Malay Kampong Games

Content Traditional games and sports Types of games Congkak Sepak Takraw Gasing/Top Spinning Wau

Traditional Games And Sports Traditional Malay games and sports showed the gotong-royong (mutual help) spirit of the community. Some, like the congkak, tested intelligence and mental abilities.

More popular among Malay children and women, congkak is an indoor game played by two players by    taking turns to fill in the holes on the congkak board (papan congkak) with congkak seeds (biji congkak, made usually from saga or rubber seeds or small marbles). Each player is entitled to eight holes with the left-most one being his "home". The player with the most number of seeds in his "home" wins the game. Congkak is a game of wit played by womenfolk in ancient times that required no more than holes in the earth and tamarind seeds. Today, it has been refined to a board game. It consists of a wooden board with two rows of five, seven, or nine holes and two large holes at both ends called "home". Congkak, played with shells, pebbles or tamarind seeds, requires two players. Congkak

Sepak Takraw Sepak Takraw is a word that comes from two different languages. Sepak means, “kick” and it came from a Malay word, whereas Takraw means “ball”, and it came from a Thai word. This is a game that consists of six players and the ball is made of plastic. Many countries have begun to play this type of game like Japan, China, Thailand and other interested countries. The players have to maintain the ball from touching the ground by using their legs and head only. In the middle of the Takraw court, there is a net that separates competitors into two separate sides. The winning score for this game is 15 points.

Gasing Gasing (top) was a popular Malay game among children and adults. It was played during festivals or for leisure. Gasing competitions were often held in kampongs and in most cases involved the whole village community. Giant top spinning is no child's game! Each gasing or top weighs approximately 5kg. It calls for strength, coordination, and skill. The gasing, if expertly hurled, can spin for as long as 2 hours. Top spinning competitions are an annual feature in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia especially Kelantan and Terengganu.

Top Spinning In Malaysia, top spinning is widely practiced in Malay culture. Tops are very popular and are one of the necessary games that Malay will perform whenever there is a cultural performance. A top is as big as a bowling ball and sometimes it can weigh up to ten pounds. It is made of wood and tin. To play a game of top spinning requires players to have skillful spinning style, and patience in order to wind a string around the bottom of the top. When every competitor is ready, players will begin to use their special skills to make their tops spin on the ground. The player with the longest top spin time will win the prize.

Nobody really knows exactly the time when top spinning was discovered, but the age of the game is at least 2000 years. A curious child, who was first using a nut or acorn to spin, discovered it. A child’s curiosity has turned top spinning into a game that is practiced worldwide. In China, they call it “TSA LIN” or “KO-EN-GEN,” in Japan, they call it “Koma Asobi,” in Europe they call it “Diabolo” and many other countries in the world also play the game.

Wau Wau means “kite;” it came from a Malay word. Wau has a long history; its existence goes back hundreds of years, when farmers used kites to keep birds from eating their crops in the fields and some even used kites as a way to make their children sleep. The hum of the kite as it is blown by the wind makes the children. Wau is made of bamboo. For quality purposes, the bamboo is split and dried under the sun for two weeks, as this will prevents weevil attacks and also makes it more flexible. A wau can reach a height of more than 450 meters in the sky.

It is a very popular game that is still practiced in Malaysia; the two most popular states are Kelantan and Terengganu. This game is played especially during harvest time. The most popular waus are Wau Bulan (Crescent Kite), Wau, Kuching and also Wau Sobek. Kite flying is the only game that has no specific rules and every kite-player is free to play as they wish

Thankies . . . Done by : Candy Chen (2) Bernadine Chia (6) Devien Law (11) Tsui Yuqi (25)