Traditional sports and games
{{Short description|Pre-modern/non-Western heritage sports}}
{{For|the general concept of "traditional" physical sports (as opposed to esports or mind sports)|Sport}}
File:Kabaddi Game play(2273574).jpg, a traditional Indian game which has become increasingly popular around the world.]]
Traditional sports and games (often abbreviated TSG) are physical activities which were played for centuries by people around the world even before the civilization started, before the advent of modern Western sports. Many TSGs lost popularity or died off during the colonial era due to the imposition and spread of Western sports.{{Cite journal |last1=Leng |first1=Ho Keat |last2=Pyun |first2=Do Young |last3=Lin |first3=Yen-Chun |date=2023-07-14 |title=Special issue: sports and leisure management in Asia |journal=Managing Sport and Leisure |language=en |pages=1–3 |doi=10.1080/23750472.2023.2207865 |issn=2375-0472 |s2cid=259909018|doi-access=free }}{{Cite book |last1=Vaczi |first1=Mariann |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GgrWEAAAQBAJ |title=Indigenous, Traditional, and Folk Sports: Contesting Modernities |last2=Bairner |first2=Alan |date=2023-10-06 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-98328-9 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last1=Karen |first1=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0QXrBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA551 |title=Sociological Perspectives on Sport: The Games Outside the Games |last2=Washington |first2=Robert E. |date=2015-03-02 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-97394-2 |language=en}} Further decline has occurred in the post-colonial era.{{Cite web |title=Endangered Species of the Physical Cultural Landscape: Globalization, Nationalism, and Safeguarding Traditional Folk Games |url=https://scholar.google.ca/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=MPiBwVEAAAAJ&citation_for_view=MPiBwVEAAAAJ:IjCSPb-OGe4C |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=scholar.google.ca}}{{Cite journal |last1=Gilmour |first1=Callum |last2=Rowe |first2=David |date=2012-12-01 |title=Sport in Malaysia: National Imperatives and Western Seductions |url=https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ssj/29/4/article-p485.xml |journal=Sociology of Sport Journal |language=en-US |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=485–505 |doi=10.1123/ssj.29.4.485 |issn=0741-1235}}{{Cite journal |last=Shehu |first=Jimoh |date=2004 |title=Sport for all in postcolony: Is there a place for indigenous games in physical education curriculum and research in Africa |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/18146620408566267 |journal=Africa Education Review |language=en |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=21–33 |doi=10.1080/18146620408566267 |issn=1814-6627 |s2cid=143955748}}
UNESCO promotes TSG as a form of "intangible cultural heritage", and has a dedicated TSG Advisory Committee.{{Cite web |last=Kumari |first=Sonia |date=2019-03-29 |title=UNESCO TSG visited for the possibilities of organizing Traditional Sports and Games in South Korea |url=https://www.sportskeeda.com/sports/unesco-tsg-visited-for-the-possibilities-of-organizing-traditional-sports-and-games-in-south-korea |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=www.sportskeeda.com |language=en-us}}{{Cite book |last=Berti |first=Francesca |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CNPQEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA72 |title=The Shared Space of Play: Traditional Games as a Tool of Intercultural Education |date=2023-07-10 |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |isbn=978-3-643-91231-2 |language=en}} Four Collective Consultation Meetings have been held so far by UNESCO, with the fourth Collective Consultation in 2018 gathering more than 82 participants from 40 countries.{{Cite journal |last1=Khan |first1=Khalil Ahmed |last2=Tluehan |first2=Bekbolat |date=2019 |title=UNESCO traditional sports and games |url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/unesco-traditional-sports-and-games |journal=Педагогико-психологические и медико-биологические проблемы физической культуры и спорта |volume=14 |issue=2 (eng) |pages=5–8}} UNESCO also played a role in helping to found the International Council of Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG) in 2018.{{Cite web |title=Traditional sports |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/1060988-traditional-sports |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=www.thenews.com.pk |language=en}}
TSG has been linked to the way in which various peoples followed religious duties and promoted social cooperation along with a better understanding of their relationship to nature;[https://www.icsspe.org/sites/default/files/Bulletin%20No.%2067.pdf Traditional Physical Cultures, Sport and Games] https://www.icsspe.org/[https://samples.jblearning.com/0763749591/49591_ch03_mclean.pdf Early History of Recreation and Leisure] https://samples.jblearning.com/[https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-997/patch2013_paper_2.pdf Traditional Sports and Games: A New Opportunity for Personalized Access to Cultural Heritage] https://ceur-ws.org/ Mariate Linaza, Kieran Moran, and Noel E. O’Connor{{Cite web |title=Playing in nature: Traditional games and environmental stewardship |url=https://www.sportanddev.org/latest/news/playing-nature-traditional-games-and-environmental-stewardship |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=sportanddev |language=en}} TSG is also seen as a possible way to increase intercultural dialogue.{{Cite journal |last1=Saura |first1=Soraia Chung |last2=Zimmermann |first2=Ana Cristina |date=2021 |title=Traditional Sports and Games: Intercultural Dialog, Sustainability, and Empowerment |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=11 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2020.590301 |issn=1664-1078 |pmc=7873946 |pmid=33584427 |doi-access=free }}{{Cite journal |last=Parlebas |first=Pierre |date=2020 |title=The Universals of Games and Sports |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=11 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2020.593877 |pmid=33192937 |pmc=7609522 |issn=1664-1078 |doi-access=free }}
History
{{See also|History of sport|Indian sports at the 1936 Summer Olympics}}File:2014 Asian Games 3.jpg, a traditional Southeast Asian sport, being played at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, Korea.]]
