Culture Journal Report:
Turkmen leader orders annual horse beauty contests.
Turkmen leader orders annual horse beauty contests.
author: BBC (no author specified)
date: February 2, 2011 Click here to read this article! brief summary: President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov of Turkmenistan has declared that every April, horses of the the ancient breed Akhal-Teke will partake in a beauty competition. The horses will be judged based on the best carpet featuring the horse, best "holiday attire" for the breed, best portrait, and best sculpture. |
my opinions on the topic:
Upon reading this article that I spent an hour searching for (Turkmenistan has a very restricted media, little information ever gets out to the world), my first impression was that this is very strange. I couldn't understand why a country's president could love horses so much. Of course, I have no problems with this, as long as the horses don't get abused or harmed at all. But I don't see that happening, as they are throwing a complete celebration for the horse and there was even leisure center built for the horses that cost $20 million and includes a pool, air conditioning, and medical assistance. Every culture is different, and if one wants to celebrate horses, who am I to judge? |
how does this relate to culture?:
This relates to culture because this breed of horse has for a long time been a big part of the culture in this country. Akhal-Teke horses are often given as gifts to foreign leaders and are even featured in the nation's emblem. The current president of the country is also known to be an avid horse rider. Turkmenistan is also the only former Soviet state where eating horse is strictly taboo. So these horses, and horses in general, as prized creatures in this country, so it makes since that they would have a competition celebrating this animals they have incorporated so much into their culture. |