Galah panjang is a traditional Malaysian tag game which is played on a long, narrow field. The attacking team's goal is to cross the field and then return to the starting line to win, while the defending team's players attempt to tag the attackers to eliminate them. [1]
"Galah panjang" means long pole, [2] which refers to the central line that stretches down the court length-wise. [3]
Galah panjang is very similar to the traditional Indian game atya-patya, which was played since at least 300 CE. [4] [5]
There is one central line which goes down the middle of the court length-wise, and several other lines which run perpendicular to the central line; the total number of lines equals the number of players on the defensive team. [8]
Each team generally has at least four players. [6] [9] The defending team stations one of its players on each of the lines before play starts, with the defenders required to remain on their designated lines throughout the game. [10]
If an attacker steps out of the field, they are out (eliminated). [8]
Galah panjang is known by different names in different parts of Southeast Asia, such as gobak sodor in Indonesia, patintero in the Philippines, [11] and galah asin in West Java. [12]
Due to the history of Dutch colonialism in the region, the game was also played by Dutch children. [3]
Sepak takraw, or Sepaktakraw, also called buka ball, kick volleyball or foot volleyball, is a team sport played with a ball made of rattan or synthetic plastic between two teams of two to four players on a court resembling a badminton court. It is similar to volleyball and footvolley in its use of a rattan ball and players using only their feet, knees, shoulders, chest and head to touch the ball. Sepak Takraw is often referred to as a mixture of volleyball, due to its use of a net, and association football, as players use their feet.
Tag is a playground game involving one or more players chasing other players in an attempt to "tag" and mark them out of play, usually by touching with a hand. There are many variations; most forms have no teams, scores, or equipment. Usually, when a person is tagged, the tagger says, "Tag, you're 'It'!". The last one tagged during tag is "It" for the next round. The game is known by other names in various parts of the world, including "running and catching" in India and "catch and cook" in the Middle East.
A street game or street sport is a sport or game that is played on city streets rather than a prepared field. Street games are usually simply play time activities for children in the most convenient venue. Some street games have risen to the level of organized tournaments, such as stickball.
Oină is a Romanian traditional sport, similar in many ways to baseball.
Kho kho is a traditional Indian sport that dates back to ancient India. It is the second-most popular traditional tag game in the Indian subcontinent after kabaddi. 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 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. Each sitting player on the chasing team faces the opposite half of the field that their adjacent teammates are facing.
Surakarta is a little-known Indonesian strategy board game for two players, named after the ancient city of Surakarta in central Java. The game features an unusual method of capture which is "possibly unique" and "not known to exist in any other recorded board game". Little is known about its history.
Basketball is the most popular sport overall in Asia. Cricket is the second most popular sport in Asia, and is most popular in South Asia. Other popular sports in Asia include association football, baseball, badminton and table tennis among others. There are also some traditional sports that are popular in certain regions of Asia, such as the South Asian sports kabaddi and kho-kho, and sepak takraw in Southeast Asia. Top sporting nations/regions in Asia include China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Sepak raga is a traditional Indonesian and Malaysian sport, developed in the Nusantara Archipelago. This game is related to the modern sepak takraw. Similar games include footbag net, footvolley, bossaball and jianzi.
Traditional games in Indonesia are games commonly played by Indonesian children and have roots / acculturated to the Indonesian native culture. Indonesian parents often using traditional games to educate their children about character building. As a result, nearly all children in the era before the 1990s play traditional games.
Atya patya is a traditional Indian tag sport played by two sides of nine players. It is more popular in rural areas of India. It is more commonly played in Maharashtra, a western Indian state. Atya patya is described as a "game of feints". The playing area comprises nine trenches, coming out of either side of a central trench; a point is awarded to the attacking team's players for each trench they cross without being tagged out by the defensive players within the trenches. The game ends after 4 innings of 7 minutes each, with each team having two innings to score. It has been described as a game of "militant chase". The sport is played in a relatively small area and requires no equipment, similar to other games indigenous to India such as kabaddi, seven stones, kho kho, gillidanda and langdi.
Langdi is a traditional Indian field sport which combines elements of tag and hopscotch. It was originally played during the Pandiyan Dynasty and called "Nondiyaattam" at that time. The teams alternate chasing (attacking) and defending roles in each of the 4 innings of the game, with the chasing team's players restricted to hopping around on one foot, and attempting to score points by tagging as many defenders as possible within the 9 minutes of each inning. It is described by Marathis as a sport with a Marathi ethos.
Playing period is a division of time in a sports or games, in which play occurs. Many games are divided into a fixed number of periods, which may be named for the number of divisions. Other games use terminology independent of the total number of divisions. A playing period may have a fixed length of game time or be bound by other rules of the game.
Patintero, also known as harangang-taga or tubigan, is a Filipino traditional children's game. Along with tumbang preso, it is one of the most popular outdoor games played by children in the Philippines.
Bengali traditional games are games that are traditionally played in rural parts of the historical region of Bengal. These games are typically played outside with limited resources. Some of them have similarities to other traditional South Asian games. Due to urbanization, the rate at which traditional Bengali games are being played is decreasing.
India has several traditional games and sports, some of which have been played for thousands of years. Their popularity has greatly declined in the modern era, with Western sports having overtaken them in India during the British Raj, and the Indian government now making some efforts to revive them. Many of these games do not require much equipment or playing space. Some of them are only played in certain regions of India, or may be known by different names and played under different rules and regulations in different regions of the country. Many Indian games are also similar to other traditional South Asian games.
Pakistan has many traditional games played in the rural and urban areas of the country.
South Asia has many traditional games and sports. Two of them, kabaddi and kho-kho, are played at the South Asian Games, with kabaddi also featuring at the Asian Games. 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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Festival Permainan Malaysia is an annual Malaysian event for games. Traditional Malaysian games feature prominently in the event.