During the colonial era, resistance to and influence from Western sports resulted in the standardization and introduction of organized competition for several traditional South Asian games such as kabaddi.{{Cite book |last1=Bromber |first1=Katrin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6LYZQyDBvRIC&pg=PA126 |title=Sport Across Asia: Politics, Cultures, and Identities |last2=Krawietz |first2=Birgit |last3=Maguire |first3=Joseph |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-88438-9 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last1=Love |first1=Adam |last2=Dzikus |first2=Lars |date=2020-02-26 |title=How India came to love cricket, favored sport of its colonial British rulers |url=http://theconversation.com/how-india-came-to-love-cricket-favored-sport-of-its-colonial-british-rulers-132302 |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=The Conversation |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Fischer-Tiné |first=Harald |date=2018-09-25 |title=Fitness for Modernity? The YMCA and physical-education schemes in late-colonial South Asia (circa1900–40) |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0026749x17000300 |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=53 |issue=2 |pages=512–559 |doi=10.1017/s0026749x17000300 |s2cid=149530821 |issn=0026-749X}}
From the 18th century onwards, researchers have taken a greater interest in the value of traditional games in elucidating cultural values and identities. For example, Joseph Strutt in 1801 wrote that "In order to form a just estimation of the character of any particular people, it is absolutely necessary to investigate the Sports and Pastimes most generally prevalent among them."{{Cite journal |last=Domingo |first=Darryl P. |date=2018 |title=The Character of a People: Sports and Pastimes in Eighteenth-Century Britain |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/4/article/704512/summary |journal=Eighteenth-Century Life |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=81–88 |issn=1086-3192}} The modern Olympic Games were influenced by this thinking, and were founded by Pierre de Coubertin on the basis of "All games, all nations", though this aspect of the Olympics was never fully realized and quickly faded away after a few years, with mainly only Western sports being played.
From the 1970's onwards, global attention and institutionalization has taken place to preserve TSG.{{Cite web |title=The Come-back of traditional sports and games |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000088574 |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=unesdoc.unesco.org}} In some European countries, the revival of traditional games has served as a way for regional identities to be expressed in a political or educational way.{{Cite book |last1=Hardman |first1=Ken |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sVK7BN7q-bsC&pg=PA162 |title=Contemporary Issues in Physical Education: International Perspectives |last2=Green |first2=Ken |date=2011 |publisher=Meyer & Meyer Verlag |isbn=978-1-84126-312-0 |language=en}}
TSG has been increasingly accepted into international multi-sport events such as the Asian Games and SEA Games.{{Cite web |last=Service (KOCIS) |first=Korean Culture and Information |title=Some sports only available at Asian Games : Korea.net : The official website of the Republic of Korea |url=https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Sports/view?articleId=121842 |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=www.korea.net |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Creak |first=Simon |date=2017 |title=Eternal friends and erstwhile enemies: The regional sporting community of the Southeast Asian Games |journal=TRaNS: Trans-Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=147–172 |doi=10.1017/trn.2016.29 |s2cid=133117373 |issn=2051-364X|doi-access=free }}
Governance
= International Council of Traditional Sports and Games =
{{Infobox sport governing body|name=International Council of Traditional Sports and Games|abbrev=ICTSG|founded={{Start date and years ago|2018}}|president=Khalil Ahmed Khan|url=https://traditionalsportsgames.org/|more=}}UNESCO played a role in creating the conditions to found the International Council of Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG) in 2018. Khalil Ahmad Khan became the president, and Shammi Rana appointed as the position of Secretary General; however, Rana was terminated in early 2025 for misconduct.{{Cite web |title=Latest Announcement |url=https://traditionalsportsgames.org/index.php/world/270-latest-announcement-jan25%7CRemoved |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=traditionalsportsgames.org}} The organisation declared the 14th of August as the International Day of Traditional Sports and Games.
