World Nomad Games are an international sport competition dedicated to ethnic sports practiced in Central Asia. The main countries taking part in those games are the former Soviet republics of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Russia (especially Sakha, Buryatia, Altay, Kalmykia, Bashkortostan republics, etc.) as well as other countries like Mongolia, Turkey, and Afghanistan. The first two World Nomad Games were held in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan.

A Kyrgyz stuntman performs during the first World Nomad Games in the countryside of Kyrgyzstan, September 10, 2014. The competition drew hundreds of athletes from 20 countries.

Kyrgyz and Tajik horsemen compete in the traditional Central Asian sport of Buzkashi. In this game, riders compete for control of a goat carcass, scoring points for getting it in the opponent’s goal.

A Tajik man dressed in national costume demonstrates his skill with bow and arrow.

Genghis Khan would be proud. 

A golden eagle attacks a chained wolf, part of a competition built around hunting with birds of prey. No Humane Society on the Asian steppes.

Kyrgyz men skin a sheep on the edges of the games.

Horse Wrestling