The Nagas

Hill Peoples of Northeast India

Project Introduction The Naga Database

miscellaneous papers, notebooks and letters on Nagas by Ursula Graham Bower, 1937-1947

caption: games
medium: notes
production:
person: Graham Bower/ Ursula
date: 1937-1946
acquirer:
person: private collection
text: Boys
text: 1) A brass earring is put in a hole in the ground, and all the players put their hands in the hole and grab for the ring at a given single. The one who gets it runs off and is chased and caught, when the catchers try to force his hand open and get the ring.
text: 2) A ball is made of cloth wound round with cotton thread and the players form two sides in lines about twelve paces apart. One boy throws the ball to the opposing side. The catcher hurls it back, trying to hit a player on the first side, who dodge for all they are worth. If he succeeds he scores a point against them. If he misses, the ball is tossed back, to be caught by the first side and hurled at side no.2.
text: 3) Bear-hunt/mithan-chase. The imitative games, a boy representing the bear (sometimes roughly wrapped in a cloth to represent fur) and the others the hunters who ring him. The mithan-chase is an imitation of the usual bucks' chase at Pokpatngi.
text: 4) Bean-game