Samvaad 2017

Tribal sports

Kati, Jharkhand

Kati is a game of quick reflexes and deft footwork. It requires a keen eye, strong limbs and expert eye-hand-leg co-ordination. Pioneered by the Santhals, it is traditionally played after the harvest season by teams each comprising 10 members. Every player has a kati or a semi-circular disc made of tamarind wood and a tarhi or a 6ft bamboo stick. All katis lie on the centre line of a rectangular court. Players try to propel the bamboo stick with their feet to hit the opponent's kati. Every successful hit gets a score.

Sekkor, Jharkhand

Traditionally, Sekkor is a game played by the Ho tribe. Legend has it that this ancient game was first played between two early men and Devils and eventually the early men won. Sekkor is a large oval-shaped wooden top loosely attached with a string. The players in the team are usually in odd numbers, five being the minimum. The objective of the game is to keep on hitting the sekkor of the opponent team till it goes out of a marked circle. However, it is a time-bound game.

Naga Wrestling, Nagaland

This form of wrestling is practiced by the Tenyimia tribes-the Angami, Chakhesang and Zeliangrong tribes of Nagaland, and the Mao, Maram and Poumai Naga tribes of Manipur. Each wrestler wears a coloured cloth called 'Pfhephre', which is tied in the traditional reef knot, around the waist. Holding the opponent's waist-binder with both hands, the wrestler must attempt to topple the other onto the ground. It is considered a 'fall' if the wrestler's chest, shoulder, back, buttock or thigh makes contact with the ground. The wrestlers normally wrestle two bouts, and in case of a tie, a deciding third bout is played out to find the winner. The sport started out as a conflict-resolution mechanism where disputes over land, water and the like were settled through wrestling. It was also used to forge relationships between and within tribes.

Hambi, Assam

Hambi Kepathu is a traditional game of the Karbi tribe in Assam, played with hambis or nicker beans. This game is played between two teams comprising of two players, each signifying a village. The objective of the game is to strike the opponents hambi placed on the ground seven meters away, and whichever does so first, is declared winner. There are twenty-five steps involved in the game, involving various part of the body to launch the hambi towards the target. The team that first succeeds in achieving the twenty five points is declared the winner.

Number of Participants:

  • Naga Wrestling: 6
  • Hambi Kepathu: 5
  • Sekkor: 11
  • Kati: 11
Program Schedule Date Time
Events
Naga Wrestling Hambi Kepathu 16.11.2017 3 P.M-5 P.M
Hambi Kepathu Kati 17.11.2017 3 P.M-5 P.M
Naga Wrestling Hambi Kepathu 18.11.2017 3 P.M-5 P.M
Naga Wrestling Sekkor 19.11.2017 3 P.M-5 P.M

Did you know?

  • The first tribal conclave, by an Indian corporate house, Samvaad commemorates the birth anniversary of tribal freedom fighter, Birsa Munda and the Statehood Day of Jharkhand.

  • Samvaad was organised for the first time in 2014 at Jamshedpur and was attended by 1500+ tribals from across India.

  • From ‘Amchi’ of Ladakh to ‘Hodopathy’ of Jharkhand and Odisha, tribal medicinal systems are as old as the soil itself.

  • The Asuras of Gumla district in Jharkhand are only about 10,500 in number. Predominantly engaged in crude iron manufacture, their products remain perpetually rust-free!

  • Six predominant pre-agricultural tribal communities abound in Andhra Pradesh of which the Chenchus, who live in the Nallamala forest, earn their livelihood by selling forest products.

  • Chhattisgarh has 30 tribal communities and 5 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) – Birhor, Paharkowa, Baiga, Kamar and Abujmaria.

  • The Abujmaria tribe from Chhattisgarh derives its name from ‘abujh’ meaning ‘unknown’ and ‘mar’ meaning ‘mountains’. So these are the people of the unknown mountains.

  • A need-based and not greed-based economy is the tribal mantra of subsistence.

  • Ladakh is a malaria and tetanus-free zone, while Odisha and the North-East states have solutions for malaria, typhoid and whooping cough.

  • Santhali, along with Bodo are the two tribal languages recognised by the Constitution of India.

  • With 81 lakh tribal people; 62 tribal groups and 13 primitive tribes; 23.12% of Odisha’s total population are tribals.

  • Odisha formerly had 40 tribal languages, however, currently; there are only 20 languages that have survived the ravages of time.