The Çevgân Game in Turkish Culture and Literature

Abstract

The festivals in the ancient times used to be organized for entertainment purposes at times when soldiers did not go to battle, and these festivals included several sports activities. Such sports events both strengthened the players in body and mind, and prepared them for battles fought against the enemy. In this respect, sports were of great significance for the Central Asian Turks and for subsequent Turkish states, as well as for other states. Game shows on horse back constituted part of the sports activities in those times. Çevgan is only one of the horse sports played in these festivals. The Arabs, Persians and Byzantines also played this game besides the Turks. The çevgan game started to be known as "polo" throughout the world when the British conquered Afghanistan and Northern India at beginning of the 19th century. This study focuses on the place and significance of the çevgan game in Turkish culture and literature, and the way it is represented in literary texts.