Garabtep / Chiledi
A game of keeping a ball in the air by kicking it with the right and left foot in turn.
Names among the peoples
- çilədi (çiləmə) (Azerbaijanis)
- qarabtep (lanka) (Uzbeks)
About
This game is known by two names: the Azerbaijanis call it çilədi (çiləmə), the Uzbeks qarabtep. The player keeps a ball in the air by kicking it with the right and left foot in turn, without letting it fall. In Azerbaijan it is counted among the old games widely played by children and young people, especially before the holidays.
When there are many players they divide into teams and choose leaders; the teams stand 3–4 metres apart. When the ball falls, the turn passes to the other team; the team whose player kicks the ball the most times goes ahead in the count. In the past the ball was made from the fine hair of horses and horned animals.
In the Uzbek form a tepki (popularly lanka) is used instead of a ball: a piece of metal tied firmly to a scrap of woolly sheepskin. The player keeps it in the air with the inside, the outside or the toe of the foot, sometimes with a jump, and counts the kicks. In Uzbekistan the rules of the game were approved on 25 January 2013; the first national championship was held in Kattakurgan on 21 December 2013, and a championship was held on 20 March 2016, on the eve of Navruz.
Peoples
Research: Vasif Namazov, Turan Games Concept
