Lelo Match

Educative Lelo Match

“Lelo or lelo burti is a Georgian folk sport, which is a full contact ball game, and very similar to rugby. Within Georgian rugby union terminology, the word lelo is used to mean a try, and the popularity of rugby union in Georgia has also been attributed to it. In 2014, lelo burti, along with khridoli, a traditional martial art, was inscribed by the government of Georgia as a “nonmaterial monument” of culture. It appears in the 12th century Georgian epic poem The Knight in the Panther's Skin in which the characters play Lelo burti. Lelo was played in Georgia from ancient times and is still played on occasions in rural areas. “In earlier times, the lelo teams would consist of a few dozen players each, and the field would sometimes have to be crossed by a stream, which the players would have to ford in pursuit of the ball”. Sometimes the playing field was between two water courses. The two teams, usually consisting of the male population of neighbouring villages, would face each other. The number of players from each side was not set traditionally, but included any able men each village could summon. A large, heavy ball was placed in the middle of the field and the goal of the game was to carry it over the river to the “half” of the opposing side. “The game took place over a wide area sometimes stretching for several kilometres on very rough ground. The contestants would have to contend with spurs, hills, valleys, woods. cascading streams and marshes. Their task was to get a ball into a certain place, say, over the settlement boundary or to the foot of the mountain. Any means necessary could be employed to drive the ball forward – feet or hands. Sometimes they would play the game on horseback”. It was believed that the winning team would secure a better harvest for their village”. – Wikipedia

A priest carries a ball before the annual Lelo match in the village of Shukhuti, Georgia, May 1, 2016. The villagers of Zemo (upper) Shukhuti and Kvemo (lower) Shukhuti have played the game every Easter Sunday for generations, with each side trying to carry the 16-kilogram ball to their end of the neighbouring villages. (Photo by David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)

A priest carries a ball before the annual Lelo match in the village of Shukhuti, Georgia, May 1, 2016. (Photo by David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)

Players battle for the ball during the annual Lelo match in the village of Shukhuti, Georgia, May 1, 2016. (Photo by David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)

A players looks thought the fence during the annual Lelo match in the village of Shukhuti, Georgia, May 1, 2016. (Photo by David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)