Askhat Akibaev, author and director of the ‘World Nomad Games’ project, first vice-president of the World Confederation of Ethnic Games, first vice-president of the International Camel Breeding Organization, specially for ‘Eurasian Dialogue’ magazine.
This year, from September 8 to 14, the Fifth World Nomad Games will take place in Astana, the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The games are held under the motto ‘Meeting in the Great Steppe’. Many people call these national sports competitions ‘a special Olympics’, meaning both their uniqueness and their growing popularity each year. This global project, created in the Kyrgyz Republic (where the First, Second and Third Games took place), has become one of the brightest and most original in the global agenda of international sports and cultural cooperation. In its format, principles and spirit, the World Nomad Games are an illustrative example of the embodied philosophy of the Greater Eurasian Partnership.
Born in Kyrgyzstan, the World Nomad Games were held three times with triumphant success on the shores of the world-famous Lake Issyk-Kul. The Games were organized by the Government of Kyrgyzstan and co-organized by the World Confederation of Ethnic Games. From the very beginning, we viewed these Games as an event of national international significance, on a par with the Olympic Games.
The interest in the Games grew, one might say, exponentially, they became more and more popular in different countries. And we decided to provide the opportunity to host the World Nomad Games to other countries. The first country to take over the project from Kyrgyzstan was Turkey, where the Games took place with great success in 2022. The next –fifth Games will be in Kazakhstan. Their organizer in the Republic is the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Kazakhstan.
According to the plan, the World Nomad Games are aimed at developing the ethno-sports and ethno-cultural movement as the most important component of the cultural and historical heritage of our civilization. The mission of the World Nomad Games is to revive, develop and preserve the ethnoculture, identity of ethnic groups and peoples of the world to foster tolerant relationships between ethnic groups and peoples.
The nomadic world unites hundreds of peoples. Their culture is unique and represents the special way of life and traditions of these peoples. For example, a nomad’s house is a yurt. The differences in the design of yurts are technical and depend on the place of residence of the nomads: in the steppe or in the mountains, in the desert or in the forest.
This also reflects the boundlessness and richness of nomadic civilization. If you look into history, you will find that it was largely thanks to the nomads that cultural exchange between peoples was established. In those distant times, when there were no tourists and international forums, people lived within their valley, and it was the nomads who took upon themselves the courage to move from one area to another, from one end of the continent to another, usually to the uncharted lands.
Thanks to such campaigns, they shared their knowledge with sedentary peoples, acquired new knowledge and skills from them, and carried this experience to other regions of the world. The culture and traditions of the nomads were very rich, including various games, competitions, contests, where physical strength, athletic prowess, and remarkable intelligence coexisted. Most of these games have been carefully preserved by people to this day.
The first World Nomad Games were held in 2014 in the city of Cholpon-Ata, Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan. 583 athletes from 19 countries took part: Azerbaijan, Austria, Afghanistan, Belarus, Brazil, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Mongolia, Russia, USA, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, France, Sweden and South Korea.
That year, 30 sets of medals were played in 10 types of ethnic sports: kokboru, er eӊish, kunan chabysh, zhorgo salysh, at chabysh, kyrgyz kurosh, ordo, ‘Alysh’ wrestling, Cossack kurosh, toguz korgool. Also within the framework of the Games, demonstrations of the national sports of Azerbaijan (zorkhan), Turkey (zhirit and various types of wrestling) and South Korea (teikiyon) took place.
Along with sporting events, the program of the First Games included an ethnographic festival in the picturesque Kyrchyn gorge. In the large yurt city, customs and traditions were presented, ranging from the birth of a child and his first steps to an exciting equestrian show. At that time, 1,200 people took part in the cultural program. The TV broadcast reached an audience of 230 million people.
Also, as part of the Games, a scientific and practical conference ‘Nomad Civilization: Epic Heritage and National Sports’ was organized. Scientists from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia and Turkey took part in the conference.
The rich heritage showcased through the World Nomad Games has generated keen interest and positive responses from audiences in over 30 countries. In this regard, the leadership of the Kyrgyz Republic decided to hold the Second World Nomad Games in 2016.
The representatives of 62 countries took part in the Second World Nomad Games, 17 of them presented their cultural programs. 1,200 people (coaches and athletes) participated in the sports part of the Games. In 2016, unlike the First
Games, the number of competitions in national sports increased. The representatives from different countries competed in 23 events; during the competition, 79 sets of medals were awarded.
