Traditional games of Iran

Last updated

Iran has some traditional games, sports, and martial arts that date back thousands of years. [1] [2] [3] [4] Many of these games have started to disappear due to urbanisation, the advent of computer games, and the neglect of cultural institutions. [5] [6]

Contents

History

Some of the traditional Iranian games were demonstrated at the 1974 Asian Games hosted by Iran as a way of demonstrating the ability for traditional Persian culture to coexist with modern Western culture. [7]

Traditional games

Zu (Compares with Kabaddi, of Indian origin)

Kabaddi being played at the 2018 Asian Games Iran men's national kabaddi team 13970602000432636707284535394012 98208.jpg
Kabaddi being played at the 2018 Asian Games
Kabaddi ( /kəˈbædi/ , [8] /kʌbˈəˈdi/ ) [9] is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players, originating in ancient India. [10] The objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their players as possible, and return to their own half of the court, all without being tackled by the defenders in 30 seconds. 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.

Zu/Zou is similar to the better-known version of the game Kabaddi of India, [11] [1] and has a history going back thousands of years in the country. In this version, the attacker starts with hawling "zou" (see above reference) the entire time performing the mission without breathing until gets back to the base. Another contrast is there is no 30 second rule in Zu. [12] [13]

Haft sang

Seven stones (also known by various other names) 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.

Martial arts

Pahlavani

Pahlevani and zourkhaneh rituals is the name inscribed by UNESCO for varzesh-e pahlavāni (Persian: آیین پهلوانی و زورخانه‌ای, "heroic sport") [14] or varzesh-e bāstāni (ورزش باستانی; varzeš-e bāstānī, "ancient sport"), a traditional system of athletics and a form of martial arts [15] originally used to train warriors in Iran (Persia) [16] [17] Outside Iran, zoorkhanehs can now also be found in Azerbaijan, and Afghanistan, and were introduced into Iraq in the mid-19th century by the Iranian immigrants, where they seem to have existed until the 1980s before disappearing. [18] [19] [20] [21] It combines martial arts, calisthenics, strength training and music. It contains elements of pre-Islamic and post-Islamic culture of Iran (particularly Zoroastrianism and Gnosticism) with the spirituality of Persian Shia Islam and Sufism. Practiced in a domed structure called the zurkhāneh, training sessions consist mainly of ritual gymnastic movements and climax with the core of combat practice, a style of folk wrestling called koshti pahlavāni.[ citation needed ]

Board games

Shatranj

Two shatranj players in a detail from a Persian miniature painting of Bayasanghori Shahname made in 1430 Bayasanghori Shahnameh 5 (cropped).jpg
Two shatranj players in a detail from a Persian miniature painting of Bayasanghori Shahname made in 1430
Shatranj (Arabic and Persian: شطرنج; from Middle Persian chatrangچترنگ) is an old form of chess, as played in the Sasanian Empire. Its origins are in the Indian game of chaturaṅga. [22] Modern chess gradually developed from this game, as it was introduced to Europe by contacts in Muslim Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and in Sicily in the 10th century.

Nard

Nard (Persian: نرد, also narde or nardshir; from Middle Persian: nywʾlthšyl nēw-ardaxšīr) is an historical Persian tables game for two players that is sometimes considered ancestral to backgammon. It is still played today, albeit in a different form. As in other tables games, the playing pieces are moved around a board according to rolls of dice. It uses a standard tables board, but has a different opening layout and rules of play from that of backgammon.

Card games

Baas-o-Beyt

Baas-o-Beyt (Sistanian: بئث و بئت) is a special kind of rhyming game common among Sistanian people and is generally considered as a genre of Sistanian poetry (called Seytak) played by composing verses of Sistanian poems, along with some Sistanian dance and music. It is very similar to Bait bazi, Antakshari and Crambo as well. [23] [24]

Pasur

Pasur or chahar barg (Persian: پاسور; also spelled Pasour or Pasur) is a fishing card game of Persian origin. [25] Played widely in Iran, it is played similarly to the Italian games of Cassino or Scopa [26] and even more similarly to the Egyptian game of Bastra. Pasur is also known by the names Chahâr Barg (4 cards), Haft Khâj (seven clubs) or Haft Va Chahâr, Yâzdah (7+4=11, the significance being that players want to win 7 clubs in a game of 4-card hands where 11 is a winning number).

