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| Turkey’s
Traditional Equestrian Sport Cirit : The
javelin game of daredevil horsemanship is a
sport where wooden javelins are thrown at horsemen of opposing teams to gain
points. The
game is played mainly in Eastern (Erzurum) and western
(Uşak)Turkey. Cirit, in other words Çavgan, is a
traditional game Turkish people played for hundreds of years. Turks
brought this game, which is played on horse, with them from Middle Asia to
Anatolia. Horses are essential and sacred animals for
Turks. Turks was
born on horse, grew up on horse, fight on horse and died on horse. The
horse milk, koumiss, was the unique drink of Turks.The game Cirit was the biggest sporting and ceremonial game of
Turks. Later, it was
excepted as a war game by Ottoman Turks in 16th century. In 19th century,
it became the biggest show sport and game in all Ottoman countries and
Ottoman palaces. The game jerid was forbidden by II. Mahmoud as it was a
dangerous game. But then it spread out all around as the most popular war
and arena game of Ottoman country. |
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When the Turkish people
poured westwards from their Central Asian homelands in the 11th century, they
came on horseback into Anatolia, the land which the poet NazIm Hikmet
described as ‘stretching like a mare’s head into the Mediterranean’. The
horse, which played a central role in Turkish life in the Central Asian steppes,
was probably first ridden and harnessed to vehicles in the area between the
Black Sea and the Caspian Sea northeast of Anatolia. The Turks brought not only
their horses to Anatolia but many related aspects of their culture, one
being the equestrian sport known as cirit or jereed. Cirit is a means of
improving equestrian skills, and involves two teams of horsemen, each
armed with a dried date, oak or poplar stick. These sticks are 70-100 cm
in length and 2-3 cm in diameter, with blunt ends.
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and thicker, but to reduce the risk of injury players came to prefer sticks made
of poplar wood, which become lighter when dried. The players ride horses
specially trained for the sport. The teams line up facing one another on the
field, each player at a distance of about 100 metres from the next. The person
who signals the start of the game is known as the çavuþ, and before the
game he introduces each of the players to the spectators with words of praise.
Meanwhile drums and reed pipes play military marches and Köroðlu folk airs.
At the beginning of the game it is traditional for the youngest rider to trot
towards the opposing team, and at a distance of 10-15 metres toss his cirit
stick at one of the players. Simultaneously he turns his horse back and tries to
reach the safety of his own side, pursued by the other player with a stick in
his hand.
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This process of chasing and
fleeing, while trying to hit an opponent with a stick, is the essence of the
game, which requires skill and sportsmanship. To hit the horse instead of the
rider, which is regarded as the sign of an inexperienced player, is against the
rules, and the offender is sent off the field.
The referees, who are
former cirit players with standing in the community, count the number of hits
and at the end of the game announce the winning team. Experienced cirit players
rarely miss hitting an opponent, and are skilled at avoiding hits themselves by
bending low, hanging down from one side of the horse, and other feats of
acrobacy. Part of the skill lies in training the horses so that they play a
significant role in the outcome of the game. The formation of the two teams has
its traditional etiquette. Care is taken not to put players who are on bad terms
in opposing teams, and players who display deliberately hostile behaviour during
a match are blacklisted.
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| Cirit was particularly
widespread in the Ottoman Empire from the 16th century onwards, becoming the
foremost martial sport. In peace time it was played to improve the cavalry’s
attack and defence skills, and during campaigns to whip up their enthusiasm for
battle. Some of the sultans are known to have been cirit players, and early
Ottoman sultans like Yıldırım Bayezıd (1389-1402)
and Çelebi Mehmed (1413-1421) attached importance to cirit in the training of
their armies. A superior class of cavalrymen known as cündi was formed from
those skilled at cirit. However, the game was not without its dangers, and
injuries and even death from falls in the attempt to catch the flying cirit
sticks prompted Mahmud II (1808-1839) to ban the sport altogether after he
dissolved the Janissary Corps. Although playing cirit resumed before long,
particularly in the provinces, it never recovered the importance of former times
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Today cirit is not as widespread as it once was, but is still played as a
spectator sport, primarily in Erzurum, but also in the provinces of Artvin,
Kars, Bayburt, Diyarbakır, Siirt and Konya. Folklore societies are also
attempting to keep this traditional sport alive by organising tournaments.
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THE
TERMINOLOGY USED IN THE GAME CiRiT
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The
jerid game music : One or all of the melodies played with drum or
shrill pipe while the cirit game is being played.
Horse
game melody : It is the name of the rhythms, melodies for
the rhythmic horse dance, which is played before the cirit game in Tunceli.
Cavalry Soldier : It is the name given to a group of soldiers at old
times. But
this name is also given to skilful riders and successful cirit players.
Armed
young man : To wear national costumes because of wedding ceremony in
places near Ankara.
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Stick :
In some regions the cirit game is named like this.
Amble :
The style of horse walk without shaking the rider.
To trot :
Fast and shaky walk of the horse with crosswise steps.
Gallop : Fastest
run of the horse.
Walking :
The normal walk of the horse.
Calm :
Slowly walks of the horse by loading onto its back hip.
Horse show : To show success at cirit game.
Ottoman :
This terminology is used for soldier with horse.
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Horse game : The name of
cirit game in Tunceli and Muş.
Ambling Horse : The kind of horse that walks without shaking the
rider.
Attack gallop : To ride the horse to the target faster than its fastest
run.
Horse head : The situation that two horse stayed in the same
line.
Horse dealer : The successful rider on horse who shows skill and talent.
Range :
In cirit game it is the name for players on horse in the same line.
Martyr :
It is the terminology for the person who died in the cirit game.
Inexperienced :
It is the person whose stick touches his rival's horse
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