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Dog fights pit north against south in Afghanistan
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-19 07:51
The crowd surges forward as two huge mastiffs launch themselves at each other in the ring, before one ends the bout by grabbing the other's throat, and is then paraded in triumph. Every Friday morning between November and March, thousands of Afghans flock to a makeshift arena on the outskirts of the Afghan capital Kabul to witness such scenes, with thousands of dollars riding on the outcome. "That was a great fight," says Said Rahim, a 75-year-old dog fighting aficionado and one of 5,000 men and children who watched mastiff Falang win his bout. "The dogs were very good and it was very special because there was a big bet - 150,000 afghanis ($3,000)." The sport brings together Afghanistan's diverse tribes, from southern Pashtuns in turbans to oriental-looking Hazaras from the country's center and Panjshir people in their traditional pakol wool hats. But a fierce ethnic rivalry is in evidence. "People standing on this side are from the north of Afghanistan. On the other side, they are from the south. It's a competition between them and their dogs," says Massud, a translator for the US special forces in Afghanistan. At the center of the ring stands the master of ceremonies who wields a large stick to keep the eager spectators from getting too close. The dogs' owners win between $1,000-3,000 for each victory, and the large sums involved lead to some underhand tactics. "Some people give opium to the dogs to numb the pain. In the south, they sometimes give them whisky to make them more aggressive," says spectator Fatih Mohammad, 47. Dog owner Barat describes the intensive - and expensive - preparation the animals undergo before a fight. "We feed them with eggs, meat and milk. It cost 400 afghanis a day. We walk them for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening, sometimes in the hills, so that they get more powerful," he says. In the ring, the dogs are unleashed by the owners and rise onto their hind legs, each trying to grab the other by the throat. The owners stand over their animals, shouting encouragement, under the watchful eye of the master of ceremonies. The battles are fierce, but the spectacle is more a ritual struggle for domination than a fight to the death. "I have seen hundreds of fights and I have only seen one dog die," says owner Mohebullah. AFP (China Daily 12/19/2008 page10) |
