Armenian Games and Sports
Armenian games are different in character from American games, but they are essentially the same everywhere in that they are played to give satisfaction to an urgent desire which is…
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“Armenian Games and Sports” from When I Was a Boy in Armenia, by Manoog Der Alexanian, 1926.
Armenian games are different in character from American games, but they are essentially the same everywhere in that they are played to give satisfaction to an urgent desire which is almost instinctive in children of all lands.
Armenian games are few and simple; the sports, still fewer, and rather difficult to play, besides being decidedly hazardous in character. We had no baseball, basketball, nor football in Armenia. These were only recently introduced by American teachers.
When I was eight years old, I used to build brick houses, wooden wheels and carts, in which I took my rides, and small tables and chairs. As I grew older, I began to play first blindfold, marbles (hentag) , top (hoi), and knuckle-bones (veh).
The following games were my favorites, as a boy in Armenia:
Marbles. This popular game is played by making a circle on dry ground and each boy putting down one marble into it, in a straight line. Then, tightly holding a marble between the back of his thumb and forefinger, and standing at a distance of six feet from the circle, the boy shoots it hard and fast at the row of marbles in the center of the circle. If he puts out one or more marbles without leaving his marble in the circle, he wins the marbles he puts out. Each boy in turn takes a shot at the marbles. I was very fond of this game, perhaps because I was more successful at it than at some of the other sports. We usually played marbles in the spring and in the fall.
Knuckle-Bones. This game is played in two different ways. In one, the object is to tell one’s fortune; in the other, it is a pastime. The fortune-teller takes one knuckle-bone in his hand; before throwing it on the ground, he asks you, however, to make a wish; you make a wish, and then call for the knuckle-bones “heads or tails.” Upon this, the fortune-teller throws the knuckle-bone on the ground. If the knuckle-bone comes the way you have called it, your wish will come true; if it does not, you will have “bad luck.”
A second way of playing knuckle-bones is to make a circle, say two feet in diameter, placing in the center of the circle in a straight line as many knuckle-bones as there are players. One of the players begins to shoot at the knuckle-bones with another knuckle-bone, from a distance of ten feet. The purpose is to hit those in the circle, and hit them hard enough so as to put them out of the circle, being careful that your knuckle does not remain in the circle; if it does, you are proclaimed “dead”; you lose your knuckle-bone and are whisked out of the game to wait until a new game is begun. The knuckle-bones which are used for throwing purposes are usually loaded with lead so that they may fly fast through the air and strike hard at the knuckle-bones inside the circle.
Shar Baran. This game is played in the following way: The boys fall in a circle by joining their little fingers together, and leaving spaces between the boys. Two boys stand in the center of the circle. One of them is called “cat,” the other “mouse.” The “mouse” begins the game by gently tapping the “cat” on the shoulder and running through one of the openings of the circle. The “cat” then rurjs after the “mouse” with the purpose of catching the latter. The “mouse” runs through one opening and then another, making a zig-zag run all around the circle; the “cat” has to follow the “mouse” carefully; if it catches the “mouse,” they change positions. This is a very interesting game and it requires a great deal of ingenuity to follow the trail of the “mouse” carefully.
Tutush. One boy stands at the base, and with a club gently hits a piece of stick, sharp at each end and about five inches long; the stick flies in the air and, while it is flying, the boy strikes it again with the club with all his strength. So the stick flies high, fast and far in the air. There are several boys in the field; any one who catches the stick as it drops goes to the base to hit it. This may also be called “one-man baseball.”
Gap. (G is hard and a is sounded like the French a.) Twelve small, flat pebbles are placed in the palm, then gently thrown in the air and caught on the back of the hand, being careful lest one of them falls to the ground; if it does, the player loses his chance and his opponent takes his turn with great zest.
Gegoudge. (The first two g’s are hard and the last soft.) The players of this game must have from twenty-five to fifty English walnuts. A hole is dug in the ground, usually near the bottom of a wall. One player takes charge of the hole—he is called the “banker.” From a distance of five to six feet, the players in turn throw walnuts, with both palms of the hand, into the hole. If they get an even number of walnuts in the hole, they receive that many walnuts from the “banker ”; if the number of walnuts is odd, they lose them all to the “banker.” Usually there is a great deal of quarreling over the right count of these walnuts.
