Traditional games of Iran

Iran has some traditional games, sports, and martial arts that date back thousands of years. Many of these games have started to disappear due to urbanisation, the advent of computer games, and the neglect of cultural institutions.

History Some of the traditional Iranian games were demonstrated at the 1974 Asian Games hosted by Iran as a way of demonstrating the ability for traditional Persian culture to coexist with modern Western culture.

Traditional games

Zu (Compares with Kabaddi, of Indian origin)

Zu/Zou is similar to the better-known version of the game Kabaddi of India, and has a history going back thousands of years in the country. In this version, the attacker starts with hawling "zou" (see above reference) the entire time performing the mission without breathing until gets back to the base. Another contrast is there is no 30 second rule in Zu.

Haft sang

Choub bazi

Martial arts

Pahlavani

Board games

Shatranj

Nard

Card games

Baas-o-Beyt

Pasur

Shelem

Ganjifa

As-Nas

Animal events

Chovgan

See also

Traditional games of South Asia

Notes

References