Games, sport and play
Traditional sport, children's games, martial arts and contests.
Games, sport and play include the traditional contests, children's games and martial arts that communities have played for centuries: kabaddi in India, sumo in Japan, buzkashi in Afghanistan, mancala across Africa, hopscotch and marbles everywhere. Some are tied to festivals, such as Naadam in Mongolia or Highland games in Scotland, while others are simple pastimes of the street and the playground. They teach skill, courage and fair play, and some, such as martial arts, carry a philosophy. EveryParampara follows them by country and occasion.
Contests with a festival
Many traditional sports belong to a festival day: horse racing and wrestling at Naadam, bull leaping in Minoan Crete, the cheese roll at Cooper's Hill, kite fighting on Makar Sankranti, dragon boat racing at Duanwu. They bring the whole community out to watch, and winners are celebrated, though taking part counts for as much as winning. Some have become international sports, while others stay local and are preserved by clubs and enthusiasts.
Children and play
Children's games pass from one generation to the next without any written rules, with rhymes, counting-out songs and skipping games that appear, with variations, around the world. Board games such as chess, go, pachisi and mancala are among the oldest known. Playing them is a way to learn a culture's patterns of thinking, and many are now played online as well as on the street. They are among the most democratic of traditions, requiring few tools.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Games, sport and play (kind of tradition). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and 2 moreMongolian wrestlingBökh
A traditional folk wrestling style of the Mongols, kept as a central part of Naadam festivals across Mongolia and neighbGame
🇲🇳 Ölgii, Mongolia and 3 moreHunting with eagles
The Central Asian tradition of hunting foxes and hares from horseback with golden eagles.Game
🇯🇵 Ōmuta, JapanKarutaかるた
Japanese playing cards from the 16th century, still raced over poems each New YearGame
🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and 1 moreShagaiшагай
Traditional ankle bone games and fortune-telling played across Central Asia.Game
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanKendo剣道
A Japanese martial art of swordsmanship using bamboo swords and protective armourGame
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreCuju蹴鞠
An ancient Chinese kicking game played without hands using a stuffed or air-filled ballGame
🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreKyūdō弓道
The Japanese martial art of archery, practiced with an asymmetrical longbowGame
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreGo圍棋 (wéiqí), 囲碁 (igo), 바둑 (baduk)
Two players surround territory with black and white stones on a lined boardGame
🇯🇵 Takasaki, JapanDaruma doll達磨 (daruma)
A round Japanese wishing doll: fill one eye to set a goal, the other to mark it done.Folklore
🇰🇷 South KoreaJwibullori쥐불놀이
A Korean New Year game of whirling fire-cans to clear fields and wish good luckGame
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreJegichagi제기차기
A paper shuttlecock kicked and kept in the air, a winter game for Korean childrenGame
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North Korea and 4 moreMass games
Disciplined, large-scale gymnastic spectacles celebrating unity and national prideCeremony
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYunnori윷놀이
A Korean board and stick-tossing game played with tokens during the Lunar New YearGame
🇲🇳 Ölgii, MongoliaGolden Eagle FestivalБүргэдийн баяр
An annual gathering in western Mongolia celebrating Kazakh eagle hunting and horsemanshipFestival
🇯🇵 JapanShogi将棋 (shōgi)
Japan's two-player strategy game, where captured pieces change sides and returnGame
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreXiangqi象棋
A two-player game of armies and cannons, played on the points of a nine-by-ten boardGame
🇨🇳 Ningbo, China and 2 moreMahjong麻將
A tile game from China, played by two to four people at a tableGame
🇯🇵 Japan and 5 moreHouse
A traditional children's make-believe game of acting out domestic family rolesGame
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreTraditional games of Korea전통놀이 (jeontongnori)
Korean games kept through the seasons, from New Year board games to winter kitesGame
🇲🇳 MongoliaBlue Pearl Ice FestivalХөх Cувд Mөсний Баяр
Mongolia's yearly winter ice festival of skating races, ice shooting and horse racesFestival
🇲🇳 Ölgii, MongoliaGaridгарьд
A top wrestling title in Mongolia, named for Genghis Khan's eagle and the mythical bird Garuda.Game
🇯🇵 JapanKamifūsen紙風船
Japanese paper balloons enjoyed as self-inflating toys, gifts and festival lanternsGame
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kamifūsen: アルトクール, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hunting with eagles: Franz Roubaud, Public domain, source
- Karuta: Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress)., Public domain, source
- Shagai: User:Yaan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mass games: photo: unknown file: James Steakley, Public domain, source
- Yunnori: 국립국어원, CC BY-SA 2.0 kr, source
- Golden Eagle Festival: Altaihunters, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kendo: Source: photo taken by Harald Hofer, CC BY-SA 2.0 at, source
- Cuju: BabelStone, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kyūdō: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mongolian wrestling: U.S. Department of State, Public domain, source
- Shogi: Unknown author, CC BY 1.0, source
- Xiangqi: Francesc Fort, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mahjong: yui*, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Go: Goban1, Public domain, source
- Daruma doll: Crisco 1492, Public domain, source
- Jegichagi: Official U.S. Navy Page, Public domain, source
- Jwibullori: KOREA.NET, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Traditional games of Korea: Davidturnswood, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Blue Pearl Ice Festival: MN5, CC0, source
- Garid: hu:Burumbátor, Public domain, source
- House: Alborzagros, CC BY-SA 3.0, source