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PESHAWAR — The two-month indigenous games festival in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is in full swing, with thousands of spectators visiting to recall memories of the past when indigenous games were played everywhere.
To revive KP’s culture and traditions, the provincial sports directorate and the KP Tourism Corporation launched an indigenous games festival during April and May province-wide.
Games for women have been included in the festival and have drawn a large number of participants in the provincial capital and other cities.
The purpose of holding the festival is to revive the indigenous games of the province,” director general sports KP, Khan Zeb, told Central Asia Online. “It is indeed a matter of pleasure to preserve our culture and traditions.”
The festival began with games in Haripur District April 3. Athletes participated in wrestling, kabadi, ox races, pigeon races and stone lifting. The games were a tremendous attraction for spectators. Senior citizens especially enjoyed the revival of the games of their youth.
“It looks great to me,” Haji Abdul Jalil, 70, of Havelian, in Haripur, said of the ox races. He recalled doing them when he was young, but said he had not seen one in a long time. “Whoever is doing this is really serving the culture,” he said.
The second set of games took place in Lachi, Kohat District, where horse races, ainda and other traditional games were held, Zeb said. Competitions took place in Dera Ismail Khan April 10, Manshera April 14, Bannu April 17 and Swabi April 21.
More games are set for Lakki Marwat, Nowshera, Upper Dir, Swat, Abbottabad, Mardan, Charsadda and Peshawar in coming days. An official said the government wants to cover the entire province so everybody from KP can participate in or watch the traditional games, which have long been absent from society.
Women are participating in mirgatee, chindro, rassi tappa, kukoo, pitoogaram, etc. A number of female athletes have started practicing at the Qayyum stadium in Peshawar, where the games are scheduled for the second week of May.
“Some elders of Mardan used to arrange an annual tournament of mukha while kabadi is being played in different districts under the patronage of local elders,” said Lahore resident Rahmanullah, who welcomed the return of the games to Lahore for the first time in years. “But (it’s a good thing) that this time the government is organising the event.”
In some areas, police officials worried about holding games during a time of suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks. However, the provincial sports directorate insisted on staging the games at all costs, for the sake of reviving them and entertaining the general public, Zeb said.
“We have launched the festival of indigenous games to promote and revive our culture,” said KP Sports Minister Syed Aqil Shah. Games belonging to the local culture deserve preservation for future generations, he said.
“Our purpose is to revive and encourage the regional games along with the games of modern times,” Shah said. “The KP government is taking these steps to preserve and revive traditional sport.”
Shah strongly supported holding the 31st National Games in Peshawar despite militant threats. Officials postponed them twice after he refused to move them to another province. Finally they agreed to hold them in Peshawar last November. No problems arose.
“To discourage youth from being involved in negative activities, we have to provide them opportunities to utilise their time positively,” Zeb said. “Sport is the best use of (their) spare time.”
http://www.centralasiaonline.com/coc.../07/feature-01
To revive KP’s culture and traditions, the provincial sports directorate and the KP Tourism Corporation launched an indigenous games festival during April and May province-wide.
Games for women have been included in the festival and have drawn a large number of participants in the provincial capital and other cities.
The purpose of holding the festival is to revive the indigenous games of the province,” director general sports KP, Khan Zeb, told Central Asia Online. “It is indeed a matter of pleasure to preserve our culture and traditions.”
The festival began with games in Haripur District April 3. Athletes participated in wrestling, kabadi, ox races, pigeon races and stone lifting. The games were a tremendous attraction for spectators. Senior citizens especially enjoyed the revival of the games of their youth.
“It looks great to me,” Haji Abdul Jalil, 70, of Havelian, in Haripur, said of the ox races. He recalled doing them when he was young, but said he had not seen one in a long time. “Whoever is doing this is really serving the culture,” he said.
The second set of games took place in Lachi, Kohat District, where horse races, ainda and other traditional games were held, Zeb said. Competitions took place in Dera Ismail Khan April 10, Manshera April 14, Bannu April 17 and Swabi April 21.
More games are set for Lakki Marwat, Nowshera, Upper Dir, Swat, Abbottabad, Mardan, Charsadda and Peshawar in coming days. An official said the government wants to cover the entire province so everybody from KP can participate in or watch the traditional games, which have long been absent from society.
Women are participating in mirgatee, chindro, rassi tappa, kukoo, pitoogaram, etc. A number of female athletes have started practicing at the Qayyum stadium in Peshawar, where the games are scheduled for the second week of May.
“Some elders of Mardan used to arrange an annual tournament of mukha while kabadi is being played in different districts under the patronage of local elders,” said Lahore resident Rahmanullah, who welcomed the return of the games to Lahore for the first time in years. “But (it’s a good thing) that this time the government is organising the event.”
In some areas, police officials worried about holding games during a time of suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks. However, the provincial sports directorate insisted on staging the games at all costs, for the sake of reviving them and entertaining the general public, Zeb said.
“We have launched the festival of indigenous games to promote and revive our culture,” said KP Sports Minister Syed Aqil Shah. Games belonging to the local culture deserve preservation for future generations, he said.
“Our purpose is to revive and encourage the regional games along with the games of modern times,” Shah said. “The KP government is taking these steps to preserve and revive traditional sport.”
Shah strongly supported holding the 31st National Games in Peshawar despite militant threats. Officials postponed them twice after he refused to move them to another province. Finally they agreed to hold them in Peshawar last November. No problems arose.
“To discourage youth from being involved in negative activities, we have to provide them opportunities to utilise their time positively,” Zeb said. “Sport is the best use of (their) spare time.”
http://www.centralasiaonline.com/coc.../07/feature-01
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