Many people tend to confuse between traditional games with the national games. But, both of them differs from each other. Traditional games are played informally by the children in schools with their friends. It requires minimum to no equipment. Whereas, national games of countries are the games which are played on international platforms, like Cricket, Hockey, Football, etc.
Every day at school, children work hard but, it becomes fun when they use some energy and play games with friends. Moreover, the sports based traditional games are fun but, they also teach kids some important values and life skills. These skills include self-confidence, team work, communication, inclusion, discipline, respect and fair play. Let us read some of the popular traditional games that children play all over world.
source- britannica.com
Kabaddi (Sri Lanka)
This contact team sport Kabaddi, played between two teams of seven players. It is a traditional game of Sri Lanka. The sport became popular in the twentieth century as a competitive sport. Teams from all over the world began participating professional and international leagues like Asian games. Played on a rectangular court, divided into two parts in indoor stadiums. During the match, one member of the team, called raider, goes in the court of the other team. He has to recite continuously ‘Kabaddi-Kabaddi’ and touch or tag player(s) of the opposite team and run back to his part of the court. Moreover, he has to do it in one breath. Teams score points by tackling the raider or by getting tagged by the raider.
Gilli-Danda (Pakistan)
Gilli Danda derives from ghaṭikā, literally meaning “tip-cat”. Ghaṭikā, a game played by players using two sticks, one long and the other short. Played by hitting the shorter stick with the longer stick. Many countries from the south Asian sub-continental countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, still knows ghaṭikā. The longer stick should be about 11⁄2 feet (0.46 m) and the shorter stick about 6 inches (150 mm). There are certain rules for preparing both the sticks and playing the game with them.
source- bhamsportandsocial.com
Dodgeball (United States)
This traditional game of the US has two teams who play against each other. Each team has six players. They have to eliminate the team members of the opposite team by hitting them with a ball below their shoulder. However, at the same time they also have to dodge the balls coming at them from the opponent team. You cannot catch the coming balls or step out of the court, as it counts as foul. The game lasts for forty minutes, two bouts of twenty minutes each. Moreover, April 27 is recognized as International Dodgeball Day.
Touch Tag (United Kingdom)
This traditional game of United Kingdom has many names for it, touch tag being the most famous one. This running game comprises of two or more players, needs no equipment. The person, referred as ‘it’ runs and catches or touches the other player by hand. While the other players run. And if the ‘it’ catches someone, it shouts -‘Tag, you’re it!’ And when the ‘it’ catches a player, the player has to sit out of the game.
source- traditionalsports.org
Kho Kho (India)
Invented in the Indian state of Maharashtra, Kho Kho is a very popular tag game. Played between two teams of twelve people, out of which nine sit on their knees, also called chasers. And the other three, defends the team by avoiding being touched by members of the opposing team. Kho Kho is the most popular game in the Indian sub-continent, other being Kabaddi. The origin of this traditional game of India, dates back to pre-historic India. Nowadays, it has become quite popular amongst the school children as a competitive game.
Seven Stones (Jordan)
A member of one team, that is the seeker, throws a ball at a pile of stones to knock them over. The seekers then try to restore the pile of stones while staying safe from the opposing team’s throws. The hitters’ objective is to hit the seekers with the ball before they can reconstruct the stone pile. If the ball touches a seeker and that seeker is out and the team the seeker came from continues to approach without the seeker. A seeker can always safeguard themselves by touching an opposite team member before the ball hits the seeker.
source- pinterest.ph
Luksong-Baka (Philippines)
Luksong-Baka, in English translates into ‘Jump over the Cow’. This traditional Filipino game originated in Bulacan. Minimum of three to ten players can play this game at a time. In this game, the children line up and take turns to jump over the Baka (Cow). The main motive is to jump over the cow without touching it or falling over it. However, if anyone falls over or touches the cow, they becomes the cow.
Therefore, now you may realize the versatility of the world and how people follow different traditions. But, what makes it even more interesting is that even though these games are traditional games of one country, but they are popular all over the world with same or different name. These traditional games play a very important role in every child’s over all development. Therefore, it is important that kids indulge themselves in such games and sports. Moreover, you can also go and look up at the website of UNICEF for more traditional games of different countries.
For more such article, click here
