Traditional games of Iran
Iran has some traditional games, sports, and martial arts that date back thousands of years.[1][2][3][4] Many of these games have started to disappear due to urbanisation, the advent of computer games, and the neglect of cultural institutions.[5][6]
History
[edit]Some of the traditional Iranian games were demonstrated at the 1974 Asian Games hosted by Iran as a way of demonstrating the ability for traditional Persian culture to coexist with modern Western culture.[7]
Traditional games
[edit]Zu (Compares with Kabaddi, of Indian origin)
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Iran_men%27s_national_kabaddi_team_13970602000432636707284535394012_98208.jpg/220px-Iran_men%27s_national_kabaddi_team_13970602000432636707284535394012_98208.jpg)
Zu/Zou is similar to the better-known version of the game Kabaddi of India,[11][1] and has a history going back thousands of years in the country. In this version, the attacker starts with hawling "zou" (see above reference) the entire time performing the mission without breathing until gets back to the base. Another contrast is there is no 30 second rule in Zu. [12][13]
Haft sang
[edit]Choub bazi
[edit]Martial arts
[edit]Pahlavani
[edit]Board games
[edit]Shatranj
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Bayasanghori_Shahnameh_5_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Bayasanghori_Shahnameh_5_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Nard
[edit]Card games
[edit]Baas-o-Beyt
[edit]Pasur
[edit]Shelem
[edit]Ganjifa
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Ten_Playing_Cards_%28Ganjifa%29_LACMA_M.2001.210.4.1-.10.jpg/220px-Ten_Playing_Cards_%28Ganjifa%29_LACMA_M.2001.210.4.1-.10.jpg)
As-Nas
[edit]In 1895, General Albert Houtum-Schindler described the rules as follows:[34]
- The game of As is exactly like Poker, but without any flushes or sequences. There are four players, and each player gets five cards, dealt to the right. The dealer puts down a stake. The first player then looks at his cards. If he "goes", he says dîdam (I have seen), and covers the stake or raises it. If he does not wish to play, he says nadîdam, (I have not seen) and throws his cards. He may also "go" without looking at his cards - that is, in poker parlance, "straddle" - and says nadîd dîdam (not seeing, I have seen). The second player, if he wishes to play, must cover the stakes, and can also raise. The third player and the dealer then act in the same way just as in poker, and when the stakes of all players are equal and no one raises any more the cards are turned up and the player holding the best hand wins the stakes.
Animal events
[edit]Chovgan
[edit]Chovgan, Chowgan or Chogan (Persian: چوگان, romanized: čōwgan), is a team sport with horses that originated in ancient Iran (Persia).[35][36] It was considered an aristocratic game and held in a separate field, on specially trained horses. The game was widespread among the Asian peoples. It is played in Iran, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.[37]
It was later adopted in the Western World, known today as polo.See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Molding minds and taming times: The concept of games in Iran". Tehran Times. 2012-01-07. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ "A traditional Iranian sport has been closed off to women. One activist wants to change that". The World from PRX. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ "Wrestling-mad Iran lays the Persian carpet for kabaddi". Hindustan Times. 2019-07-28. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ "UNESCO - Chogān, a horse-riding game accompanied by music and storytelling". ich.unesco.org. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ Taheri, Laleh; Chahian, Golshan (2015-05-29). "Restoration of Traditional Children's Play in Iranian Nomadic Societies (Case Study of Kohgilouyeh and Boyer Ahmad)". Children. 2 (2): 211–227. doi:10.3390/children2020211. ISSN 2227-9067. PMC 4928756. PMID 27417360.
- ^ "Traditional games, a potential for drawing tourists". en.irna.ir. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ Huebner, Stefan (2016-05-11). Pan-Asian Sports and the Emergence of Modern Asia, 1913-1974. NUS Press. ISBN 978-981-4722-03-2.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Incheon, Rohit Brijnath, In (2014-10-05). "The art and soul of kabaddi: On India's men's and women's Asian Games gold wins in this game of catch". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Vaidya, Jaideep (2017-09-06). "From 'zouuu zouuu' to 'kabaddi kabaddi': Tracking Iran's journey to becoming India's biggest rival". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ Schwartz, David Asa (2021-06-14). Modern Sports around the World: History, Geography, and Sociology. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-4408-6880-1.
- ^ "Sistani Dance". www.visitiran.ir. Retrieved 2022-09-12.
- ^ "khorasani-dance-choub-bazi".
- ^ official IZSF
- ^ "Martial art | Definition, History, Types, & Facts". 9 April 2024.
- ^ "Traditional games of Iran" at Encyclopædia Iranica
- ^ "Pahlevani and Zoorkhanei rituals".
- ^ "Traditional games of Iran" at Encyclopædia Iranica
- ^ Shay, Anthony; Sellers-Young, Barbara (2005). Belly Dance: Orientalism, Transnationalism, and Harem Fantasy. Mazda Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56859-183-4.
the zurkhaneh exercises of Iran, Afghanistan, and Azerbaijan
- ^ Afghanistan, Foreign Policy & Government Guide. International Business Publications, USA. 2000. ISBN 978-0-7397-3700-2.
UNIVERSAL SPORTS PLAYED IN AFGHANISTAN Wrestling (Palwani)
- ^ Elias, Josie; Ali, Sharifah Enayat (2013-08-01). Afghanistan: Third Edition. Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60870-872-7.
Wrestling, or Pahlwani (pahl-wah-NEE), is popular with men all over the country.
- ^ Jean-Louis Cazaux (2012-04-20). "Shatranj". History.chess.free.fr. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
- ^ "شطرنج، دیکشنری آبادیس" (in Persian).
- ^ "11282". Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
- ^ "زارایا؛ سرای فرهنگ و هنر سیستان - زنان و کودکان سیستانی". Archived from the original on 2014-01-08. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
- ^ "Rules of Card Games: Pâsur". www.pagat.com. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
- ^ Carlisle, Rodney P. (2009). Encyclopedia of play in today's society. Los Angeles: SAGE. ISBN 9781412966702.
- ^ Parlett, David (2008), The Penguin Book of Card Games (3rd ed.), Penguin Books, ISBN 978-0-14-103787-5.
- ^ McLeod, John, ed., Iran, Card Games Website
- ^ Many different spellings and transliterations can be found, such as Ganjafa, Ghendgifeh, Gunjeefa, Ganjapa, Kanjifa, Kanjifah and so on. In arabic, the spellings كنجفة or جنجفة or غنجفه can be found. The Persian word is ganjifeh (گنجفه). In Hindi the term is गंजीफा.
- ^ At the start of the 21st Century production in India was still ongoing in the town of Sawantvadi in the west, and Odisha in the east for example. See Abram (2003: 53) and Crestin-Billet (2002: 189).
- ^ Quoted by Stewart Culin.
- ^ Massé, H. (24 April 2012). "Čawgān". In Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Vol. 2. Brill Online.
The game originated in Persia, and was generally played on horseback (...)
- ^ "The origins and history of Polo". Historic UK. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
It is since these origins in Persia that the game has often been associated with the rich and noble of society; the game was played by Kings, Princes and Queens in Persia.
- ^ В. Парфенов. (2004). Кавказские национальные конные игры. HORSE.RU. Archived from the original on 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2012-09-04.