Shandur Pass( ur, ) is a pass located in Ghizer, District of

Gilgit Baltistan Gilgit (; Shina language, Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit-Baltistan, Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major Tourism in Paki ...

. It is often called 'Roof of the World. During the annual '

Shandur Polo Festival Shandur Polo Festival () is a sports festival held annually from 7th to 9th July in Shandur Polo Ground, Ghizer, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. The polo tournament is played between the teams of Gilgit-Baltistan Districts and Chitral District, un ...

,' there are

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

matches played in Shandur Polo Ground on Shandur Top, between the teams of

Chitral District Chitral District ( ur, ) was the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, covering an area of 14,850 km², before splitting into Upper Chitral District and Lower Chitral District in 2018. Part of the Malakand Divis ...

and

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute bet ...

Province. Approximately seven matches are played in the three days of the festival usually held on July 7th to 9th every year. The final match is played on July 9th between Teams A of

and

Chitral Chitral ( khw, , lit=field, translit=ćhitrār; ur, , translit=ćitrāl) is situated on the Chitral River in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Chitral District and before that as the capital of Chitral ...

Geography

History

In early thirties, UK's appointed Political Agent Major

Evelyn Hey Cobb Lieutenant-Colonel Evelyn Hey Cobb, OBE (15 September 1899 – 25 February 1972) was an officer in the British Indian Army and served as political administrator in various capacities in North-West India. He started the tradition of holding a po ...

(later Lieutenant Colonel) passed an order to

Niat Qabool Hayat Kakakhel Niat Qabool Hayat Kakakhel (also Kakakhail; September 5, 1905 – October 18, 1986) was a Gilgit-Baltistani politician in Pakistan and, after 1973, assistant to the Governor of Gupis. Kakakhel was a member of the Central Asia Supreme Counc ...

, Nambardar of Ghizer to establish a huge polo ground in Shandur. Kakakhail soon implemented the orders of higher headquarters on the ground and with the help of his manpower he established a marvellous polo ground at Shandur. The polo ground was later on named "Mas Junali", as in

Khowar language Khowar () or Chitrali, is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in Chitral and surrounding areas in Pakistan. Khowar is the lingua franca of Chitral, and it is also spoken in the Gupis-Yasin and Ghizer districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, as ...

‘mas’ is word for ‘moon’ and ‘junali’ is word for ‘polo ground’. Cobb was very fond of playing polo in moon light.

Ali Sher Khan Anchan Maqpoun used to play Polo at Shandoor when Chitral was part of Maqpoun empire. Historically, polo being the king of games was played between small kingdoms, villages and rival groups of Gilgit Agency. From 1936 onwards polo tournaments were held annually at Shandur at the patronage of the British. The three-day Shandur Polo Festival has developed steadily in recent years into the massive celebration of mountain polo that it is today. British rulers impressed by the unprecedented constructional works of the people of Koh-e-Ghizer and offered Niat Qabool Hayat for a prize. Instead, he made it for a collective benefit and requested British representatives to fill local water streams with live stocks of Trouts. Soon after, a large amount of trout was provided to the streams of Koh-e-Ghizer. Since then,

started to open a door step to the people of global community to enjoy the game of kings at the roof of the world. Moreover, So Mas Junali became a source of relation between the people of Chitral District and Gupis-Yasin/Ghizer districts. The Shandur Polo Festival opens a door step to the people of the world to enjoy their selves. Many of the people from entire world come here to watch polo match played between Chitral and Ghizer At first it was a training game for cavalry units or other Elite troops. To the warlike tribesmen who played polo with as many as 100 players to a side, it was a miniature battle. It became a Persian national game in the 6th century AD. From

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, the game spread to

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

, then to

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. In

, in the year 910, death of a favourite relative in a game prompted Emperor

Apaochi Abaoji (872–6 September 926), posthumously known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Liao, was a Khitan leader and the founding emperor of the Liao dynasty of China, ruling from 916 to 926. He had a sinicised name, Yelü Yi; some sourc ...

to order beheading of all players. Ali Sher Khan Anchan Maqpoun used to play Polo at Shandoor when Chitral was briefly occupied by him. The Princes and political agents of Chitral also enjoyed playing Polo in Shandur. Historically, polo being the king of games was played between small kingdoms, villages and rival groups of

and Ghizer. From 1936 onwards polo tournaments were held annually at Shandur at the patronage of the British. The three-day Shandur Polo Festival has developed steadily in recent years into the massive celebration of mountain polo that it is today. Since 1982 the matches are being arranged by Chitral administration , levies, Chitral scout and police. GB teams participated as guests team .

