246 POLO 



bela, and may be performed in various ways. The player may 

 either strike the ball with the stick in his right hand, and send it 

 to the right forwards or backwards, or he may do so with his left 

 hand, or he may send the ball in front of the horse to the right or 

 to the left. The ball may be thrown in the same direction from 

 behind the feet of the horse or from below its body, or the rider may 

 spit it [sic lit., probably meaning ' may shove it,' with, as it were, 

 a sort of ' cue-stroke '], when the ball is in front of the horse, 

 or he may lift himself upon the croup [or crupper] and propel the 

 ball between the feet of the animal. 1 



His Majesty is unrivalled for the skill which he shows in the 

 various ways of hitting the ball ; he often manages to strike the 

 ball when in the air and astonishes all. When the ball is driven 

 to a goal they beat a kettledrum, so that all who are far and near 

 may hear it. In order to increase the excitement betting is 

 allowed. The players win from each other, and he who brought 

 the ball to the goal wins most. If a ball be caught in the air, and 

 passes or is made to pass beyond the goal, the game is looked 

 upon as drawn. At such times the players will engage in a regular 

 fight 2 about the ball, and perform admirable feats of skill. 



His Majesty also plays chaugan on dark nights, which caused 

 much astonishment, even among clever players. The balls which 

 are used at night are set on fire. For this purpose palas wood 

 (Butea frondosd} is used, which is very light and burns for a long 

 time. For the sake of adding splendour to the games, which is 

 necessary in worldly matters, his Majesty has knobs of gold and 

 silver fixed to the top of the chaugdn-sticks. If one of them 

 breaks, any player that gets hold of the pieces may keep them. 



It is impossible to describe the excellence of this game. Igno- 

 rant as I am, I can say but little about it. 



The accompanying illustration depicts the Emperor Akbar 

 and his courtiers playing the game, and by the attitudes of the 

 men and the length of their sticks it is evident that they are 

 indulging in the game known as ' rol,' or the dribbling game. 

 The artist must have been a very conscientious Mohammedan, 

 for he has followed strictly the precepts of the Koran, which 



1 This must evidently have been a back-hander, or a cross-hit under the 

 horse's belly. 



* Vide description of polo in Baltistan. 



