As told to Chuck Lund

From Discourse 6

In most Afghani families, who plays with kites?

Mostly males play with kites beginning around five or six years old – once they know their right hand from their left. From there, it is all ages to include Grandpa. Kite running begins when the child is old enough to chase down a kite that’s been cut from the sky.

Who teaches the art of kite making?

Some secrets and techniques are shared, but everybody who builds learns by self. Building is rewarding. However, about 50% of the fliers purchase their fighting kites. Kite runners, of course, get their kites for free.

What is the typical flying environment for Afghani kites?

Anytime and anywhere – no regulations. The majority of the fliers can be found in cities because they are the population centers where more competitors will be found. Flying is done anywhere space allows, from the tops of walls and roof tops to the city streets.

On occasion, there will be a special time and meeting place established. This is most likely for the better fliers and community champions and allows for more spectators and wagering.

Basir explained a particular battle he watched between two champions that lasted many hours and into the dark. When it became too dark, the champions considered the battle over for the day. They came close together and “jiggled” their lines to uncross and brought in the kites without cutting the lines. They fought again the next morning and the war was over in a couple of hours.

How is manjha made and are there “secret formulas” for the paste and glass?

Basir spent about two hours explaining this to me and showing examples of various lines. Basically, Indonesian manjha is glass- coated string. And yes, there are some secrets involved – actually, quite a few. Since I was trusted with them, they will remain secrets. But consider this bit of information: neon glass tubes crushed for common manjha have six edges to each microscopic piece. Heavy bottle glass has 18 edges and crystal 28 edges to each microscopic piece.

It is a secret, how to turn large pieces of glass into microscopic sized pieces of glass. And another, how to separate the three or four grades of glass for actual use in making manjha. It is very time consuming. The rice glue even has secret ingredients and preparation techniques. Basir can tell from the smell of the line if the glue is a quality product.

Quality manjha will bend without cracking. Making line that will do that involves significant skill, knowledge, experience, patience, and time.

Quality manjha costs about $400 or $500 per spool. Mid-grade is about one-tenth that, and inexpensive manjha is about one- tenth the cost of the mid-grade.

Do fliers use any protection on their fingers?

Novice fliers may wear finger protection in the form of a shaped and wrapped leather piece, or even the fingertip of a leather glove. Experienced fliers never wear protection because it is so important to be able to feel the line. This is even more important when the kite is flying out of sight and the flier determines direction and controls the spin and movement of the kite by line feel.

Does the flier manage his own kite line or does he fly the kite while an assistant manages the line?

The better fliers who can afford it have spool holders. Spool holders are considered experts at what they do: they control the line’s tension and assist in right and left movement. Spool holders can release line in an instant and recover line almost as fast. In serious competitions, only the spool holder may talk to the flier.

Are women and girls starting to fly kites?

Before the invasion in 1977, there were a few well-known female fliers. Presently, in the United States there are some female fliers, but they a distinct minority. Few now fly in Afghanistan.

If not, do they have a similar pastime?

Afghani women have their own fun. One example is called the “Samank” or “Cemanak.” This is when a number of women get together – anywhere from 50 or 60 to even 200 – and prepare special food in a giant pot. They sing over the food and use the opportunity for fun and joking. Boys are allowed until the age of 11, but no men.

In a typical “tangle” how far away are the kites being flown? Is this one measure of kite fliers’ skills (flying very far away and still being able to maneuver, or like in India, risking a larger amount of manjha)?

The pleasure of fighting is partly in the winning, but more so the pleasure is found in flying skillfully, regardless of the amount of time it takes to score a point or cut a line. An example from Basir was another fight between two village champions that had gone on for over four hours. It was getting dark and the kites were out so far nobody could see them. The fighters agreed to bring them in and continue the next day. To do this, they positioned themselves close to each other, bringing the crossing or cutting point of the lines nearly parallel. They then crossed over one another to free the lines and reel them in. This particular fight continued the next morning and was over in less than an hour. If a flier had to purchase (rather than make) high quality Afghani manjha, it would be very expensive (about $400 per reel), and it is unlikely that losing it would be a sign of skill or daring.

Flying on a long line takes more skill because you cannot see the kite and you have to understand and control it by the feel of your fingers. Most battles are won or lost with the kite in sight, so it is only with highly skilled fliers that battles last so long as to have huge amounts of line off the reel.

The lowest you see kites is 200 yards. Usually there are 2,000 to 6,000 feet of line on a spool. It is a measure of a kite flier’s skill to maintain control with long lines. There are many tricks, movements, and techniques (cobra, rapid pull, instantaneous release, etc.), and they are for the most part more difficult with very long lines.

Of course, there are considerable wagers on championship contests.

What are some Afghani terms used in kite flying?

“Sharty” means “top” or “champion of the area.” “Shirt o panear” [phonetic] is a friendly-sounding phrase that is sung when a victor cuts another’s line. A close interpretation is “cut you like a cheese.”

“Jiggling” means to bring the two kites down to where their lines cross.

Many thanks to Mogda Beria, Basir’s older daughter, who was the interpreter and spelling assistant many times during our conversations.