Sekkor

Introduction

Sekkor is a 10 in. long cylindrical wooden object with a diameter of about 8 in. at the centre and 3 in. at the narrow edges. It is hand-carved to allow rotation on its axis from one edge. The Ho tribals of the Chaibasa area of Jharkhand play this game.

The game is played between 2 teams of 5 to 11 players in each team on a ground 15 ft. long and 13  ft. wide. In the middle of the ground, sekkors are placed in a small circle.

The competition is based on striking the sekkors placed in the centre of the ground with the master sekkor that is in the player’s hands. The objective is to send the sekkors out of the boundary. A cotton rope of 10 ft. is wrapped around the axis of the master sekkor to lift it up and throw it to collide with the targeted sekkors, like we lift and throw tops with a string. Here the thick, twisted cotton rope is tied and wrapped to the sekkor to send it far away with an unwinding of the rope. The team gets five points to hit the sekkor out of the boundary. The team player who sends it back in the ground also gets five points.

Sekkor is a large oval-shaped wooden top loosely attached with a string. The players in the team are usually in odd numbers, five being the minimum. The objective of the game is to keep on hitting the sekkor of the opponent team till it goes out of a marked circle. However, it is a time-bound game.

The Play

Objective

The goal is to use your Sekkor (oval-shaped object tied with a string) to strike the opponents’ Sekkors placed in the middle of the court.

Materials Needed:

Sekkors: Oval-shaped objects tied with strings (one per player). Play Area: A court or open space with a marked center for placing the Sekkors.

Setup:

Prepare the Court:

Mark the boundaries of the court.

Create a central zone where players place their Sekkors before each round. If seven players per team , put seven sekkors of one team in the circle. and the other team is the strikers.

 

 

 

 

  1. Players’ Positions:

Players stand at a fixed line of the square court far from the center.

  1. Placement of Sekkors:

Each player  of the strike team stand at the line ready to strike the sekkors of the opponent team, placed  in the central zone at the start of the game.

Gameplay:

  1. Turn-Based Play:

Players of the striking team  take turns swinging their Sekkor using the string.

The aim is to strike the Sekkors placed in the center, and send them out of the court.

  1. Striking Mechanism:

Players swing their Sekkor in a controlled motion to hit the target.

Precision and force are crucial to successfully striking the Sekkors.

  1. Knocking Out Sekkors:

If a player successfully strikes one or more Sekkors, they score points or earn the right to continue their turn. but the striker’s sekkor also must come out of the court. if the striker’s sekkor stays in the court after the strike , it is called to become a ‘Beja’, and the referee put a powder mark on it to identify.

Scoring:

The  players gets 5 points for each successful strike , team that hits the most sekkors out of the circle earns points. The game continues for 20 mins.

Significance

The game is believed to bring rain and prevent drought. According to mythology, the game was first played between two men and devils, and the men won.

5 Point: For each successful strike.

The game continues until all Sekkors are struck, or a time limit is reached.

The team with the highest score wins.

Rules:

  1. Players must swing their Sekkor from their designated position; from the corners of the width of the court, stepping over the line results in a foul.
  2. Only one attempt is allowed per turn.
  3. Striking the Sekkor with excessive force that damages the court or objects may result in a penalty.

This game is like a fantastic way to test precision, strategy, and coordination!