GEORGE NEWS - The Western Government Sport and Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) held an Indigenous Games competition to select an Eden District All-Star Team that will represent the region at a provincial competition which will be held later this year.

This event was held at the Imizamo Yethu High School on Saturday 27 May.

The indigenous games included:

Morabaraba
Also known as ncuva or morula, morabaraba is one of South Africa’s most popular traditional games. Similar to chess, the Oxford dictionary says the term ‘morabaraba’ is ¬derived from Sesotho and loosely translates to mean “mill” or to go around in a circle.

In its earliest form, it was played on a stone or rock, or the lines were drawn on the ground and players would use stones or bottle caps as movable bargaining pieces. Like chess, this abstract strategic game sees two players trying to outmanoeuvre each other by moving the pieces from one intersection to another until a winner emerges.

Kgati
Also known as ntimo or ugqaphu, kgati is a skipping game played by two people. Two players hold the skipping rope on each end, while the third player skips in a variety of ways while chanting and singing. In 2012, the South African Kgati team won gold at the 5th World Sport for All Games in Lithuania.

Diketo
Also known as upuca, magava or ukugenda, this is a coordination game played mostly by young girls. Ten stones are placed in a circle or a square. Each player then tries to grab the most stones, throw them in the air and catch them in one hand until all the stones are back in the circle or square.

Lintonga
This is a stick-fighting game made popular by boys herding livestock in the rural areas of South Africa. It is played between two people armed with two long sticks - one is used for defence and the other is used for offence. The competing opponents hit each other with the sticks. The one who hits the hardest until his opponent surrenders is the winner.

Jukskei
Jukskei is a game with Cape origins and is associated with the Afrikaner gaming tradition where early travellers would try to knock over an upright stick with the jukskei?–?the wooden pin used in an ox’s yoke.

Dibeke
Also known as skununu, this is a running ball game played by two teams of six boys and six girls each, where the attacking team tries to kick the ball away from the defenders, while the latter use their hands to get the ball away from them.

Kho-kho