References

https://www.chitraltoday.net/2019/05/31/know-some-basics-about-shandur-festival/

Books

*''The Gilgit Game'' by John Keay (1985) *''The Kafirs of the Hindukush'' (1896) Sir George Scott Robertson. *''To the Frontier'' (1984) Geoffrey Moorehouse, pp. 267–270. Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., Great Britain. Reprint: Sceptre edition 1988. *''Shandur, Durand's Boundary Line Violation'' (2014) by Rai Sarfaraz Shah, Ex-MNA LC Gilgit-Baltistan

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20180125163406/http://www.visitgilgitbaltistan.gov.pk/ *https://web.archive.org/web/20100831072645/http://gilgitbaltistan.gov.pk/ *http://www.shandur.chitralstudio.com/history/ Camping in Pakistan Polo in Pakistan Plateaus of Pakistan Reservoirs in Pakistan Lakes of Gilgit-Baltistan Hindu Raj

Geography

Shandur Pass, which is considered one of the most serene areas of Pakistan, is at an elevation of around 12,500 feet. It connects these two

regions of Pakistan The administrative units of Pakistan comprise four provinces, one federal territory, and two disputed territories: the provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan; the Islamabad Capital Territory; and the administrati ...

via a

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

. It is 212 km away from

Gilgit Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a h ...

History

In 1936, the Political Agent of the region, Colonel

(later Lieutenant Colonel) passed an order to Khwaja Mir Aman Shah Asaqal and

, Nambardar of Chitral to establish a huge

ground in Shandur. Kakakhail soon implemented the orders of higher headquarters on the ground and with the help of his manpower, he established a polo ground at Shandur. The polo ground was later on named "Mas Junali", as in

‘mas’ is word for ‘moon’ and ‘junali’ is word for ‘polo ground’. Cobb was very fond of playing polo in the moonlight. Ali Sher Khan Anchan Maqpoun used to play polo at Shandoor when Chitral was briefly occupied by him. The Princes and political agents of Chitral also enjoyed playing Polo in Shandur. Historically, polo being the king of games was played between small kingdoms, villages and rival groups of

and Gilgit. From 1936 onwards polo tournaments were held annually at Shandur at the patronage of the British. The three-day Shandur Polo Festival has developed steadily in recent years into the massive celebration of mountain polo that it is today. Since 1982 the matches are being arranged by Chitral administration , levies, Chitral scout and police. GB teams participated as guests team . British rulers impressed by the unprecedented constructional works of the people of Koh-e-Ghizer and offered Niat Qabool Hayat for a prize. Instead, he made it for a collective benefit and requested British representatives to fill local water streams with live stocks of Trouts. Soon after, a large amount of trout was provided to the streams of Koh-e-Chitral.

Cultural events

During the annual

, there are polo matches played at the Shandur Polo Ground on Shandur Top, between the teams of

and

. Approximately seven matches are played in the three days of the festival usually held on 7th to 9th July every year. The final match is played on 9th July between Teams A of

and

. Mas Junali ( moonlighted polo ) became a source of relation between the people of Chitral District and Gupis-Yasin/Ghizer districts. Many of the people from entire world come here to watch polo match played between Chitral and Ghizer.

References

Books

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20180125163406/http://www.visitgilgitbaltistan.gov.pk/ *https://web.archive.org/web/20150924101238/http://www.shandur.chitralstudio.com/history/ {{Mountain passes of Pakistan Camping in Pakistan Polo in Pakistan Plateaus of Pakistan Reservoirs in Pakistan Lakes of Gilgit-Baltistan Hindu Raj

Geography

History

See also

References

Books

External links

Geography

History

Cultural events

See also

References

Books

External links