The heritage festival revives various forms of traditional folk games as they form an integral component of Bahraini heritage, and a key element of the social fabric and its cultural and civil makeup. The games, open to the public young and old, instill positive values and behavior, and of course provide plenty of fun and entertainment for everyone.
It is a game with an open number of players that prepares young girls to understand and cope with the responsibilities of everyday life, and relies on role playing and imagination. Each girl creates her own household out of a simple cardboard box inhabited by a full family of figures made from readily available materials. Each girl then acts out a story inspired by common events such as pearling voyages, engagement and marriage, and so on.
A fun game for boys and girls, whereby a large rectangle is drawn on the ground then further divided into 6 smaller rectangles. A disc-like canister of shoe polish (called alqais) is kicked by the participants by their right leg while standing on their left in an organized manner from one rectangle to the next, then hopping to the rectangle to which they were pushed.
It is a game with a social purpose in which girls play the role of homemakers. The participants bring whatever simple materials they can from their houses – empty cans, seashells, burlap sacks, leftover food, etc. – then divide up into groups of 3 or 4, each girl with a specific role to play. Each group then builds their own “house” from the materials they brought and organize it. Then they visit the other groups’ houses and prepare feasts, and so on.
It is a simple skill game that was usually played when pilgrims returned from Hajj, as bead necklaces were a common homecoming gift. To play, the girls gather in a circle with a small mound of sand and their beads in the middle. One of the girls then moves the sand around to completely bury all the beads, then divides the play area into a number of sections equal to the number of players. Each girl then picks the section she wants and digs up the beads contained therein. The girl who collects the most beads wins and handles hiding the beads in the next round, while the girls who loses all her beads is eliminated.
A simple game played by boys in certain times of the year. It requires a good hand-eye coordination, and is named after its main tool known as al-dawwamah (meaning “the vortex” or “the spinner”), which is a pear-shaped piece of wood with a nail fastened at its narrower end, not to be confused with the main tool used in the game known as al-balboul. To play, the player wraps a thick cotton thread around aldawwamah from the nail upwards then throws it on the ground while pulling back quickly in one rapid movement to make it spin. He then must skillfully try to again wrap the string around the nail – while al-dawwamah is still in motion - and toss it in the air and catch it in the palm of his hand.
It is a game which requires a certain level of athleticism. To play, a metal wheel – such as an old bicycle wheel – and curved stick made from palm fronds or metal wire. The boys use the stick or wire to push the wheel along as they run to a pre-determined point. He who reaches that point without losing control of his wheel wins.
A favorite game amongst boys with many variations, each of which is played in a certain way. In one of them – called Al-Nita’a – players line up their corks single file while keeping a second cork. One by one, they throw the corks they are holding at the lined-up corks and get to keep the ones they knock over, and so on.
This is a physical game between two teams that requires a certain degree of tolerance for pain. Players dig a set of holes in the shape of a circle with one hole at the center (called lijreed). Members of the first team alternate attempts to throw a ball into the center hole. If all fail to hit the target, the turn shifts to the other team, but if they succeed, the players quickly grab the ball and try to hit one of the other .team members with it to win the game.
An old game that is a cross between chess and billiards, carom requires much concentration and skill, and is usually played in traditional coffee houses. The game is played on a wooden board with four holes at the corners and lines to help players guide their shots, as well as a number of flat multi-colored discs which must be flicked using either the index or middle finger into the holes. Points are counted according to the color of the disc (5 for black, 10 for yellow, and 50 for pink or red). If a player flicks the pink/red disc into one of the holes, he must immediately follow it with a black disc.
