Ethiopian Traditional Games in Amharic: Gebeta Game in Ethiopia in Amharic
Table of Contents
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Traditional Games in Ethiopia PDF/Ethiopian Cultural Games PDF
You can find a PDF about Ethiopian traditional sports and games here.
How Many Traditional Games in Ethiopia Are There
There are over 293 registered traditional and cultural sports and games in Ethiopia.
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10 Traditional Sports in Ethiopia
Ethiopia, a country rich in culture and history, boasts a wide range of traditional sports that have been practiced for generations.
These sports not only provide entertainment but also promote physical fitness, social cohesion, and the preservation of cultural heritage.
Here are ten traditional sports from Ethiopia:
- Genna: Genna, also known as Ethiopian hockey, is a popular traditional sport played during the Ethiopian Christmas season. It is similar to field hockey and involves teams using wooden sticks to strike a small round ball and score goals.
- Yeferas Guks: Yeferas Guks is a traditional Ethiopian wrestling style that showcases strength, agility, and skill. It involves two competitors who try to overpower each other within a marked circular ring.
- Senbetu: Senbetu is a traditional board game played by many Ethiopians. It is a strategy-based game that requires players to move pieces on a board to capture opponents’ pieces and ultimately claim victory.
- Gugs: Gugs is a popular traditional ball game in Ethiopia. Played with a small round ball made of animal skin, participants kick, throw, or strike the ball using various body parts to keep it in the air without it touching the ground.
- Yegenna Chewata: Yegenna Chewata, also known as Ethiopian long jump, is a traditional sport that involves individuals leaping from a standing position and measuring the distance they cover. It tests participants’ strength and jumping abilities.
- Yegeter Lij: Yegeter Lij is a traditional sport played mainly by young boys. It involves using long sticks to knock down a small wooden or clay object placed on a raised platform. The objective is to hit the target and score points.
- Gobeta: Gobeta is a traditional sport in Ethiopia that combines elements of shot put and discus throwing. Participants throw a heavy object, usually a stone or a metal ball, as far as possible, aiming for distance and accuracy.
- Qarqacha: Qarqacha is a traditional Ethiopian stick fighting game. Participants use long sticks to engage in mock combat, showcasing their agility, reflexes, and tactical skills.
- Yegena Atletica: Yegena Atletica, or Ethiopian athletics, is deeply rooted in the country’s culture. Long-distance running, particularly marathon and cross-country races, has been a source of national pride, with Ethiopian athletes achieving remarkable success at international competitions.
- Teqayit: Teqayit is a traditional Ethiopian archery sport that tests participants’ accuracy and precision. Archers use bows and arrows to hit targets placed at varying distances.
These traditional sports are just a glimpse into Ethiopia’s diverse sporting culture. They reflect the country’s vibrant heritage, communal spirit, and the importance placed on physical prowess.
Participating in or witnessing these sports provides a unique opportunity to connect with Ethiopian traditions and experience the enthusiasm and skill that accompany them.
Ethiopian Card Games
Eritrean Traditional Games
Eritrean traditional games encompass a variety of activities that have been passed down through generations, reflecting the cultural heritage and values of Eritreans. Here are some examples of traditional games played in Eritrea:
- Gebeta: Gebeta is a traditional board game similar to chess or checkers. It is played on a wooden board with 37 holes arranged in a pattern. The objective is to capture your opponent’s pieces while protecting your own.
- Idget: Idget is a game played with small stones or seeds. Players take turns picking up and dropping stones according to specific rules, aiming to clear the board or accumulate the most stones.
- Qarqub: Qarqub is a game played with small stones or marbles, often in a circle drawn on the ground. Players take turns flicking their stones at a target stone or into a hole in the ground, earning points based on accuracy and technique.
- Zerqer: Zerqer is a game similar to jacks, played with small objects like pebbles or seeds. Players toss a small ball into the air and attempt to pick up as many objects as possible before catching the ball.
- Shimagle: Shimagle is a traditional stick fighting game. Participants use long sticks to strike each other’s sticks while trying to avoid being hit themselves. It requires agility, speed, and skill.
These games are not only sources of entertainment but also serve as ways to teach strategy, coordination, and social skills.
They are often played during holidays, festivals, and gatherings, providing opportunities for community bonding and cultural exchange.
Ethiopian Childhood Games: Segno Maksegno
Segno Maksegno or “Monday Tuesday” is a traditional Ethiopian game that is a variant of hopscotch.
One plays the game by first drawing lines on the ground, usually with chalk or just lines in the dirt. They are separated by approximately 40 cm.
Each box drawn represents a “home”, which can be appropriated as property with ownership.
The game begins by one person in a group throwing the first stone into the collection of “homes”.
The person will have to successfully jump through the collection of “homes” without touching the “home” with the stone.
If done properly, the same player will continue to go through all the “homes”, if still successful throughout they will be able to choose one of the “homes” to “own”.
Owning a “home” means that only that person can touch/jump on it, and no one else.
If one of the parts is divided in the middle, the person can jump with both feet, but if not, then would have to use only one foot.
If a person cannot jump through the area, then they will have forfeited their turn and will start the next game.
If a person cannot throw the stone in the correct place, i.e. within the real estate, they too will have forfeited their turn.
The jumps made are two ways, they have to go forward and return, and owning a “house” means they can jump with one or two feet on it.
Owning a “house” also entitles the person to write their name or any other such sign they wish.
The game ends only when one of the players owns all the houses or when the positioning of the house ownership makes it impossible to jump successfully anymore.
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9 Ethiopian Games
Here are some Ethiopian traditional games:
- Gebeta – Gabata – Gebet’a (a mancala game)
- Lamlameta (another mancala game)
- Akukulu – Kukulu – Acoocoolu (a variant of hide-and-seek)
- Demo – Pepsi
- Segno Maksegno (a form of hopscotch)
- Awo Aydelem
- Kelebosh – Kilibosh – Handaie
- Arenguade
- Suzi
- Leba ena Police
- Teter
- Biy
Cultural Games in Ethiopia: Akukulu Game/Akukulu Ethiopian Traditional Game
This traditional Ethiopian game, usually played with about 6-15 people, is similar to hide-and-seek.
The game begins with one player in the group (the seeker) staring at a wall (known as his/her house, home base, or the Mariam), avoiding eye contact with the other players.
The others, in the meantime, have to find hiding places.
After a while, the seeker on the wall will begin to make the “coocoolu” sound, imitating the sound hens make in the morning.
The others attempting to hide will reply “alnegam” or it is not morning yet, implying that the hen (seeker) should not leave his/her house.
The seeker will continue to make the sound till everyone in the group trying to hide has hidden themselves and start to reply “nega” or the sun has risen.
At this point, the seeker will actively attempt to find those in the group that are now hidden.
In the meantime, the hidden have to make it stealthily to the seeker’s wall or “home” and place their hand on it and kiss their own hand. This makes them safe.
The seeker will have to find the hidden before they reach the wall, and call out their name and go to his wall “home” and touch the wall while kissing his hand.
If the seeker arrives before the hidden whose name was called out, then the hidden will be “captured”, and remain waiting at the seeker’s wall.
The winners are those that make it safely to the wall.
Gabata (also spelled “Gebeta”) is the generic term for mancala games played in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is used for many two-row games, but also for several three-rank mancala games.
Olahraga Khas Ethiopia: Gena Ethiopian Traditional Game
Ethiopian Traditional Sports in Amharic
If you would like to know more about Ethiopian traditional sports in Amharic, click here.
Photo Credits: AllAboutEthio
