Buula - The game of High Landers

Here, today I’m sharing some glimpses of the past and present of the adventurous and most popular galloping horse sport of Gilgit Baltistan — BUULA comonly known as polo.

It may give an impression that this great adventurous sport, Polo, belongs to the British or some developed country since they have some of the greatest players. But no, it never belonged to them; it’s our own sport — a game of the highlanders of Central Asia. A game played by great rulers like Alexander the Great during his rule in Persia, the Persian rulers, and the Delhi Sultans. Historians say its origin dates back to the 6th century BC, but it may be much older than that. Initially, it was designed to train troops for war against enemies, but later people adopted it as a sport of leisure, and today it is an Olympic sport.

In Gilgit-Baltistan, it has been the most favorite sport of the royal families and the general public of different regions prior to the amalgamation of Gilgit-Baltistan with Pakistan when there used to be different small states. Polo’s actual name is "Buula," and it is known by this name in the region. However, the British, while introducing it in Great Britain, gave it the name "Polo," which is a Balti word meaning "Ball," and the rest of the world now knows it by this name.

The equipment used in the polo game includes the "Thari" (Shina name for the wooden ball), "Finchi" (Shina word for the wooden stick), and the players ride horses and hit the ball to score goals. Each player in the team tries to pass the ball to their teammates so the opponent cannot score against them.

Previously, there was no limit to the minimum number of players in each team, and the winning team was the one that succeeded in making the first nine goals. Over time, rules were added, and now it’s played for an hour with two halves and a ten-minute break. In different parts of the world outside Gilgit-Baltistan, there are six players in each team. These rules do not apply to the game played in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Almost every household had a polo player before modern ways of living reached the remote areas of Gilgit-Baltistan. Central villages had their own polo grounds where players from nearby villages gathered to play. The royal family was invited, and they played alongside the royal members as well.

Time is changing fast, and sadly, the game is fading away, becoming merely a symbolic feature of the three-day Shandur Polo Festival held every July at the world’s highest polo ground in Chitral, Pakistan.

I believe the majority of the younger generation is unaware of the importance of this High Asia sport — a pride of our forefathers. We are mainly responsible for not communicating, training, and encouraging our own sports, which are far richer than the games we have adopted.