Iran has some traditional games,sports, and martial arts that date back thousands of years.[1][2][3][4] Many of these games have started to disappear due to urbanisation, the advent of computer games, and the neglect of cultural institutions.[5][6]
Some of the traditional Iranian games were demonstrated at the1974 Asian Games hosted by Iran as a way of demonstrating the ability for traditional Persian culture to coexist with modern Western culture.[7]
Kabaddi (/kəˈbædi/,[8]/ˈkʌbədi/)[9] is acontactteam sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of thetraditional games of South Asia.[10] In the game, a raider enters the opposing half of the court to tag the defenders and attempt to return within 30 seconds without being tackled. Points are awarded for successful tags, while defenders earn a point for tackling the raider. Tagged or tackled players are temporarily out but can re-enter when their team scores. Raids alternate between teams throughout the game.
Zu/Zou is similar to the better-known version of the game Kabaddi of India,[11][1] and has a history going back thousands of years in the country. In this version, the attacker starts with hawling "zou" (see above reference) the entire time performing the mission without breathing until gets back to the base. Another contrast is there is no 30 second rule in Zu.[12][13]
Seven stones (also known by variousother names) is atraditional game from theIndian subcontinent involving a ball and a pile of flat stones, generally played between two teams in a large outdoor area.
Choub bazi,choob orchoobazi (Persian:چوب بازیchub bāzi; Khorasani andSistani:چو بازیchu bāzi; lit. "wood play") is one of Iranian games and traditions with an ancient history that goes back to ancientIran. This traditional ritual is also mentioned inFerdowsi'sShahnameh. In Iran, there are two authentic types ofstick games. One is theSistani stick game, which is popular in the eastern half of Iran.[14] The other is the Lori, which is more popular in the southern and western parts of the country.[15]
Pahlevani and zoorkhaneh rituals (Pahlavani Sport / Zoorkhaneh Sport) is the name inscribed byUNESCO forVarzesh-e pahlavāni (Persian:آیین پهلوانی و زورخانهای 'heroic sport')[16] orVarzesh-e bāstāni (ورزش باستانی 'ancient sport'), a traditional system of athletics and a form ofmartial arts[17] originally used to train warriors inIran (Persia).[18][19] Outside Iran, zoorkhanehs can now also be found inAzerbaijan, andAfghanistan, and were introduced intoIraq in the mid-19th century by the Iranian immigrants, where they seem to have existed until the 1980s before disappearing.[20][21][22][23] It combines martial arts,calisthenics,strength training and music. It contains elements of pre-Islamic and post-Islamicculture of Iran (particularlyZoroastrianism andGnosticism) with the spirituality of PersianShia Islam andSufism. Practiced in a domed structure called thezurkhāneh, training sessions consist mainly of ritual gymnastic movements and climax with the core of combat practice, a style offolk wrestling calledkoshti pahlavāni.[citation needed]
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Shatranj (Persian:شطرنج,pronounced[ʃaˈtˤrandʒ]; fromMiddle Persianchatrang) is an old form ofchess, as played in theSasanian Empire. Its origins lie in the Indian game ofchaturanga.[24] Modernchess gradually developed from this game, as it was introduced to Europe by contacts in MuslimAl-Andalus (modern Spain) and inSicily in the 10th century. In modernPersian, the term is also used as the translation of chess.[25]
Nard (Persian:نرد, also narde or nardshir; fromMiddle Persian:nywʾlthšylnēw-ardaxšīr) is a historicalPersiantables game for two players that is sometimes considered ancestral tobackgammon. It is still played today, albeit in a different form. As in other tables games, the playing pieces are moved around a board according to rolls ofdice. It uses a standardtables board, but has a different opening layout and rules of play from that of backgammon.
Baas-o-Beyt (Sistanian:بئث و بئت) is a special kind of rhyming game common amongSistanian people and is generally considered as a genre ofSistanian poetry (calledSeytak) played by composing verses of Sistanian poems, along with some Sistanian dance and music. It is very similar toBait bazi,Antakshari andCrambo as well.[26][27]
Pasur or chahar barg (Persian:پاسور; also spelled Pasour or Pasur) is a fishingcard game ofPersian origin.[28] Played widely inIran, it is played similarly to theItalian games ofCassino orScopa[29] and even more similarly to theEgyptian game ofBastra. Pasur is also known by the namesChahâr Barg (4 cards),Haft Khâj (seven clubs) orHaft Va Chahâr, Yâzdah (7+4=11, the significance being that players want to win 7 clubs in a game of 4-card hands where 11 is a winning number).
Shelem (Persian:شلمShělěm), also called Rok or similar, is anIraniantrick-takingcard game with four players in two partnerships, bidding and competing against each other. Bidding andtrump are declared in every hand by the bidding winner. Both the name and the point structure of this game are similar to the American gameRook, there being a possible connection between the two games. Though it isn't clear from which game it is derived.[30]: 204f [31]
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Ganjifa, Ganjapa or Gânjaphâ,[32] is acard game and type ofplaying cards that are most associated with Persia and India. After Ganjifa cards fell out of use in Iran before the twentieth century, India became the last country to produce them.[33] The form prevalent in Odisha isGanjapa.
In 1895, GeneralAlbert Houtum-Schindler described the rules as follows:[34]
Chovgan, Chowgan or Chogan (Persian:چوگان,romanized: čowgân) is ateam sport with horses that originated in ancientIran (Persia).[35][36] It was considered an aristocratic game and held in a separate field, on specially trained horses. The game was widespread among the Asian peoples. It is played in Iran,Azerbaijan,[37]Tajikistan, andUzbekistan.[38] It was later adopted in theWestern World, known today aspolo.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)the zurkhaneh exercises of Iran, Afghanistan, and Azerbaijan
UNIVERSAL SPORTS PLAYED IN AFGHANISTAN Wrestling (Palwani)
Wrestling, or Pahlwani (pahl-wah-NEE), is popular with men all over the country.
The game originated in Persia, and was generally played on horseback (...)
It is since these origins in Persia that the game has often been associated with the rich and noble of society; the game was played by Kings, Princes and Queens in Persia.