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Traditional games of South Asia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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South Asia has many traditional games and sports.[1] Two of them, kabaddi and kho-kho, are played at the South Asian Games, with kabaddi also featuring at the Asian Games.[2] Many of these games are played across the entire subcontinent under different names and with some rule variations, while some of these games may be played only in certain countries or regions.
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History
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Ancient era
Some traditional South Asian games, such as kabaddi, kho-kho, and atya-patya, are believed to be thousands of years old, finding mention in historical scriptures[3] and dating back to ancient India.[4][5][6] Kho-kho, for example, dates back to at least the fourth century BC.[7] Many South Asian games likely reflect characteristics of traditional life in the subcontinent; for example, the Bengali hopscotch game of ekka-dokka (related to Stapoo and Chindro) may reflect the concepts of land division and ownership of property in ancient times.[8]
Modern era
After the British colonisation of the subcontinent which peaked from the 19th century to 1947, Western sports such as cricket, football, and hockey began to be followed to a greater extent, to the detriment of the traditional games.[9][10] The modern advent of urbanisation,[11] globalisation (which attracted people towards more globally popular games),[12] and technology (which gave people digital forms of entertainment such as the Internet, television, and video games)[13] have further diminished the traditional South Asian sports.[14] Additional reasons include religious extremism in some areas, which has restricted people from playing certain games, and lack of governmental support.[15]
However, the affordability of the traditional games saw them prioritised for physical education purposes by some thinkers of the early postcolonial period,[16] and some professional leagues are now being started for traditional sports, such as the Pro Kabaddi League, Ultimate Kho Kho, and Pro Panja League, which are beginning to revive interest in these sports and even globalise them.[17][18] These leagues are now some of the most-watched competitions in India.[19]
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Traditional games
Gillidanda
Gillidanda or gulli danda is a game where players attempt to hit a stick as far as possible to score points. It has similarities to the popular South Asian sport of cricket, as well as to traditional games around the world, such as tipcat.[20]
Chindro
Chindro (also known as Stapoo or Kidi Kada)
is a game popular in the Indian subcontinent. The game is played with a stone that is tossed or slid on a marked-off playing court. It is similar to hopscotch.Gutte
Gutte (similar to Meergati and Bilghotti in Pakistan) involves players throwing up and then grabbing stones on the ground, while ensuring none of the stones falls from the air to the ground.[21][22][23]
Dark room
Dark room is the same as hide-and-seek, except that it is played in an entirely dark room.[24][25]
Donkey Donkey
Donkey Donkey (similar to the Pakistani Beech ki Billi)[26] is a game in which two players attempt to throw a ball to each other, while a player in the middle tries to catch it.[27]
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Ball games
Maram pitti
Maram Pitti (similar to Pakistan's Maran Kuttai)[26] is similar to dodgeball.[28]
Seven stones
In the game of seven stones (known by several other names in various regions), one team throws a ball at a pile of stones and then attempts to rebuild the pile, while the other team tries to eliminate the first team's players by throwing the ball at them.[29][30]
Variations of tag
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Deciding who the denner is
In many South Asian variations of tag, the player meant to tag the other players is known as the "denner".[31][32] There are various ways of selecting the denner, such as Saa Boo Three (also known as pugam pugai), in which a group of three players face one of their hands up or down, and if one of the players faces their hand the opposite way of the other two, then they are chosen as the denner.[33][34]
Kabaddi
Kho-kho
Kho kho is a traditional South Asian sport that dates to ancient India.[38][39] It is the second-most popular traditional tag game in the Indian subcontinent after kabaddi.[40] Kho kho is played on a rectangular court with a central lane connecting two poles which are at either end of the court. During the game, nine players from the chasing team (attacking team) are on the field, with eight of them sitting (crouched) in the central lane, while three runners from the defending team run around the court and try to avoid being touched.[39] Each sitting player on the chasing team faces the opposite half of the field that their adjacent teammates are facing.
In the game, one player from the chasing team (the "active chaser" or "attacker") may run around the court to tag (touch) members of the defending team. Each successful tag earns one point, and tagged defenders must leave the field. However, the active chaser is restricted from crossing the central lane to access the other half of the court and cannot change direction once they begin running toward either pole. These restrictions can be bypassed if the active chaser either switches roles with a sitting teammate — by touching them on the back while saying "Kho" — who is facing the other half of the court, or by running behind either pole to switch direction or halves. Each team alternates between scoring and defending, with two turns for each role. Each turn lasts nine minutes, and the team with the highest score at the end of the game wins.[41]Freeze tag
Freeze tag (also known as Baraf Paani in North-India and Pakistan, and as Borof Paani in Bangladesh) involves players becoming "frozen" in place when tagged by an opponent, but becoming unfrozen when tagged by a teammate.[42][43]
Atya-patya
Langdi
Aankh micholi
Aankh micholi (similar to Bangladesh's Kanamachi) is a form of blindfolded tag.[21][47]
Kokla chappaki
This game (similar to Rumal Chor and Bengal's Rumal Churi) is similar to duck, duck, goose.[48][49][50][51]
Oonch Neech
Oonch Neech (or Oonch Neech ka Papada) is a rural and urban street children's game and variation of Tag game played in North India and Pakistan. Oonch Neech (Hindi) translates Up and Down in English.
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Board games
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Snakes and ladders
Snakes and ladders is a board game for two or more players regarded today as a worldwide classic. The game originated in ancient India as Moksha Patam, and was brought to the United Kingdom in the 1890s. It is played on a game board with numbered, gridded squares. A number of "ladders" and "snakes" are pictured on the board, each connecting two specific board squares. The object of the game is to navigate one's game piece, according to die rolls, from the start (bottom square) to the finish (top square), helped by climbing ladders but hindered by falling down snakes.
Another traditional game called Ludo, is mostly played at the same board on the other side. Four participants can play this game with the help of dice.
Carrom
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See also
Notes
- (Hindi: लंगड़ी) Also sometimes spelled Langadi.[44]
References
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