Games for the New Year

The Sinhala and Tamil New Year is a special time for fun and games. Many traditional games take centre-stage during this time .

It is an enjoyable time for children participating in the different games. More often than not they start before the dawn of the New Year and continue till long after.

Like all the age-old rituals connected with the New Year there are also traditional games played at the Avurudu Ulela. Some of them are very different to the games we play at other times and at this season.

Pancha keliya, onchili pedeema, kalagedi sellama, olinda keliya and porapol geheema, mallawa pora, ali pora, gon pora, lanupora addima, rilapeti pedima, dadu gasima are some of the games played during the New Year.

These games bring fun and joy to our lives and at the same time, teach us a valuable lesson about team spirit too.

Pancha Keliya

Pancha Keliya is a popular game among the Sinhalese. Pancha is played with five small seashells, a coconut shell, and a chart. The players are divided into two groups.

Kanamutti bideema

This can be seen in the Avrudu Ulela. A clay pot is the target and the person strikes the pot being blindfolded with a cloth.

Pora pol geheema

This involves two teams, each taking turns to throw a coconut until all the nuts on one side are broken. The winning nut will be kept in the temple. This game is famous in the southern part of the country, especially in Matara and Devundara. During ancient times, only king coconuts were used, but nowadays with the demand and price of king coconuts,coconuts are used.

Hook Tagging (Angkeliya) and Coconut Striking (Pora Pol) are two games that have religious overtones.

Onchili Padeema

This is famous among the women and children where a swing is tied on a strong branch of a tree in the garden.

When swinging, there are two on the swing and one on the ground pushing the swing. They sing special verses known as onchili waram, which are known as varang kavi.

According to Infolanka (2012), the kathru onchilla (great wheel) was introduced by the foreigners. This wheel like structure was put into motion going round and round by a person who actually walked in step inside the wheel to turn it round anti clockwise.

This can be see in villages.

Climbing the greased pole

A well-greased pole is placed in such a way that the participants are expected to reach the top and take the flag placed at the top. it is a slippery business!

Beating Raban

"Dontha babakkata denna deyaknaPettagamak uda thutu dekak atha"- this is the common raban padaya or refrain.

The bench rabana which is used for raban playing is a large one, which is supported on four wooden legs about a foot in height. The players, mainly women, about four in number, sit around the rabana and play in unison, using their hands, as well as move head to a rhythm.Often the players sing raban pada which indicate the beat that has to be played.

Placing the eye to the elephant

This is a very joyful activity where small children mark an eye on an image of an elephant. This too is done while being blindfolded.

Olinda Keliya

Olinda thibenne koi koi dese,Olinda thibenne Bangali dese........Genth handanne koi koi dese,Genth handanne sinhala dese...". this is the verse sung for this perticular game.This game is done with a wooden board which has depressions and is filled with Olinda seeds.

It is usually played by two players where nine holes are placed, four 4 beads each..Players shift the beads from a hole to the other and collect seeds found in the hole quickly after an empty one. The person who collects the most number of seeds is the winner.

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