Terompah Gergasi (Giant Clog) Each group consists of 4 person. Before the whistle is blown, each of the group will be given a giant clog and all the members will have fit their foot into the clog then walk to the ending point when the whistle is blown. While doing so, the participants are not allowed to cross the line along and enter into the competitors’ territory.
Sepak Raga or Sepak Takraw is an internationally known game nowadays. This game is first played amongst the royalty, which the commoners later took on. This game only requires a ball, which is made out of rattan is also known as raga. It is an easy game to play where ten people will stand in a circle and passes the ball around. The player can either balance the ball with either of their legs or can head the ball. Whenever the player who is balancing the ball drops the ball he is called out before the game continues and this will continue until only one player is left. Another way of playing the game is with having two teams, each consisting of three players, playing against each other like in the game, volleyball (only that the use of arms/hands are forbidden; legs are used). The team with the most points accumulated after the game wins, with the team who fails to score by making the other team to drop the ball at their area.
Rakit Darat It is usually played by 5 to 8 person in the field in the evening. Bamboo, rattan or wood of 1 to 2 meters will be used in the game. Players will be divided into groups and compete with each other. Members of each group will ride on the bamboo/rattan /wooden stick where one of them will be facing the destination whereas the rest facing the other side. When the game begin, all the group members will ride on the bamboo/rattan/wooden stick and walk towards the ending point with the guidance from the member who is facing the ending point. Group that arrives earlier or faster than others will be the winner of the game.
Gasing, or top spinning, is a traditional game popular among Malays in the olden days. In rural areas, gasing contests were held during the rice-ripening season. Kampung folks believed that the spinning tops would help bring good harvest. DescriptionBoth adults and children can play the game. The object of the game is to keep the top spinning for as long as possible and the player who's top spins the longest wins. This game is fast becoming extinct and efforts are being made in Malaysia to revive interest in the game by organising top spinning competitions.
Wau (Kite Flying)See the dazzling display of kites gliding and swooping across the azure sky! Once playedby farmers on leveled ground after post-harvesting season, it now attracts people from all walks of life. Over the years, kite festivals have encouraged creativity in kite-making, thus resulting in kites that are designed in the shape of a fish, cat, caterpillar, and bird. But the Kelantanese wau-bulan (moon-kite) still remains as popular as it was years ago.
Congkak is a game of wit played by womenfolk in ancient times that required no more than holes in the earth and tamarind seeds. Today, it has been refined to a board game. It consists of a wooden board with two rows of five, seven, or nine holes and two large holes at both ends called “home”. Congkak, played with shells, pebbles or tamarind seeds, requires two players.
Traditional sports and games are part of intangible heritage and a symbol of the cultural diversity of our societies. They are also an efficient means to convey values of solidarity, diversity, inclusiveness and cultural awareness. UNESCO works to preserve, promote and develop TSG, and to ensure that they form an integral part of national and development strategies. These will all enhance our end-goal of sport for peace and development. UNESCO is currently implementing a pilot project to set up training camps in traditional wrestling sports for the youth of 22 African countries.
Moreover, traditional games and sports reflect on different cultural expressions, and create a bridge between cultures for a better mutual comprehension. On the occasion of MINEPS III, held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in 1999, the international community proposed that a significant action from UNESCO could be initiated within the framework for the promotion and preservation of traditional games and sports. In this regard, two important proposals have been made during MINEPS III. One of them is the publication of a world heritage list of traditional games and sports and the other the implementation of an incentive framework for the promotion and the preservation of these sports that should lead to the establishment of an "International Platform" for traditional games and sports. The preservation and promotion of traditional games and sports is a fundamental contribution for the valorization of such an important and essential field for the intangible world cultural heritage. Most of the traditional games and sports, expressions of indigenous cultures and ways of life contributing to the common identity of humanity, have already disappeared and those that are surviving are threatened of imminent disappearance and extinction under the combined effect of globalization and harmonization of the rich diversity of world sport heritage. Traditional Games and Sports then become an added value in terms of cultural comprehension and mutual tolerance both within the community of nations and between them, and therefore contribute to the edification of a culture of Peace.
