayed and said: "Oh, my angel, Baluan Sholak help me, give me more strength." Hearing these words the giant released and kissed him, and Kazhymukan saw tears in his eyes. It turned out that Kazhekens competitor was Baluan Sholak himself.

In our childhood we saw several times wrestlers in chain and tomaga. During wrestling if they were not able to win, they might pray and mutter in an effort to acquire more energy. It could become very noisy in the steppe when they did so, for winners might be given a camel, a horse, a cow or a sheep. Nowadays wrestlers are selected according to their weight, and they are sponsored by different institutions and sports organizations. In earlier times, wrestlers were praised by people and sometimes sponsored by wealthy people who would take care of them since their success belonged to all the people.

The rules of wrestling included grasping the stomach or torso and lifting opponents overhead. Sometimes a match would last for long hours. They would tie their wrists with a girdle and have wide pants. According to the rules they could only hold opponents by the girdles. In ancient times old men would gather on a big hill to have a chat, and talked about information from "Uzun kulak" (long ears). Their grandsons usually were with them, and when the old men were free for a while, they'd wrestle their grandsons and admire the scene. Their grandsons usually this was because our forefathers always thought about future generations, and they wanted their offspring to be strong.