Galah Panjang is a game that many of us have played when we were young. The traditional game is known by various names in Malaysia including Toi and Belon Acah.
While the rules varies slightly in parts of Malaysia it still does not have codified rules here.
While local traditional games practitioners cannot pin point the origins of the game, it said to have been played in Malaysia for a long time and gained popularity in the 1960s.
Is Galah Panjang a truly Malaysian traditional game or does it have its origins elsewhere?
Kilithattu or Atya Patya is an almost exact version of Galah Panjang and has been played in India for approximately 2000 years.
The earliest mention of Kilithattu can be found in the Narrinai, a collection of classical Tamil poetic work in the Sangam literature. The Narrinai poems were likely to have been composed between 100-300 CE.
The game is said to have been invented by farmers, imitating how they spread the arms and wave it to scare away birds from their crops.
In ancient Kerala, a southern state in India, the game was also part of their military training because of its close resemblance to the martial art form of Kalaripayattu.
There is a strong possibility that Galah Panjang has its roots from Kilithattu. It was a popular past time during the Chola Dynasty. At the height of its influence, Rajendra Chola had successfully invaded the cities of the Srivijaya Kingdom in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Could it be that the Chola soldiers brought the game here and over the passing of time, it became a traditional Malaysian game?
While in Malaysia, it is still seen purely as a traditional game played for fun, the game is well instituted and organised in the South Asian Countries.
It is now better known as Atya Patya and there is even established national federations in several South Asian countries. The Atya Patya Federation of India was formed in 1982 and is recognised as a sports association by the Sports Ministry since 2013.
The sixth South Asian Championships was held in January this year in Nepal.
Another local traditional game that is also likely to have its roots in India is the game of Konda Kondi or Perik Mata.
GIlli Danda or also known as Viti Dandu is a traditional game from the South Asian nation with a 2,500 year history, said to have started during the Maurya Empire.
The game is played with two sticks: a large one called a danda), which is used to hit a smaller one, the gilli.
Sounds familiar? It exactly the same with Perik Mata. Similar games are also played around the world including in Europe and South America. It is known by different names in each country but the mechanics of the game are all the same.
In the Philippines there is a similar game called Pati-Kubra, in the US it is known as Pee-Wee, in England as Giddy-Gaddy and as Pathei Lele in Indonesia.
The 1934 Laurel & Hardy film Babes in Toyland features Laurel playing Pee-Wee the US version of the game.
There is even an international governing body for the sport, the Gilli Danda International Federation.
Globalisation is not a new phenomenon as sports like culture and traditions have long been spread throughout the world.
Take congkak, another Malaysian traditional game that is widely popular throughout the world. It is seen as a variation of the ancient game of Mancala.
Some historians believe that Mancala is one of the oldest game in the world based on the archaeological evidence found in Jordan that dates around 6000 BCE. The distribution of the game to Africa and to Asia has been linked to migration and trading routes.
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