SportSport in childhood. Association football, shown above, is a team sport which also provides social actions.A sport is commonly defined as an organized, competitive, and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play. It is governed by a set of rules or customs. In a sport the key factors are the physical capabilities and skills of the competitor when determining the outcome (winning or losing). The physical activity involves the movement of people, animals and/or a variety of objects such as balls and machines. In contrast, games such as card games and board games, though these could be called mind sports, require only mental skills. Non-competitive activities such as jogging and rock-climbing, are usually classified as recreations.Physical events such as scoring goals or crossing a line first often define the result of a sport. However the degree of skill in some sports such as diving, dressage and figure skating is judged according to well-defined criteria. This is in contrast with other judged activities such as beauty pageants and body-building shows, where skill does not have to be shown and the criteria are not as well defined.Accurate records are kept and updated for most sports at the highest levels, while failures and accomplishments are widely announced in sport news. Sports are most often played just for fun or for the simple fact that people need exercise to stay in good physical condition. However professional sport is a major source of entertainment.Although they do not always succeed, sports participants are expected to display good sportsmanship, standards of conduct such as being respectful of opponents and officials, and congratulating the winner when losing.
Modern Sports The late 19th cent. witnessed an expanding belief in sport as useful recreation, and in industrialized societies equipment was standardized, local and national organizations were set up to govern play, and a doctrine of character-building declared sports to be a necessary endeavor for men. The revival of the Olympics in 1896 and the blossoming U.S. intercollegiate athletic system boosted many forms of amateur, or unpaid, sports at the same time that professional sports (such as baseball, boxing, and bicycle racing) drew large numbers of spectators. Sports that were traditionally played in various countries became, by legislative act or general acceptance, national sports—baseball in the United States, bullfighting in Spain and Mexico, cricket in England, and ice hockey (see hockey, ice) in Canada. During the Great Depression, Americans sought inexpensive outlets for their energies; mass participation in sports such as softball and bowling resulted. At the same time, spectator sports burgeoned, and the commercialism that accompanied them gradually engulfed both amateur and professional sports. By the late 20th cent., the televising of athletic events had made sports big business. On the other hand, expanding public concern with personal physical health led to mass participation, not necessarily competitive, in sports like running, hiking, cycling, martial arts, and gymnastics. Athletic activity by women expanded, especially after political action in the 1960s and 1970s opened doors to many forms of competition and an increased share of public funding for sports. During the 20th cent., sports took on an increasingly international flavor; aside from the world championships for individual sports, like soccer's World Cup, large-scale international meets, such as the Pan-American games and the Commonwealth games, were inaugurated. Sports have correspondingly become increasingly politicized, as shown in the boycott of the 1980 Moscow games by Western nations and the retaliatory boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles games by Soviet-bloc nations, an exchange brought on by Soviet actions in Afghanistan.
Among the traditional sports in Malaysia such as wau. Although many are not aware that they are sports, but activities such as listed above are among the major events or routine activities in their spare time for some people in Malaysia.
Sports games such as Wau, dragon dance or top have features of art that symbolizes beauty and harmony of the people in Malaysia. This activity would normally do in a group of people who have the same interests. Each will share their energy, time and opinion solely to ensure that such activities can be implemented.
In addition, there are also sports that people initially played as a daily sports and has become a major sports championships such as sepak takraw that has become one of the few events in the national championship and Southeast Asia.
Kite
Partly due to the specific location of facing the South China Sea which brings to this land wind that can make a kite fly as high as one wishes, flying a kite in the clear blue sky of Terengganu was once played by farmers on leveled ground after post-harvesting season, but it now attracts people from all walks of life. Over the years, kite festivals have encouraged creativity in kite-making, thus resulting in kites that are designed in the shape of a fish, cat, caterpillar, and bird but the famous huge moon-kite (wau bulan) remains as popular as it was years ago.
