CULTURE OF MALAYSIA : Games

MALAYSIAN TRADITIONAL GAMES

One of the pleasures of visiting villages in the rural areas of Malaysia is to watch the playing of traditional games. It is even better to participate in one of the games. Some of the simpler games played by children come from nature, such as using red saga seeds as marbles, catching a wild spider to pit it against another spider, walking on “stilts” made of coconut shells, and using rubber seeds as conkers. However, there are many games that are also zealously played by adults that often hold spectators in awe.

MALAY

GASING (TOP SPINNING)

Top spinning draws excited yells and shouts from both spectators and players. Strength, skill and physical dexterity are needed to launch a top, which is as big as a Frisbees and weighing as much as five kilogrames. Tops are normally of two popular designs. The gasing jantung is heart-shaped while the gasing uri is flattened in shape. There are two types of competitions: endurance and knockout. In the endurance competition, the gasing uri is launched and, once spinning, it is scooped up with a small wooden paddle. It is then transferred onto a small post and allowed to spin. The winner is the top which spins the longest – sometimes it can spin for two hours. In a knockout competition, a player tries to knock another player’s spinning top outside a circle using his own top. The ropes used for launching a top are different for each of its function. To maximize its spin, the rope is usually long and thin; while a top used for striking is usually spun using a thick and short rope. The execution of a launch by a master top spinner is done in fluid but powerful movements. Tops are usually made of the merbau and afzella trees, and top-making requires great skill. Top-spinning competitions are often organised on a state, national and international level. Brunei, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand and Japan are among the keen participants in top-spinning competitions.

CONGKAK

Played by two persons, congkak has existed since the time of the Melaka Sultanate in the 15th century.The equipment used is a boat-shaped wooden board with two rows of holes (usually 12) and one large hole (rumah) at each end. Each player’s rumah is the large hole at the left. The holes are filled with rubber seeds (or marbles). Each player’s aim is to move the seeds in a clockwise direction through the holes to his rumah while observing several rules of the game. The player who gets the most of the seeds in the rumah wins.

BATU SEREMBAN

Batu seremban or five stones is a game originally played by girls. This is an easier game to play compare to congkak because it only needs five stones or five round objects to play with. You can either play with five, seven or nine objects determining to what type of game you are playing.
The objective of the game is to throw one of the stones one at a time and sweeping another on the floor simultaneously catching the one you threw earlier on. This game continues to advance stages where the game gets complicated. This game is enjoyed by all sex nowadays no matter whether you’re old or young you can still play this game and have fun.

CHINESE

MAHJONG

Mahjong is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players (with some three-player variations found in Korea and Japan). While the single player tile matching game mahjong solitaire is familiar in the West, in Asia it is the four-player table version which holds predominance and has little in common with the solitaire version other than using the same tiles. Similar to the Western card game rummy, mahjong is a game of skill, strategy and calculation and involves a certain degree of chance.

XIANGGI

Xiangqi is a Chinese board game played by two players. Xiangqi is in the same familywith chess. Present form of Xiangqi originated in China, so it is known as ChineseChess. The game was found to have started playing as early as the 4th century AD inChina. Xiangqi is one of the most popular board games in the world. Unique featuresinclude the unique movement pao (cannon), the regulations prohibit the commander(such as "king" in chess) from meeting the same line, and "river" and "palace" that restrict the movement of some pieces.

GO

Go (圍棋 weiqi in Chinese, 囲碁 igo in Japanese, 바둑 baduk in Korean, common meaning: "encircling game") is a board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago. The game is noted for being rich in strategy despite its relatively simple rules.

INDIAN

CHATURANGAM (CHESS)

The game of chess originated in India in the 6th century. Chess comprises of three animals- horse, camel and elephant, knight, bishop and rook in chess. Chess game has spread throughout the world and their name derived from the Sanskrit game Chaturanga.

Chathurangam is the ancient form of chess that we play now. With 64 squares on the board and many coins as bishop, chariot, king, etc. the game is played till one opponent checkmates the other to win the game.


KABBADI



In Kabaddi, two teams compete with each other for higher scores, by touching or capturing the players of the opponent team. Each team consists of 12 players, of which seven are on court at a time, and five in reserve. The two teams fight for higher scores, alternating defence and offense. The court is as large as that for a dodge ball game. The game consists of two 20 minute halves, with a break of five minutes for change of sides. The kabaddi playing area is 12.50m x 10m, divided by a line into two halves. The side winning the toss sends a 'raider', who enters the opponents' court chanting, 'kabaddi-kabaddi'. The raider's aim is to touch any or all players on the opposing side, and return to his court in one breath.