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Nepal has many traditional games that are similar to other traditional South Asian games.^[1] Many of these games were played during local cultural festivals,^[2] but are now disappearing because of technological influence and globalisation.^[3]

History

Dandi biyo and kabaddi, which were considered the unofficial national sports until recently, are still popular in rural areas. Despite efforts, standardisation and development of dandi biyo has not been achieved, while kabaddi, as a professional sport, is still in its infancy in Nepal. Bagh-chal, an ancient board game that is thought to have originated in Nepal, can be played on chalk-drawn boards, with pebbles, and is still popular today. Ludo, snakes and ladders and carrom are popular pastimes. Chess is also played. Volleyball was declared as the national sport of Nepal in 2017. Popular children's games include versions of tag, knucklebones, hopscotch, Duck, duck, goose and lagori, while marbles, top, hoop rolling and gully cricket are also popular among boys. Rubber bands, or ranger bands cut from tubes in bike tyres, make a multi-purpose sporting equipment for Nepali children, which may be bunched or chained together, and used to play dodgeball, cat's cradle, jianzi and a variety of skipping rope games.

Traditional games

Dandi biyo

Dandi biyo (Nepali: डन्डी बियो, pronounced [ˈɖʌɳɖi ˈbijo] ) is a game played in Nepal which was considered the de facto national game until 23 May 2017, when volleyball was declared as the national sport. Dandi biyo is played with a stick (dandi) about 2 feet (61 cm) long and a wooden pin (biyo) about 6 inches (15 cm) long. The pin is a small wooden stick with pointed ends. The game is similar to the Indian game gilli danda. The government has not implemented any policies for the preservation of dandi biyo, and with decreasing players^[4] the game is expected to be extinct soon.^[5]

Guccha

This game (also known as marbles) involves participants flicking marbles with their fingers in the hopes of pushing opponents' marbles outside of the playing area.^[6]^[7]

Bhurung

Pambaram (Tamil: பம்பரம், Malayalam: പമ്പരം), also called the Lattu (Urdu: لٹو), Latim (Bengali: লাটিম), Lattoo (Bhojpuri: 𑂪𑂗𑂹𑂗𑂴) Bhawra (Marathi: भावरा), Buguri (Kannada: ಬುಗುರಿ), or Bongaram (Telugu: బొంగరం), is a traditional throwing top used mainly in India and Bangladesh.^[8]^[9]

In Nepal, the spinning top is known as a bhurung or lattu.^[10]^[6]

Dhyakki

Dhyakki (or piya) is a form of hopscotch in which players must move a rock across the playing area as they hop through it.^[7]

Ball games

Chungi

Chungi (Nepali: चुङ्गि) is a traditional game played by children in Nepal and northeastern India.^[11]^[12] The setup of the game is similar to hacky sack.^[13] It is played with a ball made by tying a group of rubber bands in the middle.^[14]

Seven stones

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.

Though this game goes by other names in neighboring countries, it is primarily known in Nepal as seven stones.^[15]

Variations of tag

Kabaddi

Kabaddi (/kəˈbædi/,^[16] /ˈkʌbədi/)^[17] is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players, originating in ancient India.^[18] The objective of the game is for a single player on offense, 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.

Kabaddi (also known locally as kapardi)^[19] has been declining in Nepal in recent decades.^[20]

Kho-kho

Board games

Bagh-chal

Bagh-chal (Nepali: चाल^ⓘ bāgh cāl, Newar: धुँ कासा dhun kasa meaning "tiger game")^[21] is a strategic, two-player board game that originated in Nepal. The game is asymmetric in that one player controls four tigers and the other player controls up to twenty goats. The tigers 'hunt' the goats while the goats attempt to block the tigers' movements. This game is also seen in southern India with a different board, but the rules are the same. This game is popular in rural areas of the country.^[22]

Animal events

Bull Fighting

Elephant polo

Elephant polo is a variant of polo played while riding elephants. It is played in Nepal, and Thailand. England and Scotland regularly field teams. Equipment consists of a standard polo ball and a 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) to 3 metres (9.8 ft) cane (similar to bamboo) sticks with a polo mallet head on the end. The pitch is three-quarters of the length of a standard polo pitch, due to the lower speed of the elephants. Two people ride each elephant; the elephants are steered by mahouts, while the player tells the mahout which way to go and hits the ball.

