On Friday, March 12, we begin reading the novel Kite Runner. Since the novel, set in Afghanistan, introduces the custom and art of kite fighting, please view the video clip attached to this blog and then click on the link below and read a short article that provides more specific information about it. I am sure you will find it very interesting.
http://www.afghana.com/Entertainment/Gudiparanbazi.htm
After viewing and reading, please share your thoughts or reactions to what you have learned.
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After watching a video and reading the article, I am astonished to see how much work and dedication goes into the kite fighting. Seeing as how in America flying kites is just a simple hobby, its amazing to see how Afghanis go above and beyond just to ensure that their kites are winners. In the video I watched this man and his sons made and sold kites to support their family and he was a kite flying champion in his city. He and his sons put so much work into the kites they made, and took pride in the strength and cutting ability of the string they made. They would glue powdered glass to the string and test them out before they sold them, and he still took pleasure in flying kites and swears that if the Taliban should resurge he will never give up kite fighting under their rule. It really is perplexing to see how dear kite fighting is to the Afghani’s hearts
ReplyDeleteThe movie I saw was not as intense as I thought it would be. I don’t know if they usually are or not but it just pictured it to be a lot more yelling and ferocity in it. I do think it is pretty interesting how other countries can make a spot out of things we do here as a pastime and do not actually take seriously. I also wonder if people actually train for this and how serious it really is. Maybe they do sponsorships or hand out scholarships for it. I believe all countries have their different traditions and sport and it should not be ridiculed by anyone because no race is better than the rest.
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, I do not find kite fighting to be all that exciting. I respect that it is a beloved sport and that it means a lot to the Afghan people, but to me personally, it seems rather boring. Kite flying has always seemed, to me, to be a leisurely hobby, but when you throw “fighting” into the mix, it almost seems like two people making paper airplanes collide for fun. The excitement of the sport can last only a split second or a half hour, and watching two kites hovering in the air doing nothing for thirty minutes, patiently waiting for the moment to strike, seems about as exciting as watching cows eating grass. However, I do agree that it takes an exceptional amount of skill to be a kite fighter. To be good at maneuvering a kite to cut another’s string and to build one from scratch does take talent. Also, I don’t quite fully understand the concept of kite running. The point is to catch a kite that has been cut, and keep it as an honor, but why? Why get so excited about the kite that was cut down? It isn’t your kite, you didn’t take all that time and hard work making that kite, so shouldn’t the owner be able to take it and try again next time? Although, this kite running concept is a little similar to baseball, where the point is to be the one to catch the ball that flies into the stands. But you only get really excited when you catch the home run, the ball that actually did something. You don’t go on the Internet and bid five hundred dollars on eBay for a foul ball. All in all, kite fighting is a big deal to the people in Afghanistan, but it just doesn’t seem like something I would go crazy for.
ReplyDeleteI saw the video about Kite fighting and I think it’s very interesting. They take a lot of pride in kite fighting. Even though kite fighting was banned from Afghanistan by the Taliban because it stole attention from god it is now being practiced where the Taliban has lost control, like Kabul. I also found interesting the way the kite fighters make their kites and how they glue pieces of glass to the string so it will cut the other kites. The video also showed how kite fighters have their own techniques on how to fight kites and how some people have lost fingers while kite fighting. The article I read bout kite fighting explains how it is one of the favorite pastimes for Afghans. It also mentions that young Afghans kept practicing this addicting sport even during the war in Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteIt was astonishing to hear that the Taliban eliminated all kite fighting in Afghanistan. To some people, kite fighting is their life. It is all they worry about. To have what you value most taken away is very disconcerting. But when the Taliban was no longer in Afghanistan, kite fighting returned to be a popular sport. I learned that many pieces of equipment are required, such as a special wire, finger protectors, since many have lost fingers while kite fighting, and a drum to hold extra string. If your kite is cut you lose it and the victor wins your kite. A good strategy for this competition is to engage the enemy from above and swoop down to slice your target. I didn’t think that this sport would go so for in depth since it is only kites that move around, it is not the people.
ReplyDeleteKite fighting is taken seriously in Afghanistan, as are other sports here in the U.S. It is interesting to see how another culture takes part in an activity that is a sport to them, but to us it is a method of relaxation on a nice day in the park. The Afghan people show us viewers that kite fighting is an elegant activity, but at the same time it is brought to a whole new level. Watching the video, I was influenced and now I feel like building a kite to fly for fun someday in the near future.
ReplyDeleteKite Flying:
ReplyDelete• Mainly boys who played
• Extremely Dangerous
o Children break bones
o Some children can die
• Must have an substantial amount of patience to win
• Must develop your own technique
• Must hope the wind is on your side
• Wind, Tar quality, and structure are key details in having a winning kite
• Must have 2 people (leader, runner) to fight
• Kite sizes vary from a foot long (10-12in) to actual human size
• The skeleton of kite was important because it had to be flexible
Kite flying sounds dangerous and pointless to me and I would not be interested to see it or participate in it at all. Maybe if I lived in the Middle east I would have a different opinion but I honesty do not see the point of risking your life and bones and other things for some paper and wood. I do not understand why kite flying is taken so seriously over there but every one has different likes and dislikes and that is what makes them happy so maybe if I understood the point a little more than I could see where they are coming from and visualize kite flying the way they do.
Kite fighting in my opinion was a pretty interesting sport. I find the strategies that they use to get the other kites down to be very intriguing. If I were to ever see a kite fighting match, i'd rather just see some guy lose a finger, that would be wicked awesome. People don't really know, but this is actually a dangerous sport and I have read about people losing fingers from the glass that they tie to the strings to cut the other kites out of the sky. The fact that people build kites like that truly amazes me. Maybe some day they can make a kite with some AK on it or a machine gun, that person would win every single time. All in all, kite fighting is actually really cool to me. I really want to try it.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video and reading the article, I find that the kite fights are very interesting. In the video it was good to see the time and effort the Afghans put towards this. Thier dedication and passion is amazing. It's funny how we don't realize how much something means to other cultures unless we see it with our own eyes. Here,we fly kites just because they're there. Then after a while it gets boring and we move on to something else. But there that thier life,income,and security. This has definitley opened a window of connection to the book, There's a sense of understanding and a visual along with the descriptions.
ReplyDelete