Traditional Malaysian games and pastimes range from those found
as part of festival celebrations to year-round activities that are
just for fun. Many of these games and pastimes also make great
gifts and souvenirs of your time in Malaysia. Here's just a
taste.
Silat is the Malaysian indigenous martial art, a sport
increasingly popular around the world. Part dance and part combat,
Silat is an elegant combat sport that is regularly exhibited at
weddings and cultural festivals.
A wau is literally an enormous, colourful kite that makes you
say 'Wow!' Measuring up to 3.5 metres from head to tail, these
kites and the experts who fly them are amazing to watch. Keep an
eye out for these at the end of the rice harvest season in
particular.
Gasing is a unique game of strength and balance where players
unleash a large, heavy spinning top using a rope, then scoop the
still-spinning top up off the ground using a special paddle and
places it onto a stand. The longest spinner wins.
Wayang Kulit is an enchanting form of puppet show using
intricately carved, two-dimensional puppets with exaggerated
features to tell epic traditional stories.
Sepak Manggis is a game played by the Bajau and Iranun where,
somewhat like the Mexican piñata, players whack a floral container
raised 10 metres in the air that's filled with goodies.
Sepak Takraw is the Malaysian form of hacky-sack, where a ball
woven from buluh or bamboo is kept in the air using any body part
except the hands and lower arms. More skilful players play using a
net, somewhat like volleyball.
Congkak is a traditional mathematical board game played since
ancient times on a boat-shaped board using tamarind seeds (or
shells, marbles or stones).