What is upuca?

Answer 1

Your grandparents probably enjoyed playing intonga, kho-kho or jukskei when they were young. Sport and Recreation Services want to ensure that these indigenous games are not lost, so that the current and future generations of children can enjoy playing them too.

Sport and Recreation trains volunteers as indigenous games leaders and hosts tournaments where these games are played and promoted.

More about indigenous games:

• Dibeke/Skununu
• Kho-kho
• Ntimo/Kgati/Ugqaphu
• Diketo/Magave/Upuca
• Jukskei
• Ncuvu/Morula and Morabaraba
• Intonga

Dibeke/Skununu

• Dibeke is a running ball game played by two teams of six boys and six girls each.
• The attacking team tries to kick the ball away from the defenders, while the defenders can use their hands to get the ball away from them.
• The attackers score when they have moved the ball down the entire length of the field.
• However, if one of the defenders tags an attacker with the ball, that player is out.
• When all the attackers are out, the defenders get a chance to try and score.

Kho-kho

• Kho-kho has its origin in the Indian community. It is played by two teams of twelve.
• Eight players from the chasing team kneel, facing the each other.
• The ninth player is the chaser.
• Three players from the other team are sent on as defenders.
• The chaser runs around the sitters chasing the defender, trying to touch them so that they would be out.
• The chaser can tag a sitter, shouting "kho", making that player the new chaser.
• When the first three are caught, the next three are sent on.

Ntimo/Kgati/Ugqaphu

• Kgati is a ropeskipping game from three.
• Two swing the skipping rope and the third jumps in a variety of way, usually while singing or chanting.

Diketo/Magave/Upuca

• In Diketo each player tries to grabe the most stones, throw them in the air and catch them in one hand.

Jukskei

• Jukskei is a traditionally Afrikaner game that originated with early Afrikaner travellers that made use of ox wagons.
• In the game the players try to knock over an upright stick with jukskei - the wooden pin used in an ox's yoke.

Ncuvu/Morula and Morabaraba

• Morabaraba is a boardgame in some ways resembling Chess or checkers.

Intonga

• Intonga is stick fighting.
• The player that can hit the other with the stick the most in this play-fighting, wins.