Heritage value of traditional board games

Abstract

Games and sports are as old as our civilization. Those are considered as culture and many nations have accepted it as their cultural heritage. Culture shows the image of the nation. Games are the physical activities, which our ancestors adopted for their existence. These include running, fishing, fighting, jumping, etc. Later more games were played with calculation and skill. Even the illiterate rural people are good at calculation and memory. Directly or indirectly these games promote education and heritage value is gained when becoming deeply rooted. More than the paper degree, one could get practical education through games and sports.

Games are for recreation and learning. They have great educational values. Indian traditional board games are Chess (Chaturanga), Pit and Pebble game (Pallankuzhi), Ludo(Tayakattam), Snake and Ladder(Paramapadam), Goats and Tigers (Aadu -Puli Attam) and many others. Chess originated in India. It has great heritage value and has become an international game. Immense brain power is needed to play this game.

Pit and pebble game is older than the Egyptian and Indus Valley Civilizations. It is the national game of many African countries. It is popular in previous USSR countries. It has gone to the international level. The role of gender in playing is amazing. Every year competitions are held in various countries. Many governments give support to the game as they feel it as their countries’ game

In many villages in India, Tayakattam is played during leisure hours. Snake and ladder have religious and ethical values. Our game board is different from the western boards. It depicts the Theory of Karma and Rebirth. Goat and Tiger game is more interesting than chess. We can see these boards in ancient temples, Ghats, halls which were the meeting places. These are simple examples. A deeper study of traditional board games shows their educational, especially Arithmetic, historical, sociological, ethical, cultural, anthropological and religious values emphasizing the fact that they stand for the Games Heritage of our country.