In March 2025, Shammi Rana, CEO of the International Council of Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG), took part in a high-level event organized by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) at the UN Headquarters in New York. The event, titled "Securing the Legacy: Debriefing from Paris 2024 for Future Major Sporting Events," commemorated the fifth anniversary of UNOCT’s Global Sports Programme.{{Cite web |title=Securing the Legacy: Debriefing from Paris 2024 for Future Major Sporting Events {{!}} Office of Counter-Terrorism |url=https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/events/securing-legacy-debriefing-paris-2024 |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=www.un.org}} It brought together global stakeholders to discuss strategies for improving the safety, inclusiveness, and lasting impact of upcoming international sporting events.{{Cite journal |last=Windholz |first=Eric |date=2016-01-01 |title=Securing Health and Safety at Major Sporting Events |url=https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.6416 |journal=Sports Law and Governance Journal |volume=1 |issue=1 |doi=10.53300/001c.6416 |issn=2653-3286|doi-access=free }}
In April 2025, UNESCO clarified that it has no current affiliation with the Pakistan-based International Council of Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG). This statement followed concerns raised by former members of UNESCO’s dissolved Ad Hoc Advisory Committee, who accused ICTSG of falsely implying a partnership with the organization. UNESCO’s Sport Section formally requested that ICTSG President Khalil Ahmed Khan stop using UNESCO’s name, logo, and branding. Khan had chaired the advisory committee before it was dissolved in 2019.{{Cite web |last=Desk |first=Web |date=2025-04-16 |title=UNESCO Issues Strong Rebuttal Against False Affiliation Claims by Pakistan-Based ICTSG - SUCH TV |url=https://www.suchtv.pk/world/item/130822-unesco-issues-strong-rebuttal-against-false-affiliation-claims-by-pakistan-based-ictsg.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawJsX5NleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHk2pN0RQ_q_ks57Q_xXcygqrUt9RTAiZ94wiEvqE0pBxebS6-MHxQ_24AFk0_aem_tzwY8cidL8OD38T-1shopQ |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=www.suchtv.pk |language=en-gb}}
TSG events
One significant event for traditional sports is the African Traditional Sports and Games Multi-Event, scheduled to take place in Swakopmund, Namibia, from June 21 to June 30, 2026. This event, organized through a partnership between The Dome Namibia and Chief Michael Shamsu Mustapha of the African Traditional Sports and Games Confederation (ATSGC), aims to showcase and preserve Africa’s traditional sports and games under the guidance of Shammi Rana of the International Council of Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG). It will feature various traditional sports and cultural performances, emphasizing the importance of these practices in African heritage.{{Cite web |title=MTC Dome bid to host African traditional sports and games {{!}} nbc |url=https://www.nbcnews.na/node/106304 |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=www.nbcnews.na}}
In 2027, the Jammu and Kashmir Council of Traditional Sports and Games (JKCTSG), in collaboration with the Association of Traditional Sports and Games, India (ATSGI) and the International Council of Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG), has proposed to host the inaugural Asian Traditional Sports and Games in Jammu and Kashmir, India. This event is expected to bring together athletes from across Asia, showcasing a variety of traditional sports from different regions. The event aims to promote cultural heritage through traditional sports, in alignment with UNESCO’s mission of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. The proposal, spearheaded by Tarsem Sharma, President of JKCTSG and Vice President of ATSGI, reflects ICTSG's broader goal of global traditional sports promotion.{{Cite web |last=Excelsior |first=Daily |date=2024-09-24 |title=JKCTSG proposes to host inaugural session of Asian Traditional Sports 2027 |url=https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/jkctsg-proposes-to-host-inaugural-session-of-asian-traditional-sports-2027/ |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=Daily Excelsior |language=en-US}}
In 2028, Zimbabwe will host the Traditional Sports and Games Multi-Event Festival. The event, organized by the Zimbabwe Traditional Sports and Games Federation (ZTSGF) in partnership with the African Traditional Sports and Games Confederation (ATSGC), will feature a variety of traditional African sports, such as ball games, combat sports, dances, and water sports. The festival aims to promote cultural heritage and strengthen unity across Africa. It will take place in several cities, including Harare, Victoria Falls, and Bulawayo. This festival aligns with UNESCO's efforts to safeguard traditional sports and games, highlighting their cultural importance globally.{{Cite web |title=Zimbabwe will host the 2nd African Traditional Sports and Games in 2028. |url=https://www.herald.co.zw/zim-to-host-african-traditional-sports-games/#:~:text=THE%20Zimbabwe%20Traditional%20Sports%20and%20Games%20Federation%20are,International%20Council%20of%20Traditional%20Sports%20and%20Games%20%28ICTSG%29.}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.unesco.org/en/sport-and-anti-doping/traditional-sports-and-games UNESCO]
- [https://aejest.com/en/ AEJeST] (European platform with 105 organisations in 21 countries)
{{World topic|prefix=Traditional games of|title=Traditional games|noredlinks=yes}}