Shelem

Shelem (Persian: شلمShělěm), also called Rok or similar, is an Iranian trick-taking card game with four players in two partnerships, bidding and competing against each other. Bidding and trump are declared in every hand by the bidding winner. Both the name and the point structure of this game are similar to the American game Rook, there being a possible connection between the two games. Though it isn't clear from which game it is derived. [27] :204f [28]

Ganjifa

Various Ganjifa cards from Dashavatara set Ten Playing Cards (Ganjifa) LACMA M.2001.210.4.1-.10.jpg
Various Ganjifa cards from Dashavatara set
Ganjifa, Ganjapa or Gânjaphâ, [29] is a card game and type of playing cards that are most associated with Persia and India. After Ganjifa cards fell out of use in Iran before the twentieth century, India became the last country to produce them. [30] The form prevalent in Odisha is Ganjapa.

As-Nas

In 1895, General Albert Houtum-Schindler described the rules as follows: [31]

The game of As is exactly like Poker, but without any flushes or sequences. There are four players, and each player gets five cards, dealt to the right. The dealer puts down a stake. The first player then looks at his cards. If he "goes", he says dîdam (I have seen), and covers the stake or raises it. If he does not wish to play, he says nadîdam, (I have not seen) and throws his cards. He may also "go" without looking at his cards - that is, in poker parlance, "straddle" - and says nadîd dîdam (not seeing, I have seen). The second player, if he wishes to play, must cover the stakes, and can also raise. The third player and the dealer then act in the same way just as in poker, and when the stakes of all players are equal and no one raises any more the cards are turned up and the player holding the best hand wins the stakes.

Animal events

Chovgan

Chovgan, Chowgan or Chogan (Azerbaijani: Çövkən), is a sporting team game with horses that originated in ancient Iran . [32] [33] It was considered an aristocratic game and held in a separate field, on specially trained horses. The game was widespread among the Asian peoples. It is played in Iran, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. [34]

It was later adopted in the Western World, known today as polo.

See also

Notes

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Kabaddi</span> Contact team sport popular in South Asia

    Kabaddi is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players, originating in ancient India. The objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their players as possible, and return to their own half of the court, all without being tackled by the defenders in 30 seconds. 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.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Ace</span> Playing card

    An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the case of the ace of spades. This embellishment on the ace of spades started when King James VI of Scotland and I of England required an insignia of the printing house to be printed on the ace of spades. This insignia was necessary for identifying the printing house and stamping it as having paid the new stamp tax. Although this requirement was abolished in 1960, the tradition has been kept by many card makers. In other countries the stamp and embellishments are usually found on ace cards; clubs in France, diamonds in Russia, and hearts in Genoa because they have the most blank space.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Playing card suit</span> Categories into which the cards of a deck are divided

    In playing cards, a suit is one of the categories into which the cards of a deck are divided. Most often, each card bears one of several pips (symbols) showing to which suit it belongs; the suit may alternatively or additionally be indicated by the color printed on the card. The rank for each card is determined by the number of pips on it, except on face cards. Ranking indicates which cards within a suit are better, higher or more valuable than others, whereas there is no order between the suits unless defined in the rules of a specific card game. In a single deck, there is exactly one card of any given rank in any given suit. A deck may include special cards that belong to no suit, often called jokers.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Tombak</span>

    The tombak, tonbak (تنبک) or zarb (ضَرب) is an Iranian goblet drum. It is considered the principal percussion instrument of Persian music. The tombak is normally positioned diagonally across the torso, while the player uses one or more fingers and/or the palm(s) of the hand(s) on the drumhead, often near the drumhead's edge. Sometimes, tombak players wear metal finger rings for an extra-percussive "click" on the drum's shell. Tombak virtuosi often perform solos lasting ten minutes or more.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in Iran</span> Overview of sports traditions and activities in Iran

    Many sports in Iran are both traditional and modern. Tehran, for example, was the first city in West Asia to host the Asian Games in 1974, and continues to host and participate in major international sporting events to this day. Freestyle wrestling has been traditionally regarded as Iran's national sport, however today, football is the most popular sport in Iran. Because of economic sanctions, the annual government's budget for sport was about $80 million in 2010 or about $1 per person.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Pourya-ye Vali</span> Iranian sport wrestler

    Pahlavān Mahmoud, known in Iran as Pouryā-ye Vali, was a pahlevani wrestling champion, Sufi teacher and poet from the 14th century Persia, famous for his exceptional strength. He became the patron saint of the city of Khiva, in Uzbekistan.

