Great Kurultáj


The Great Kurultáj, or simply Kurultáj, is a traditional event of Central Asian nomadic origins, which takes place in the first week of August in Bugac, Hungary. The aim of this event is to strengthen the unity of the Eurasian steppe-nomadic horse culture and traditions between Hungarians and their cultural relatives, eastern Turkic peoples and Altaic peoples. The first Kurultáj was held in the Torgay Region of Kazakhstan in 2007. The first Kurultáj in Hungary was held in 2008. These events contributed much to the revival of the Altaic self-awareness.
Kurultáj is a widely attended event for professional horsemen and fans of horse riding. Each Kurultáj holds the parade of horsemen, horse races, traditional horsemen wrestling and various tournaments.
Hungary is the only European nation to have preserved the traditional kokpar game, a strategic team sport for riders.

Background

The original Kurultáj were held by nomadic people of the Steppes, especially for various chieftains to gather to elect the successor to a recently deceased Khan.

Editions

  1. 2007 -
  2. 2008
  3. 2013
  4. 2014
  5. 2015
  6. 2016
  7. 2018
  8. 2020 - cancelled
  9. 2022 - 12-14 August - 27 participating nations and tribes: Azerbaijani, Avar, Bashkir, Bulgarian, Balkar, Buryat, Chuvash, Gagauz, Kabardino, Karachay, Karakalpak, Kazakh, Madjar tribe of Kazakhstan, Kirghiz, Kumi, Mongolian, Nogai, Uzbek, Madzsar tribe of Uzbekistan, Tatar, Turkish, Tuva, Turkoman, Uyghur, Yakut, Hungarian

Participating nations and states

A total of 13 nations and 33 states participate.
Participating nations:
  1. Asia :,,,,,
  2. Europe :,,,,,,

Turkic">Turkic peoples">Turkic nations and states (22)

Uralic">Uralic people">Uralic nations and states (11)

Northeast Caucasian">Northeast Caucasian peoples">Northeast Caucasian states (3)

Northwest Caucasian">Northwest Caucasian peoples">Northwest Caucasian states (2)

Indo-European">Indo-European languages">Indo-European nations and states (3)

Tungusic">Tungusic peoples">Tungusic states (2)

Name

The word "kurultáj" and its variations in the Turkic languages translates as "meeting of the tribes". It occurs amongst tribal nations and practically in all the nomadic cultures. Hungarian nomadic tribes also held these meetings, a fact that is mentioned in Byzantine and Arab written sources. At such meetings, important decisions were made, in particular, the leaders of the tribes would meet often to discuss military decisions and strategies.

Events

Medalists: