FAST AND FURIOUS: Lelethu Mavatha of Bathurst moves speedily to avoid his Port Alfred opponent during the Kho-Kho game at the Indigenous Games trials at Bathurst’s Freestone stadium on Saturday. Picture: MARK CARRELS
The Indigenous Games Festival showcased team work a spirit of ubuntu and a celebration of cultural legacies with a serious competitive edge on a rugged surface at Freestone stadium in Bathurst on Saturday.
Indigenous games might not be in the realm of modern-day sport, but make no mistake, the sporting activities on display required speed, agility, quick-thinking and a high-level of fitness.
The last National Indigenous Games were hosted over Heritage Month in Durban’s Hoy Park, with nine of the most popular games highlighted at the tournament – eight of which were showcased at Freestone.
Indigenous games participants have the added motivation of setting their sights on participation in international competition – which was held for the first time in Palmas, Brazil in October 2015 and then Alberta, Canada in 2017. India’s men and women’s teams both won the inaugural Kho-Kho World Cup hosted in Delhi in January this year.
Divided in to Makhanda, Port Alfred, Tsitsikamma, Bathurst and Enon hubs, the participants arrived in the early morning chill to take on eight different disciplines – Ncuva, Morabaraba, Kho-kho, Driestokkies, Dibeke, Kgati, Jukskei and Dibeke. They were unable to perform lintonga (stick fighting).
Co-ordinated by Sarah Baartman District hub in conjunction with the Sarah Baartman District Municipality, about 70 athletes listened attentively to a briefing by the officials before taking to the field of play for the trials-only matches.
Tabane Qamba of Bathurst hub who was getting ready for Dibeke cheekily described this game as “dodging each other, like Tom and Jerry … it’s serious stuff actually.”
The court set-up is in rectangular formation with a central line with two poles at opposite sides. Nine players from the attacking team take to the field with eight sitting crouched on the centre line, while three from defending team run around the court and try to avoid being touched.
“I enjoy kho-kho though I am playing football … it is my first time playing though,” says Qamba. “I am serious about it … this is important as it keeps me busy … and would like to make the provincial team. This game has a lot of tactics.”
And then the game started in earnest as Qamba showed extreme turn of speed and fitness in trying to avoid the Port Alfred hub attacker; on another occasion, his opponent dived full length to tag Qamba.
Driestokkies is similar to triple jump with three sticks or ropes placed on the ground and jumpers having to jump between three sticks, with the winner being decided by the last person who managed to only step once between each stick.
A barefoot Sive Nckiwa from Port Alfred hub aborted two of his run-ups as he struggled to maintain his balance. It’s not easy jumping on one foot three times in a limited space but he manages not to default again and leaps through the air to huge applause.
Sinazo Bantom of Tsitsikamma hub, who had only socks on her feet, struggled to find her stride and aborted her attempts a few times.
Oyama Ntlokwana sat out of breath on the sidelines. It’s his first attempt at Driestokkies and too is barefeet. “If I wear tekkies I fear I might fall and injure myself,” he says. I used to play rugby but not anymore. I enjoy this sport, but I feel I still need to learn a lot.”
Then it’s on to Dibeke which is similar to football and dodgeball; in this game, the attacking team of 12 attempts to kick a ball down the length of the field in order to score points, while the defending team – also 12 members -is allowed to pick up the ball with their hands and throw it at members of the attacking team to eliminate them.
Other games played on the day were Jukskei, and Morabaraba. Another is Diketo and Kgati (Ugqaphu) where one team swings a rope and the other skips while a rhyme is sung without the jumper making a mistake.
Department of sport & recreation chief sport organiser, Funeka Bakitsha, said it was important to preserve the heritage of the indigenous games.
“The players selected here are going to the provincial games in September to represent Sarah Baartman. It is difficult to organise games locally, because the department doesn’t have enough money to have leagues.
Bakitsha said however, role-players were doing them best to keep hubs busy with the sporting code.
“So sometimes we do go to their respective areas to conduct training clinics. There is also a National Games; so once they make the provincial team, they stand a good chance of being selected for the nationals.
“These kids are serious about it (games) for the sake of their heritage. It helps them with discipline; and keeps them away from all the social evils out there like drugs and crime,” she addecd.
Chairperson of the Sarah Baartman Indigenous Game unit, Siphokazi Mkrakra, hailed the event as a big success.
“We are so happy that it went well as the IG structure. We thank the DSRAC team and the municipality for assisting us with the venue and Talk of the Town who was there with us since the very first game.”
The September games will have participating hubs from the following regions – OR Tambo, Joe Gqabi, Nelson Mandela Metro, Buffalo City Municipality. Alfred Nzo, Chris Hani and Amathole.
Mkrakra said they returned from last year’s championships with positive results in Lintonga (stick fighting), silver and bronze in Morabaraba and silver in Kgati.
This article was first published in Talk of the Town, July 3, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
