Indigenous games are those typical of a particular region or country that are part of the culture and traditions. They generally have an ancestral origin and are the product of popular ingenuity.
Examples of autochthonous games, also called traditional games, are the game of the spinning top, the marbles, the shuffleboard, stop, the lasso, the gurrufío, the stick, the donkey jump, the yoyo and the whirligig, among others.
In some countries, many of the original games are part of popular or traditional sports, also known as indigenous or rural sports.
If these are played by children they are not usually considered sports. But if they are played by adults and under certain criteria of formality, they are considered sports.
Some authors make the distinction between popular games, traditional games and indigenous games.
However, nowadays the differences between these games are very slight because an original, cultural and integrating element is present in all of them.
You may also be interested in:
- The traditional games of Yucatán.
- The traditional games of Campeche.
Specific indigenous games
There are games that are indigenous or native to a specific place, and are even played only in that place. This is the case of the Aztec ball game, which was practiced in the Mesoamerican culture of Mexico.
It was called tlachtli and had a religious and very bloody purpose. Others are cucaña (Canary Islands), Basque pelota (Basque Country) or cricket (England).
Currently there are very few pure indigenous games, which are played only in a certain region or country. The gurrufío is an example of this, since it is only played in Venezuela.
The gurrufío is a traditional Venezuelan toy made up of a flattened soda bottle cap threaded through two holes on a wick or string.
In Latin America, traditional games are usually cultural manifestations that have been transmitted from generation to generation, and are the product of the process of miscegenation and integration of peoples.
There are indigenous communities where indigenous games are still maintained and played, but these are less well known.
Main features
- They are originally from the place where they are played.
- They serve to develop basic and specific motor skills, and help improve coordination skills.
- They are part of popular culture and have an ancestral origin.
- They serve to occupy free time and the practice of healthy leisure.
- They contribute to social integration and the rescue of identity and own cultural values.
- They are simple games that stimulate creativity and imagination.
- They stimulate values of cooperation, camaraderie, respect, improvement and healthy competition.
- They are usually done with the body and with elements available in nature.
- They can be individual or collective.
There are dozens of indigenous and traditional games in many parts of the world that use objects for their execution. Examples of these are the rope, the spinning top, the marbles and the sack races, among others.
There are also others that are played only with the body and mind, such as rock, paper or scissors, or the game of even or odd.
References
- Traditional games. Consulted of es.wikipedia.org
- Iona Opie. The People in the Playground (1993) (In-depth study of children's playground lore and life). Consulted of books.google.es
- Sadurní Brugué, Marta: The first children's games in Children's development, step by step, UOC, 2003, Recovered from books.google.es
- Native sports. Consulted of tvmas.mx
- Popular, traditional and indigenous games. Recovered from easotafyd.blogspot.com
- Native and traditional games. Recovered from prezi.com