Ala Peshdig. All players sit on the ground forming a circle. One of the boys, holding a knotted handkerchief in his hand, goes around the circle and secretly drops it behind one of them; he keeps on going around until he reaches the same fellow behind whom he left the handkerchief; if the boy is not aware, the runner takes the handkerchief and hits him on the back until the fellow, who receives the strikes, makes a full circle and sits back in his seat.
Shoror-Medz Baran. Two rows of boys, standing opposite each other, move backward and forward by clapping their hands.
Kar-Tir (slinging). Two or more boys aim at a mark some distance away and sling at it; the one who hits the mark wins the game.
Dempig. One boy is chosen by casting lots. The boys gather round him; one of them suddenly hits him in the back and runs away. The boy who was hit runs after him. If he catches him before someone else hits him, the one caught is placed in his position; if not, he is kept running after each boy who hits him last. Each time he has to run after the one who hits him last.
Tsatgerdan or Esh-Khaghoog (jumping or donkey game). A point is agreed upon on the ground. Each player jumps to that point; the one who does not succeed in jumping to that point stoops low, and the rest of the boys jump over him. The boy gradually raises himself up to the point where he stands at his full height, ex- cept that his head is bent forward. If any one of the boys fails to jump over him at this height, he takes his place; if all the boys succeed, then the leader places a handkerchief on his back, being careful while jumping that it stays there; the rest of the boys follow him, one by one; whoever drops the handkerchief takes his place.
Tops. Three or four boys spin their tops on the ground; the top that stops spinning first is proclaimed “dead” and placed on the ground. Each boy takes a shot at the “ dead ” top with his top. In throwing your top you have to aim at it with the purpose of hitting it; while your top is spinning, you pick it up in the palm of your hand, and, lifting it to the height of your belt, drop it carefully on the “dead” top. You should not miss it; if you do, you will have to place your top on the ground. Those tops which are not well aimed are usually full of holes made by the winning tops. It is a mark of dis- tinction, in this game, to have a top without peg-holes.
Sports
These are usually played by grown-up persons.
Djirid. Two groups of men, on horseback, stand in two opposite camps half a mile distant from each other. Each man on horseback has a long stick in his hand. One of the group rides on his horse to the enemy camp and challenges them by throwing his stick at them, with an intention to hit. He is responded to quickly enough by a man on horseback from the enemy camp, who charges upon the challenger and chases him back to his camp, trying to overtake him and hitting him with his stick; or, if he cannot overtake him, and is a “good shot,” he throws his stick, like a javelin, flying through the air after his opponent. As soon as he reaches the boundaries of the enemy camp, he is attacked by a new man on horseback; then he turns his horse around and runs back home. The chaser repeats the same thing. The side that makes the most hits wins the game. This is a very exciting and hazardous sport. Only good horseback riders play. During the play, there is music in both camps.
Wrestling. Wrestling is a well-liked sport in which all young men indulge with great zest and vigor. It is generally held in the open in the presence of a great crowd. One man challenges the whole crowd in a loud voice, saying that there is no one who can wrestle him. In every case, the challenger meets an opponent, because among the Armenians it is considered poor sport not to take up a challenge. The wrestlers wear tights which reach from the waist to the knees. The rest of the body is naked, and in some cases oiled.
Wrestling and djirid are usually played on holidays and Sundays.
When I was a boy, I was very fond of wrestling and wrestling stories. I have heard stories about an Armenian called “Simon the Lion,” who could down anybody in wrestling. There are many stories about him, but the following is one of the best:
Once, when Simon was sitting in front of his house, a champion wrestler who had heard about “Simon the Lion” came to find him in his home town. He met Simon sitting in front of his house, his back against the wall and whittling a stick; this champion told Simon, without knowing who he was, that he had come to wrestle “Simon the Lion” and he wanted to know where he could find him. Simon said to him: “If you lift one of my legs from off the ground, I will tell you where he is.” Scornfully the champion stooped to lift Simon’s left foot with one hand, but not being able to lift it, tried with both hands. Upon seeing that it was impossible for him to lift Simon’s leg, he at once “came to” himself, and said, “So you are Simon the Lion; you really are strong; I came to wrestle with you, but I now see that I have been a fool.” With these words in his mouth he left the town. It is said that once, when Simon got angry, he grasped cows and horses and threw them over a six-foot wall. He is said to have been so strong and tough that he could plough the ground with his feet.
Alexanian, Manoog Der. When I Was a Boy in Armenia. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co.
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