''Kene'' ( ) or Naga wrestling is a

folk wrestling A folk wrestling style is any traditional style of wrestling, which may or may not be codified as a modern sport. Most cultures have developed regional forms of grappling. Europe Britain Traditionally wrestling has two main centres in Great ...

style and traditional

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

of the Nagas. It is closely related to ''

Ssireum ''Ssireum'' (Hangul: ) or Korean wrestling is a folk wrestling style and traditional national sport of Korea that began in the fourth century. In the modern form each contestant wears only a belt (satba) that wraps around the waist and the th ...

'', the traditional

national sport A national sport is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are ''de facto'' (not established by law) national sports, as sumo is in Japan and Gaelic games are in Ireland and field hockey in Pakistan, while oth ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. The objective of the sport is to bring any part of the opponent's body above the knee to the ground. ''Kene'' is played by the Tenyi–mi ethnic group of the Nagas— Angami,

Chakhesang The Chakhesangs are a major Naga ethnic group found in the Indian state of Nagaland. Chakhesangs were previously known as the former Eastern Angamis, now recognized as a separate ethnic group. The Chakhesangs are divided into two groups known ...

and

Zeliangrong Zeliangrong people are one of the major indigenous Naga communities living in the tri-junction of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland in India. They are the descendants of Nguiba. The term "Zeliangrong" refers to the Zeme, Liangmai and Rongmei Nag ...

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

& Mao, Maram and Poumai of

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

. Each wrestler wears a coloured cloth tied around the waist. Holding the opponent's waist-binder with both hands, the wrestler must attempt to topple the other onto the ground.

History

''Kene'' is one of the oldest traditional games of the Nagas. Though this style of wrestling has been practiced in the region for several centuries, the modern version of the sport was developed only in the mid 20th century. The construction of the highway between

Kohima Kohima (; Angami Naga: ''Kewhira'' ()), is the capital of the Northeastern Indian state of Nagaland. With a resident population of almost 100,000, it is the second largest city in the state. Originally known as ''Kewhira'', Kohima was founded ...

and

Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the fo ...

in the 1930s and 1940s brought together many Tenyimi villagers to participate in the road construction to earn some cash as it was a burden to pay house tax to the British regime as cash was scarce at that time. During lunch breaks, wrestling matches would be held among the workers. Each respective village leaders chooses its best wrestlers to participate in the matches. In 1965, the first organised wrestling meet was initiated by the

Federal Government of Nagaland Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

. It was later reinforced with the formation of the Naga Wrestling Board in 1969 and under its aegis the first

Naga Wrestling Championship The Naga Wrestling Championship is a wrestling tournament organized by the Nagaland Wrestling Association. Initially held as an annual event, it has now been held biennially since 1974 and is the biggest sport event in Nagaland, India India ...

was held on 20 May 1971.

Match

Traditionally, the match takes place within a circular ring, filled with mounded dirt. Modern matches are held in a

wrestling ring A wrestling ring is the stage on which a professional wrestling match usually occurs. It is similarly constructed to a boxing ring and is traditionally square-shaped. Configuration and construction The configuration and construction of the trad ...

. Contestants wears a towel or a belt around their waist which is used for takedowns. At the start of the match both the contestants holds each other in a grappling position, in which each wrestler is grabbing the other's by their belt. The fight begins with the referee's whistle who works within the ring to judge and control the conduct of the wrestlers, rule on their ability to wrestler safely, count knocked-down wrestlers, and rule on fouls. A single match is contested in a best of three fights format, in which the wrestler to win two fights first wins the match. There are no weight classifications.

Competition

Naga Wrestling Championship

The Naga Wrestling Championship organized by the

Nagaland Wrestling Association The Nagaland Wrestling Association is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Kohima, Nagaland, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the ...

is held biennially but only the Angamis, Chakhesangs and Zeliangs are affiliated to the NWA because the Nagas of Manipur were restricted to participate in the tournament by the

Government of Manipur The Government of Manipur ( mni, Manipur Leingak; /mə.ni.pur lə́i.ŋak/), also known as the State Government of Manipur, or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Manipur and its 16 districts. ...

. Venüzo Dawhuo emerged as the champion of the 28th Naga Wrestling Championship 2022.

Naga Open Wrestling Championship

The Naga Open Wrestling Championship is held biennially since 1997. Under this anyone from the non-affiliated members of the Nagaland Wrestling Association can participate. Venüzo Dawhuo holds the title of the 13th Naga Open Wrestling Championship 2021.

Hornbill International Wrestling Championship

Hornbill International Wrestling Championship is held annually since 2007 organized by the Nagaland Wrestling Association as part of the

Hornbill Festival The Hornbill Festival is an annual festival celebrated from 1 to 10 of December in the Northeastern Indian state of Nagaland. The festival represents all ethnic groups of Nagaland for which it is also called the ''Festival of Festivals''. Back ...

celebrations. Vekütho Soho holds the title of the 13th Hornbill International Wrestling Championship 2019.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kene Naga games Folk wrestling styles Sport in India