    Pasur or chahar barg is a fishing card game of Persian origin. Played widely in Iran, it is played similarly to the Italian games of Cassino or Scopa and even more similarly to the Egyptian game of Bastra. Pasur is also known by the names Chahâr Barg, Haft Khâj or Haft Va Chahâr, Yâzdah.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Ganjifa</span> Persian card game

    Ganjifa, Ganjapa or Gânjaphâ, is a card game and type of playing cards that are most associated with Persia and India. After Ganjifa cards fell out of use in Iran before the twentieth century, India became the last country to produce them. The form prevalent in Odisha is Ganjapa.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Pahlevani and zoorkhaneh rituals</span> Persian traditional system of athletics

    Pahlevani and zourkhaneh rituals is the name inscribed by UNESCO for varzesh-e pahlavāni or varzesh-e bāstāni, a traditional system of athletics and a form of martial arts originally used to train warriors in Iran (Persia) Outside Iran, zoorkhanehs can now also be found in Azerbaijan, and Afghanistan, and were introduced into Iraq in the mid-19th century by the Iranian immigrants, where they seem to have existed until the 1980s before disappearing. It combines martial arts, calisthenics, strength training and music. It contains elements of pre-Islamic and post-Islamic culture of Iran with the spirituality of Persian Shia Islam and Sufism. Practiced in a domed structure called the zurkhāneh, training sessions consist mainly of ritual gymnastic movements and climax with the core of combat practice, a style of folk wrestling called koshti pahlavāni.

    Shelem, also called Rok or similar, is an Iranian trick-taking card game with four players in two partnerships, bidding and competing against each other. Bidding and trump are declared in every hand by the bidding winner. Both the name and the point structure of this game are similar to the American game Rook, there being a possible connection between the two games. Though it isn't clear from which game it is derived.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Asia</span> Overview of sport in Asia

    Association Football 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 basketball, 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.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Hashem Akbarian</span> Iranian wrestler

    Pahlavan Mirza Hashem Akbarian was an Iranian practitioner of traditional wrestling.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Voria Ghafouri</span> Iranian-Kurdish footballer

    Voria Ghafouri is an Iranian retired footballer. He has played much of his career as a right-back and also played as a right winger occasionally.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Kabaddi in India</span> Contact sport, native to the Indian subcontinent

    Kabaddi, is a contact sport, native to the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the most popular sports in India, played mainly among people in villages. India has taken part in four Asian Games in kabaddi, and won gold in all of them. Four forms of kabaddi played in India are Amar, Suranjeevi, huttuttoo, and Gaminee. Amar is generally played in Punjab, Haryana, the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world, mostly by Punjabi sportsmen. Suranjeevi is the most played form of kabaddi in India and the world. This is the form used in international matches generally and played in Asian Games. Huttuttoo was played by men in Maharashtra. In Gaminee style, seven players play on each side and a player put out has to remain out until all his team members are out. The team that is successful in outing all the players of the opponent's side secures a point. The game continues until five or seven such points are secured and has no fixed time duration.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Chovgan</span> Horse-riding game

    Chovgan, Chowgan or Chogan, is a sporting team game with horses that originated in ancient Iran. It was considered an aristocratic game and held in a separate field, on specially trained horses. The game was widespread among the Asian peoples. It is played in Iran, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Pahlevan of Iran</span> Annual National championships wrestling of Iran

    Pahlevan of Iran is a national championship for pahlevani wrestling held annually in Iran. Though the competition has ancient roots, its modern form began in 1944.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Ganjapa</span> Card game from Odisha, India

    Ganjapa are the traditional playing cards from the Indian state Odisha. It can also refer to the trick-taking card game that they are used for. It is played with circular shaped Pattachitra painted cards. Originated in the 16th century, Ganjaku is a recreational game for male members of the Odia society, primarily villagers, kings and their courtmen. Ganjapa is played as "Charirangi", "Atharangi", "Dasarangi", "Bararangi", "Chaudarangi" and "Sohalarangi". The variation of this game influenced by Persian card game Ganjifeh is known as "Mughal Ganjifa". The game is popular in Puri and Ganjam district of Odisha. As a result of the relative isolation of Odisha in the past, Ganjapa developed very differently from the Ganjifa found in the rest of India. Odisha has by far the largest community of Ganjifa players and manufacturers.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">As-Nas</span>

    As-Nas is a card game or type of playing cards that were used in Persia.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Traditional games of India</span> Pre-colonial sports heritage of India

    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.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in South Asia</span>

    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.