Elephant polo originated in Meghauli, Nepal. Tiger Tops in Nepal remains the headquarters of elephant polo and the site of the World Elephant Polo Championships.^[23]

Notes

References

^ diwakar (2022-03-06). "With no inter-generational transformation, Nepal's traditional local games are dying - OnlineKhabar English News". Retrieved 2023-08-24.
^ "Exploring the World of Sports in Nepal: History, Popular Sports, and Future Prospects". Trending Insights. 2023-04-16. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
^ "Call for preservation and promotion of indigenous sports of Nepal". Khabarhub. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
^ "Nepal's 'national sport' we never had: Five things you didn't know about dandi-biyo". OnlineKhabar. March 17, 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
^ "Save Dandi Biyo - Save Our National Game - Save the National Identity of Nepal". Meronepalma.com. Archived from the original on Apr 25, 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Old-school games to take you down memory lane". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
^ ^a ^b SIDDIQUE, BENAZIR AHMED (2021-08-31). "Childhood games in Nepal". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
^ Oliver, Valerie. "History of Spin Top". www.yoyomuseum.com. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
^ The Lost Art of Spinning Tops. Lourens Bas & Arthur Verdoorn. 2011.
^ Bureau, The Week. "The games we played". My Republica. Retrieved 2023-08-24. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
^ Barnouw, Victor (1956). "Some Eastern Nepalese Customs: The Early Years". Southwestern Journal of Anthropology. 12 (3): 257–271. doi:10.1086/soutjanth.12.3.3629084. ISSN 0038-4801. JSTOR 3629084. S2CID 75371463. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
^ Hamal, Nikki (25 February 2018). "More than just child's play". The Himalayan Times. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
^ "The games we played". My Republica. The Week Bureau. April 5, 2019. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
^ Basnyat, Aarti (Jul 2010). "Nepali Street Games". ECS NEPAL. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
^ "Nepali Street Games". ECS NEPAL. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
^ kabaddi Cambridge Dictionary
^ 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.
^ "Kabaddi: History, Origin, rules and the Pro Kabaddi League". Khel Now. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
^ "Advocates Hope Nepal Picks Kabaddi, Traditional Game of Strength and Stamina, as National Sport". Global Press Journal. 2015-04-20. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
^ Vaswani, Anjana (June 3, 2018). "Games people played". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
^ Tandukar, Shranup (9 September 2021). "Bagh Chal: A native board game on the brink of extinction". The Kathmandu Post. Archived from the original on 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
^ "Bushell at elephant polo World Cup". BBC News. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2009. A team from England have become the new world champions of elephant polo. Air Tuskers beat Scotland's Chivas, on Friday in Southern Nepal.

[1] wakar (2022-03-06). "With no inter-generational transformation, Nepal's traditional local games are dying - OnlineKhabar English News". Retrieved 2023-08-24.

[2] "Exploring the World of Sports in Nepal: History, Popular Sports, and Future Prospects". Trending Insights. 2023-04-16. Retrieved 2023-08-24.

[3] "Call for preservation and promotion of indigenous sports of Nepal". Khabarhub. Retrieved 2023-08-24.

[4] "Nepal's 'national sport' we never had: Five things you didn't know about dandi-biyo". OnlineKhabar. March 17, 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2019.

[Dandi_biyo_Dandi_Biyo_to_be_extinct-5] "Save Dandi Biyo - Save Our National Game - Save the National Identity of Nepal". Meronepalma.com. Archived from the original on Apr 25, 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[:0-6] "Old-school games to take you down memory lane". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 2023-08-24.

[:1-7] SIDDIQUE, BENAZIR AHMED (2021-08-31). "Childhood games in Nepal". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 2023-08-25.

[8] Oliver, Valerie. "History of Spin Top". www.yoyomuseum.com. Retrieved 2017-04-16.

[9] The Lost Art of Spinning Tops. Lourens Bas & Arthur Verdoorn. 2011.

[10] Bureau, The Week. "The games we played". My Republica. Retrieved 2023-08-24. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)

[11] Barnouw, Victor (1956). "Some Eastern Nepalese Customs: The Early Years". Southwestern Journal of Anthropology. 12 (3): 257–271. doi:10.1086/soutjanth.12.3.3629084. ISSN 0038-4801. JSTOR 3629084. S2CID 75371463. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.

[12] Hamal, Nikki (25 February 2018). "More than just child's play". The Himalayan Times. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.

[13] "The games we played". My Republica. The Week Bureau. April 5, 2019. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.

[Chungi_ecs01-14] Basnyat, Aarti (Jul 2010). "Nepali Street Games". ECS NEPAL. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.

[15] "Nepali Street Games". ECS NEPAL. Retrieved 2023-08-24.

[16] Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.

[17] Cambridge Dictionary

[Kabaddi_:5-18] 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.

[19] "Kabaddi: History, Origin, rules and the Pro Kabaddi League". Khel Now. Retrieved 2023-08-24.

[20] "Advocates Hope Nepal Picks Kabaddi, Traditional Game of Strength and Stamina, as National Sport". Global Press Journal. 2015-04-20. Retrieved 2023-08-24.

[21] Vaswani, Anjana (June 3, 2018). "Games people played". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 2023-07-25.

[22] Tandukar, Shranup (9 September 2021). "Bagh Chal: A native board game on the brink of extinction". The Kathmandu Post. Archived from the original on 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-09-09.

[23] "Bushell at elephant polo World Cup". BBC News. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2009. A team from England have become the new world champions of elephant polo. Air Tuskers beat Scotland's Chivas, on Friday in Southern Nepal.

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Traditional games of Nepal