Inkabiwah – Mizoram

Objective

To hit or displace the seeds arranged in a line from a distance using a designated striking seed.

Setup

1. Playing Surface: A flat ground, usually outdoors.
2. Seeds: Use smooth, medium-sized seeds for both the target and the striker.
3. Arrangement:

Place a row of seeds in a straight line at a predefined distance (e.g., 1-3 meters) from the striking line.

The striking line is where players stand to make their shots.

Rules

1. Turn-Taking

Players take turns standing at the striking line to aim at the seeds in the row.

2. Striking Method

Hold a single seed (the striker) in your fingers or palm.

Flick, throw, or roll the seed toward the target seeds in an attempt to hit or displace them.

3. Scoring

A player earns points or collects seeds based on the number of seeds they hit or displace from the line.

Some rules may assign different values to seeds based on their position (e.g., seeds farther away could be worth more points).

4. Winning the Game

The game ends when all seeds are hit or displaced.

The player with the most points or collected seeds wins.

Strategies

1. Aiming: Focus on the alignment of your striker and the target seed for accuracy.
2. Force Control: Use just enough force to hit the target without overshooting.
3. Target Priority: Aim for seeds in positions that make it easier to hit multiple seeds in subsequent turns.

Tips for Play

Practice flicking techniques to improve precision.

Consider the surface: A smooth, even surface ensures fair and consistent play.

Adjust the striking distance based on the players’ skill levels for an enjoyable challenge.

This variation of Inkabiwah blends traditional elements with skillful targeting and precision, making it both competitive and fun. The game is Also known as

Kolokpa – Arunachal Pradesh

Tholi/Khuling Khudaba/Apukhu

Kupusu – Nagaland

Material Required: 50-60 Numbers of sea seeds

Method

This game is played by the children in the age group of 6-8 years and above.

In Arunachal Pradesh, two groups of players play this game. The numbers of players are flexible depending on the space, sea seeds and children. But each team needs to be comprised of equal number of players. First of all, five sea seeds, one upon another, need to be placed in the middle of the ground

like a pillar. After that, in both sides of the pillar several pairs of sea seeds have to place in a line by putting one upon another. But in both sides of the sea seed pillar equal numbers of sea seed pairs need to be kept. The groups

stand at a certain distance, approximately of 2-3 meters, and turn wise one by one from both the groups has to strike the pairs of the sea seeds, using their own striker sea seed, those are placed towards their side from the pillar.

The group can remove the pair (s) as many as sea seeds they can hit with the striker sea seed. If the group can target the pillar in the middle and can scatter all the five sea seeds then the group can remove five pairs of sea seeds from their sides. If less than five sea seeds of the pillar are scattered then

the group has to remove only that many pairs of sea seeds from their side. Later, the pillar is made again as before

and the game continues. If any player cannot hit the sea seeds then he/she has to pass over the chance to the other

group. The group who can remove all the pairs of sea seeds from their side earlier will be the winner.

Variation 1

n Nagaland and Mizoram, this game is played in different ways such as – spinning, sliding, throwing, dropping, etc.

There are several methods of this game which varies from place to place. The four methods of this game found in

Nagaland are described as below:

Method 2

First of all, a small board in vertical position has to be placed with support of a big stone/log or sometimes a wall/

tree, etc. Against the board, nearly 20-25 feet away, several pairs of sea seeds need to be placed by piling one upon

another. While placing the sea seeds pairs, children may make various forms such as-oval, square, round, etc. or

in a line. Once the set is ready, the children, with their own sea seed, have to

sit in a line approximately 5-6 feet apart from the board and by facing towards

1. Now, the children, one by one need to throw their sea seeds to the board.

Sea seeds will be bounced back after hitting the board. After that, the player

whose sea seed is closer to the group of piled up sea seed pairs gets the first chance to start the game. Accordingly, other players also get chance to play. according to the proximity of their sea seeds to the piled up sea seeds pairs.

The player from the place where the sea seed is, has to throw her own sea seed

to the pairs of sea seeds. The player also can roll their own sea seeds to hit the

paired sea seeds, but this has to be decided before. If the player can hit any of

the sea seeds the player owes the seeds. He/she can continue to play till the

sea seed misses to hit any of the paired sea seeds and in that case the chance

goes to the other player. The game continues till all the sea seeds are owed by

the players. At the end the player who collects maximum sea seeds is the winner.

Method 3

In this method also children have to throw the sea seeds at the board as mentioned in the method 1. Serially, the

chance of playing by the players remains same as mentioned in method 1. In this method the players pile up three

seeds and make several sets. These sets are placed on the ground with equal distances approximately of 15-20 cm from each other.

After that, the player from a certain distance, approximately 10-15 feet, needs to spin his/her sea seed and try to hit

the piled up seeds. If the player can scatter one of the sets then he/she owes the sea seeds. If

only one or two seeds falls down then the player gets only that many numbers of sea seeds. The game continues till the player misses his/her chance. At the end the player who gets more sea seeds is the winner.

Method 4

In this method players make a target by placing a wooden board against a support like a big stone or a brick to place vertically. The size of the board should be approximately of 15 – 20 inch length and 12 – 15 inch breadth. About 10 cm apart in front of the target board a line needs to be drawn which is the target line. Again, a starting line has to be drawn about 6 meters (approximately) distance from the target line.

Once the set is ready, the children with their own seeds, from a distance of 5-6 feet from the board, throw the seeds to the board like in the methods mentioned above. Then they get chance to play the game turn wise as per the position of the sea seeds towards the starting line.