Koresh at physical education lessons!

09:00, 02.02.2023

Schools will start playing lapta. How can the peoples of Tatarstan respond?

The Lapta module was approved at the beginning of the year for the educational programmes of Russian schools: students will be play lapta — in physical education classes or optionally. Realnoe Vremya interviewed representatives of the peoples of Tatarstan, which games they would like to see in educational institutions.

Shall we play v vorotsa?

The proposal to add lapta appeared in October 2022 during the All-Russian Forum of school sports clubs in Kazan. The programme was prepared by the Russian Lapta Federation of Russia with the support of the Federal Centre for Organisational and Methodological Support of Physical Education. They will begin popularisation in 32 thousand school sports clubs of the country, which, by the way, plan to open next year in each school. “This will allow schoolchildren to develop their physical skills, and will also contribute to the moral education of schoolchildren and students. While playing lapta, children learn to work in a team, to be proactive and decisive," the press service of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation notes.

Pavel Alexandrov, the head of the Department for the Development of Folk Art of the Tatkultresurscentr, an Udmurt from Bavly, is engaged in the study of folk traditions in order to popularise folk traditional folklore culture. Among them, there are games of peoples living on the territory of the republic, but adapted to modern realities. For example, he suggests playing streams and round dances at traditional physical education classes for elementary grades, as well as taking as a basis games that are duplicated by most peoples, such as “odd-man-out”. Or Kapkaen shugan (the game “v vorotsa, translated as “in the gates”): couples, while the music is playing (national!), should have time to run “in the gate” out of their hands. Those who did not have time are taken to the centre of the circle and they come up with tasks for them.

“V vorotsa game echoes the Russian tradition and all peoples have it. This is a moderately active live game with tasks, where children are given the opportunity to have fun, come up with tasks for those who lost," adds Alexandrov.

The chairman of the Chuvash national cultural autonomy, Simon Vasiliev, believes that the game called "Çӗрӗ", which translates as a ring, would be appropriate in physical education. All participants fold their hands into a boat, and the leader, holding the ring in his palms, imperceptibly puts it to one of the participants. Then the players guess who got the ring. The loser must complete some task, sing or dance.

Naza — for the Tatars

Chairman of the Executive Committee of the World Congress of Tatars Danis Shakirov suggests introducing games with a national flavour, such as Kariya-Zakaria, naza, Cheltar Eldem Chitange in schools with the ethno-cultural Tatar component of education. For example, in the naza game, it is said that children line up in pairs one after the other, except for one who remains without a pair and stands in front of the players. While the others are singing, he dances and picks up a mate. In his place the one who has lost a pair stands.

The director of the Tatkultresurstsentr, Alsu Miftakhova, points out many games traditionally peculiar to Udmurts, Russians, and Chuvash, although they have different names.

“Many sports games and competitions that are already in physical education classes today are traditional," Miftakhova points out, adding that in addition to sports competitions, it is possible to introduce knowledge about the peoples of the republic in labour lessons — through classes in folk art crafts.

What do they think about lapta in the Ministry of Culture? Can national games become an identity propaganda? The ministry stated that they also thought about it, but they will inform in more detail about their plans in this direction at the board of the Ministry of Culture of Tatarstan.

Diana Fatykhova

Tatarstan