Polo (Tajik Polo)

Chinese national intangible cultural heritage Name: Polo (Tajik Polo)

Applicant: Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Project No.: 809

Project No.: VI - 37

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional sports, recreation and acrobatics

Region: Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Type: new item

Applicant: Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Protected by: cultural center of Tajik Autonomous County, Tashkurgan, Xinjiang

Introduction to Polo (Tajik Polo)

Applicant: Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Tajik Polo is a traditional horse sport of Tajik nationality, which is mainly distributed in the Pamir Plateau of Southwest Xinjiang. In history, Tajik Polo was mostly developed in the upper class. In the 11th century, Uygur people's "happiness wisdom" mentioned that Polo was a skill that Shule nobles must master. The team of China Sports Museum found a clear-cut ancient polo field in the foot of the mountain beach under the stone city of Tashkurgan. The shape of this polo field is the same as that of the polo field often built on the open space in the suburbs in historical materials. It can be seen that Polo originated very early in Xinjiang.

The Tajik Polo course is 180 meters long and 70 meters wide. Polo is a round ball with a diameter of about 12 cm, which is made by winding coarse wool rope into a ball and sewing with yellow sheep skin outside. The club is shovel shaped and about 1.2 meters long. There are 12 players, including forwards, defenders, goalkeepers and other positions. Each game is 40 minutes, divided into two games. The rules are similar to football. Its timing follows the ancient method of dripping water from wooden bowls.

The scene of Tajik polo match is warm, which is of great value to strengthen the sense of national cultural identity. In addition, the study of Tajik Polo is of great significance to enrich the content and form of horseback competition in China, to study the sports history of ethnic minorities, especially Tajik, and the development history of polo in China. At present, the inheritors of Tajik Polo are nearly 70 years old. There is no fixed site, organization, funding source, and complete information for this sport. It is difficult to inherit and develop it, so it needs timely rescue and protection.