    References

    1. 1 2 "Molding minds and taming times: The concept of games in Iran". Tehran Times. 2012-01-07. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
    2. "A traditional Iranian sport has been closed off to women. One activist wants to change that". The World from PRX. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
    3. "Wrestling-mad Iran lays the Persian carpet for kabaddi". Hindustan Times. 2019-07-28. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
    4. "UNESCO - Chogān, a horse-riding game accompanied by music and storytelling". ich.unesco.org. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
    5. Taheri, Laleh; Chahian, Golshan (2015-05-29). "Restoration of Traditional Children's Play in Iranian Nomadic Societies (Case Study of Kohgilouyeh and Boyer Ahmad)". Children. 2 (2): 211–227. doi: 10.3390/children2020211 . ISSN   2227-9067. PMC   4928756 . PMID   27417360.
    6. "Traditional games, a potential for drawing tourists". en.irna.ir. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
    7. Huebner, Stefan (2016-05-11). Pan-Asian Sports and the Emergence of Modern Asia, 1913-1974. NUS Press. ISBN   978-981-4722-03-2.
    8. Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN   978-1-4058-8118-0.
    9. kabaddi Cambridge Dictionary
    10. Sudevan, Praveen (2022-10-27). "How Pro Kabaddi made kabaddi the most-watched sport in India after cricket". The Hindu . ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 2023-12-05.
    11. Incheon, Rohit Brijnath, In (2014-10-05). "The art and soul of kabaddi: On India's men's and women's Asian Games gold wins in this game of catch". The Straits Times. ISSN   0585-3923 . Retrieved 2023-08-24.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    12. Vaidya, Jaideep (2017-09-06). "From 'zouuu zouuu' to 'kabaddi kabaddi': Tracking Iran's journey to becoming India's biggest rival". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
    13. Schwartz, David Asa (2021-06-14). Modern Sports around the World: History, Geography, and Sociology. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN   978-1-4408-6880-1.
    14. official IZSF
    15. "Martial art | Definition, History, Types, & Facts". 9 April 2024.
    16. "Traditional games of Iran" at Encyclopædia Iranica
    17. "Pahlevani and Zoorkhanei rituals".
    18. "Traditional games of Iran" at Encyclopædia Iranica
    19. Shay, Anthony; Sellers-Young, Barbara (2005). Belly Dance: Orientalism, Transnationalism, and Harem Fantasy. Mazda Publishers. ISBN   978-1-56859-183-4. the zurkhaneh exercises of Iran, Afghanistan, and Azerbaijan
    20. Afghanistan, Foreign Policy & Government Guide. International Business Publications, USA. 2000. ISBN   978-0-7397-3700-2. UNIVERSAL SPORTS PLAYED IN AFGHANISTAN Wrestling (Palwani)
    21. Elias, Josie; Ali, Sharifah Enayat (2013-08-01). Afghanistan: Third Edition. Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC. ISBN   978-1-60870-872-7. Wrestling, or Pahlwani (pahl-wah-NEE), is popular with men all over the country.
    22. Jean-Louis Cazaux (2012-04-20). "Shatranj". History.chess.free.fr. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
    23. "11282". Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
    24. "زارایا؛ سرای فرهنگ و هنر سیستان - زنان و کودکان سیستانی". Archived from the original on 2014-01-08. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
    25. "Rules of Card Games: Pâsur". www.pagat.com. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
    26. Carlisle, Rodney P. (2009). Encyclopedia of play in today's society. Los Angeles: SAGE. ISBN   9781412966702.
    27. Parlett, David (2008), The Penguin Book of Card Games (3rd ed.), Penguin Books, ISBN   978-0-14-103787-5 .
    28. McLeod, John, ed., Iran, Card Games Website
    29. Many different spellings and transliterations can be found, such as Ganjafa, Ghendgifeh, Gunjeefa, Ganjapa, Kanjifa, Kanjifah and so on. In arabic, the spellings كنجفة or جنجفة or غنجفه can be found. The Persian word is ganjifeh (گنجفه). In Hindi the term is गंजीफा.
    30. At the start of the 21st Century production in India was still ongoing in the town of Sawantvadi in the west, and Odisha in the east for example. See Abram (2003: 53) and Crestin-Billet (2002: 189).
    31. Quoted by Stewart Culin.
    32. Massé, H. (24 April 2012). "Čawgān" . In Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Vol. 2. Brill Online. The game originated in Persia, and was generally played on horseback (...)
    33. "The origins and history of Polo". Historic UK. Retrieved 2020-10-04. It is since these origins in Persia that the game has often been associated with the rich and noble of society; the game was played by Kings, Princes and Queens in Persia.
    34. В. Парфенов. (2004). Кавказские национальные конные игры. HORSE.RU. Archived from the original on 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2012-09-04.