Gasing (Giant Top Spinning)
Giant top spinning is no child’s game! Each gasing or top weighs approximately 5kg and the wooden tops are as big as the size of a dinner plate. It calls for strength, coordination, and skill. The gasing, if expertly hurled, can spin for as long as 2 hours. Top spinning competitions are an annual feature in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia especially Kelantan and Terengganu.
Congkak
Congkak is a game of wit played by womenfolk in ancient times. This game is usually played by 2 girls sitting face to face on the ground, using rubber seeds, saga or small marbles as the seeds. Seeds are points for the players. Total seed used depends on the number of pit in the congkak set. Say, if there are 5 pits, the total seed in each pit will be five and so on. The left most is the ‘Home’ for the player. To start the game, player chooses to take all the seeds from one pit and place one at a time into another pit including the player’s Home, moving in clockwise. Seeds are not to be put in opponent’s Home. If the last seeds in a play is placed in the player’s Home, she will be granted another turn on the other hand, if the last seed is placed in an empty pit on her side of the board, she will capture the seeds in the opposite pit and place in her own Home. The game will carry on till all the pits on one side are empty. The winner is the player who captured the most seeds.
Sepak Raga Ratus
It is usually played by 6-12 adult male in the field in evening. The players will gather in a circle and game will begin with one of the player throw the rattan ball to another participant who stands opposite of him. Receiver can either kick, head or t chest the ball for several time before sending it to another player as he wishes. It will be more interesting when any of the players able to keep the ball for a longer time without falling to the ground
Kaki Hantu (Stilt Walk)
Youngsters in the village usually play this game in evening time. Normally 2 will be in a group, both of them apart from the other with a distance of 40 to 50 feet between. The first participant will stand on a stilt and walk to his friend who is waiting at the other side. If unfortunately he falls from the stilt on the way towards his friend, he is required to go back to the stilt and continue the walk until reaches the destination. The group who finishes the walking before other will be the winner of the game.
Tapak Gajah (Elephant Steps)
A pair of coconut shells piecing with robe will be used in this game. Each group will consist of 2 participants. The first participant will ‘wear’ the coconut shell on foot and holding the robe in hand then walk to his group member. When reaches the destination, the shell will be given to the friend and the latter will do the same until. Group that reaches the ending point the first will be the winner.
Cetong Bola
This game is played by 6 to 12 boys and girls in the village. The participants will be evenly divided into 2 groups, i.e. the Cans Keeper and the Thrower. To decide which group will be the starter, a simple vote will be carried out. The Cans Keeper will arrange the cans in pyramid on a piece of wood. When this is done, members in the Thrower side will throw a ball as to fall the cans. Each of them is given three chances to do so. Until all the cans have fallen to the ground, the Keeper will take turn to throw to ball to Thrower members who are sorting and arranging the fallen cans back onto the wood. Thrower have to try their best to avoid from hit by any ball from the Keeper, otherwise they will be considered ‘die’ and will be excluded from the game. The winner will be the group who manage to arrange all the cans on the wood.
Rakit Darat
It is usually played by 5 to 8 person in the field in the evening. Bamboo, rattan or wood of 1 to 2 meters will be used in the game. Players will be divided into groups and compete with each other. Members of each group will ride on the bamboo/rattan /wooden stick where one of them will be facing the destination whereas the rest facing the other side. When the game begin, all the group members will ride on the bamboo/rattan/wooden stick and walk towards the ending point with the guidance from the member who is facing the ending point. Group that arrives earlier or faster than others will be the winner of the game.
Terompah Gergasi (Giant Clog)
Each group consists of 4 person. Before the whistle is blown, each of the group will be given a giant clog and all the members will have fit their foot into the clog then walk to the ending point when the whistle is blown. While doing so, the participants are not allowed to cross the line along and enter into the competitors’ territory.
