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.
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]
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]
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 (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 (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 is the same as hide-and-seek, except that it is played in an entirely dark room. [24] [25]
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]
Maram Pitti (similar to Pakistan's Maran Kuttai) [26] is similar to dodgeball. [28]
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]
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]
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 (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]
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Aankh micholi (similar to Bangladesh's Kanamachi) is a form of blindfolded tag. [21] [51]
This game (similar to Rumal Chor and Bengal's Rumal Churi) is similar to duck, duck, goose. [52] [53] [54] [55]
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.
Kabaddi is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of the traditional games of South Asia. The goal of the game is for a single offensive player, called the "raider," to enter the opposing team's half of the court, tag as many players as possible, and return to their own side within 30 seconds, all while avoiding being tackled by the defenders. Points are scored for each player tagged by the raider, while the opposing team earns a point for stopping the raider. Players are taken out of the game if they are touched or tackled, but return to the game after each point scored by their team from a tag or tackle.
Tag is a playground game involving one or more players chasing other players in an attempt to "tag" and mark them out of play, typically 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, "It!" or "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.
Kho kho is a traditional South Asian sport that dates 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.
Association football and basketball are the most popular sports in Asia. Cricket is the third most popular sport in Asia, and is most popular in South Asia. Other popular sports in Asia include 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, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
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Seven stones is a traditional game from the Indian subcontinent involving a ball and a pile of flat stones, generally played between two teams in a large outdoor area.
Oonch Neech 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.
Traditional games of Andhra Pradesh, like many other traditional games played in India, involve games which are played mostly by children. These games may also be enjoyed by other people of any age, as it reminds them of their childhood. Despite the advent of computers and technology, with children preferring to spend their times indoors, these games are still very popular in the Andhra Pradesh. They are also played in great and small towns all over India and Pakistan, especially in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, as well as Cambodia and Italy..
Kabaddi, is a contact sport, native to the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the most popular sports in India, played mainly among village people. India has taken part in four Asian Games in kabaddi, and won gold in all.
Many sports have originated from Tamil Nadu played people from Tamil Nadu including both traditional sports and sports from other countries. Also Tamil Nadu is emerging as the Sports Capital State of Indian Subcontinent. This list of sports in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu includes both traditional and modern sports.
Atya patya is a traditional South Asian 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 South Asian 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.
Bengali traditional games are traditional games that are played in rural parts of the historical region of Bengal. These games are typically played outside with limited resources. Many games have similarities to other traditional South Asian games.
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 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.
Many sports are played in South Asia, with cricket being the most popular of them; 90% of the sport's worldwide fans live in South Asia. Football is followed passionately in some parts of South Asia, such as Kerala and Bengal. Field hockey was popular for several decades, with some of South Asia's greatest sporting accomplishments having taken place in this sport. Some native South Asian games are played professionally in the region, such as kabaddi and kho-kho, and also feature in regional competitions such as the South Asian Games and Asian Games.
Nepal has many traditional games that are similar to other traditional South Asian games. Many of these games were played during local cultural festivals, but are now disappearing because of technological influence and globalisation.
South Africa has some traditional games.
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.