Great Kurultáj (Bugac)
A festival held every August: horse races, mounted wrestling, kökbörü.
About
The Great Kurultaj is a gathering that comes from the nomadic traditions of Central Asia; it is held every second year, in August, near the town of Bugac in Hungary. The first Kurultaj took place in 2007 in the Torgai region of Kazakhstan; it has been held in Hungary since 2008.
The programme includes a parade of horsemen, horse races, wrestling on horseback, archery and kokpar. Hungary is regarded as the only European country that has kept the traditional game of kokpar. Representatives of Turkic, Uralic and Mongolic peoples come to the gathering.
History
The gathering is organised by the Magyar-Turán Foundation, whose president is the anthropologist András Zsolt Bíró. By his account the first Kurultaj in Hungary was held in 2008 and the foundation was set up in 2009. Since 2010 the event has been under the patronage of Sándor Lezsák, deputy speaker of the Hungarian parliament.
By the organisers' figures, delegations from nearly thirty countries come to the Kurultaj and the visitors number more than 300,000. Beside the contests there are music and dance performances, a crafts fair and a camp of yurts that brings nomadic life back to view.
Peoples
Research: Vasif Namazov, Turan Games Concept
