INTRODUCTION OF AN ALMOST FORGOTTEN TRADITIONAL EQUESTRIAN BRANCH OF SPORTS: EGYPTIAN WOOD GAME

Abstract

Cop is a slightly elliptical, knot-free stick made of flexible and dry wood, the length of which is 80 cm, and edges of which are blunted. The game played on horseback with this stick called cop is named particularly as ‘Egyptian Wood Game’. It is a traditional equestrian game in which competitors on horseback try to make the sticks, by hitting them on the ground, bounce over a thick rope connecting two poles with heights of 5-6 m and a distance of approximately 6-7 m in between. The Egyptian Wood Game played frequently in Ottoman period and in the 1960s in Turkey was no more practiced in Turkey for the last fifty years except a few locations in the West Anatolia. Significance: Almost every day, a traditional cultural element disappears also in Turkey which is among the countries deeply affected by the globalization of the world. This study was conducted because the scope of studies on these issues diminished and there were even no theoretical resources as sometimes there were no practical sources. Objective: introduction of this traditional game, which does not exist in written records, to the Turkic sports literature by correctly underlining its rules and procedures. Methodology: Monograph was composed in the form a compilation, also observations were included by paying a visit to Karapurcek town of Susurluk district of Balikesir province of Turkey and certain unique and distinctive images were used. Result: It was deduced that Egyptian wood game which was known to be played in the palace and its environs in the late period of Ottomans was especially an integral part of social ceremonies in the West Anatolia until the 1960s, and as of the 1960s, lost gradually its character making it the constituent part of festivals and at present, was practiced only in a limited format in a few small local festivals in combination with a performance of drum and clarion.

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