Harpastum, also called harpustum, is a ball game during the Roman Empire. The word harpastum is the Latinisation of the Greek ἁρπαστόν (harpaston), ἁρπαστός (harpastos), "carried away"; from the verb ἁρπάζω (harpazo), " to seize, to snatch." The ball used was small and hard.
An Egyptian burial chamber mural, from the tomb of Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum dating to around 2400 BCE, showing wrestlers in action.
Traditional sports and games are not only for children. They are also great as a type of physical recreation for older people.
On August 29, 2019, at the Vistula University Group in Warsaw, a group of about 60 people - students of the University of the Third Age - had the opportunity to take part in theoretical and practical classes in traditional sports and games.
It was led by an expert on traditional sports at the Institute of Sport Development and Education (Instytut Rozwoju Sportu i Edukacji) - dr Bartosz Prabucki.
During the lecture, the students learned, among others what are "traditional" sports, how to define them and how did the development of global interest in this subject look like by organizations such as UNESCO or the European Parliament. Importantly, seniors also learned about examples of traditional sports, their value and practical application. Polish sports, such as the pierścieniówka and kapele, enjoyed particular interest.
The exercise part is classes in the sports hall. The participants showed a great desire to learn about traditional sports and games: pierścieniówka and kapele. They also played in Swedish throw game - kubb.
The classes met with very positive reception from the students. Both during the lecture and during practical exercises they asked a lot of questions about the origin of traditional sports, their relationships with other games of this type or their current situation. They also gave examples of traditional sports known to them.
Papegai or papegault, depending on the region, is a word in old French that means bird, parrot. After the Crusades, when parrots were brought to Europe, it became fashionable to shoot these birds. Over time, the live animal was replaced by a bird made of wood or cardboard placed on top of a pole or pole, for bow or crossbow shooters, and then for musketeers. This sport also existed in other countries, e.g. in Scotland - Papingo Shooting, in England - Popinjay, in Denmark - Skyde Papegøjen, in the Netherlands - Papengoy.
In the picture: Archers in Avignon, 17th century.
Watercolour painting by an unknown Burmese artist depicting 19th century Burmese life
European Championship and Polish Championship in Traditional Archery
In May, it was the XC anniversary of the foundation of the International Basque Federation Pelota. Congratulations!
The illustration (1529) is in Christoph Weiditz's Trachtenbuch, an ethnographic record on the Aztec Indians in the 16th century. Presents playing the Mesoamerican Ball Game.
This version of the racquet sport, played either on small courts or simply on the street, originated in Barbados in the 1930s. Most play the game on the road, but officially a court should be 20-feet long and 10-feet across, with an eight-inch ‘net’ on the tarmac. When the game first started, a standard tennis ball was used, but over time the ball was ‘skinned’ with the felt taken off to leave just the inside. Similarly, rackets are wooden – resembling large table tennis paddles without the rubber – rather than the strung composite rackets.
Ethiopia, a country with a history and culture dating back thousands of years, has yet to have its past fully documented and understood.
At the moment, there now exist over 293 registered traditional and cultural sports and games in Ethiopia.
The earliest evidence of one of these games was found in Yeha (modern day Ethiopia) and Matara (modern day Eritrea).
It is dated to between the 6th and 7th century AD during the time of the powerful Aksumite Kingdom and was found in the form of pieces of a pottery board with several rock cuts.
In the 14th century, Giyorgis of Segla who wrote the "Mysteries of Heaven and Earth" in Ge'ez, mentions the word "qarqis", which is a Ge'ez word referring to both the Gebeta and Senteraj board games.
It is widely believed that Gebeta, commonly referred to as Mancala is one of the oldest board games in history.
More recently, Ethiopian Emperors Tewodros, Yohannes IV and Menelik II were documented to have organized and led traditional and cultural sporting events, lavishly awarding the winners.
We recommend a very interesting article on Ethiopian sports and traditional games: https://allaboutethio.com/10-best-ethiopian-traditional-sports-games.html
Artist: Knud Bergslien (1827-1908)
Title: Skiing Birchlegs Crossing the Mountain with the Royal Child.
Depiction of Birkebeiner skiers carrying Prince Haakon to safety during the winter of 1206 has become a national Norwegian icon. The prince grew up to be King Haakon IV whose reign marked the end of the period known as the Civil war era in Norway.
Source: Birkebeinerne på Ski over Fjeldet med Kongsbarnet. The Ski Museum. Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway.
A Persian miniature from the poem Guy-o Chawgân ("the Ball and the Polo-mallet") during Safavid dynasty of Persia, which shows courtiers on horseback playing a game of polo, 1546 AD.
Kazimierz Waluch, the President of the Institute for Sport Development and Education, will participate, as a guest of the World Ethnosport Confederation (WEC), at the 2nd International Ethnosport Forum, "Reviving Traditional Sports", which will take place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on April 20-21, 2019.