The opening ceremony of the World Nomad Games was attended by over 10 thousand people, and was watched remotely by 800 million viewers around the world. An important part of the Second Games was the grandiose ethno-town called ‘Kyrgyz ayily’, which is located on the picturesque jailoo (mountain pasture) of Kyrchyn. The ethno-town consisted of 9 nomadic camps, representing seven regions of Kyrgyzstan and two main cities – Bishkek and Osh. It presented the culture of nomads, and everyone could get acquainted with the traditions and customs of the Kyrgyz people.
The Third World Nomad Games took place in 2018 in the Kyrgyz city of CholponAta. They consisted of three main blocks: ethno-sport, ethno-culture and science. About 2,000 athletes from 82 countries took part in the Games; they competed in 37 traditional sports. The opening ceremony of the Third World Nomad Games was attended by over 10 thousand people.
The broadcast was carried out in more than 60 countries around the world and was seen by over 900 million viewers.
At the World Nomad Games, serious attention is always paid to the scientific program. At the Third Games, for example, the Altai Conference was organized – after all, Altai is the ancestral home of many nomadic peoples. Languages belonging to the Altai language family are spoken today over a vast area – from Japan and Korea to Turkey. Naturally, the culture of these peoples has a lot in common. The origin and influence of the Proto-Altai language, as well as other scientific issues, have become the subject of discussion among linguists, historians, ethnographers, and philosophers.
In 2022, Turkey hosted the World Nomad Games for the first time.
The fourth Games were in the city of Iznik under the motto ‘We are united – from tradition to the future!’ 3,000 athletes from 102 countries competed in 13 sports. The international sporting event was opened by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Over the four days of the Games, approximately 1 million local and foreign guests were received.
The organizer of the Fifth World Nomad Games is the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The venue for them is the capital – the city of Astana. As always, the Games are held in September, and this is no coincidence: this is a reference to the holiday marking the completion of the migration from summer to winter camps. The path of a caravan of people and animals with yurts and property traditionally ended at a new toy site with rituals, games and competitions.
Today, the World Nomad Games are the world’s largest competitions in national sports. According to rough estimates, about 4,000 people from more than 100 countries will arrive in Astana to participate in 7-day competitions in sports arenas, as well as cultural and scientific programs. 110 sets of medals will be awarded at the Games.
Traditionally, almost all modern major sports competitions – such as the Olympic, Asian, World University Games – necessarily include the Torch Relay, which is different in form but uniform in content. At the first three Games, Water became the main sacred symbol and key element.
On the eve of the Games, all regional centers of Kazakhstan and cities of republican significance will host a colorful theatrical event, during which water will be drawn from one of the local sacred springs for the opening ceremony of the Games. After passing through the central streets of the cities of the region and being celebrated in the central square, the Caravan will go to the capital of Kazakhstan.
On the opening day of the Games, a caravan consisting of batyrs with torsos filled with sacred water will proceed in a bright procession to the site of the opening ceremony of the Games.
The opening ceremony is an integral part of the most important sports competitions since the ancient Olympic Games. At the World Nomad Games, the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games will also become significant and vibrant events. A mandatory component of the Games is the presentation of the cultural heritage of the host country, the performance of musical and choreographic numbers, and theatrical performances.
The opening ceremony of the Fifth World Nomad Games will include the procedure for carrying out and raising the National Flag of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the flag of the World Nomad Games, as well as the performance of the National Anthem of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the anthem of the World Nomad Games.
Teams from participating countries will march in separate groups in alphabetical order. The culmination of the Opening Ceremony will be the speech of the head of state, who will officially announce the opening of the Games.
20 competitive and 10 demonstrative kinds of sport will show up at the best sports grounds in Astana during the games. These include horse racing, national types of wrestling, traditional intellectual games, competitions in martial arts, traditional archery, national types of bird hunting, horse competitions, folk games, as well as demonstration performances in ethnic sports.
The main platform for the implementation of the cultural program of the World Nomad Games will be the ‘Universe of Nomads’ ethno-aul. Events of the scientific program of the Games will be at the National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The closing ceremony of the Fifth World Nomad Games will take place at the Kazanat Central Hippodrome immediately after the final match of the finalist teams of the Kokpar tournament.
The parade of participants will be in the format of one common team, symbolizing the cohesion of the athletes who have become one family during the Games.
...As a conclusion it can and should be stated: the World Nomad Games, created by Kyrgyzstan, have become a unique cultural and sports event in the life of the vast region of Eurasia and the planet as a whole. In terms of a number of components, this phenomenal project is a surprisingly positive example of the embodiment of a true Greater Eurasian Partnership. Games are growing quantitatively and qualitatively, embodying their special concept in new formats, adding additional events and meanings, uniting people and nations.
It’s great that we have the World Nomad Games! See you in Astana!!!