Myanmar Culture
Chinlon - Myanmar Traditional Sport
Chinlon is a cane ball composed of wicker-work. Cane
or rattan, a wild creeper which grows profusely in many forests of
Myanmar is a very resilient fiberous gift of nature which Myanmar people
have been using for various purposes since time immemorial. In olden
days houses in rural areas were mostly built of bamboo, thatch or palm
leaves and rattan was used instead of iron nail for tying the structure
intact. Strips of cane or rattan are interwoven in bands into a ball of
four inches, a little more or less in diameter leaving twelve pentagonal
holes. Very light but resilient chinlons are cheap and easily available
at any village stall and a chinlon lasts quite long.
Traditionally playing chinlon was strictly a man's pastime for
exercising the body when the back and limbs got cramped due to long
sitting, standing or working. But since post-war times the fairer gender
has broken this masculine monopoly to display feminine body elasticity
and skill in playing it.
Because chinlon is played basically with foot and other parts of the
body - head, shoulder, elbow, knee, heel, sole etc. except for the
hands, foreigners look upon it as Myanmar football. But there is no goal
to shoot in chinlon playing and no fixed number of players needed to
play it. The main object of chinlon playing is to keep it as long as
possible in the air without touching it with the hand. It may be played
by a single individual all by himself or by a team of players in circle,
catching the chinlon as it comes round their way and keeping it as long
as possible in the air by tossing it up with leg, heel, foot, sole,
knee, shoulder, head but not with the hand. Players usually play with
bare feet and have their waistcloths (longyi) tucked up close round the
middle. But to day both men and women players wear shorts and canvas
shoes. For men, chinlon playing provides a good opportunity to show off
their masculine physical beauty especially if the body, thighs, hands
and chest are well tattooed.
It is so nice or even exciting to watch a good player or a team of
players in circle, standing on one leg all the time, taking every
possible posture and movement to keep the chinlon in the air or to
prevent it from touching the ground, giving one another difficult
strokes, negotiating by tossing, kicking and bouncing - all tactical
movements, and spectators applauding when they appreciate skill and
stroke of the players. If chinlon is played as an entertainment at a
festival, it is accompanied by music. A band of percussion and wind
instrumentalists continuously play while the chinlon play is on, and
music changes its tempo in harmony with the movements of chinlon and
players. A skilful player can play with four to eight chinlons using all
possible tactics to keep them on or around his or her body.
When and how chinlon originated in Myanmar is an academic question to be
addressed by researchers. But a silver chinlon was discovered enshrined
in the relic chamber of Baw Baw Gyi Pagoda at an old Pyu City "Sre
Kestra" near Pyay. There are also references to chinlon and chinlon play
in folk songs and literature. Besides quite a few books on chinlon and
techniques of chinlon playing have appeared in the vernacular language.
In the British colonial days an account of chinlon play was given by
C.A. Gordon in 1874. Some foreign globetrotters mention it as one of the
native games in their writings. There was one British high-ranking
official cum writer Sir J.G. Scott who fell in love with chinlon and who
had his thighs tatooed and played chinlon with Myanmars. But in his book
The Burman, His Life and Nations which he penned with a nom-de-plume "Shway
Yoe", Scott disagrees with those foreigners who look upon chinlon as a
game, for he thinks that a game is a striving between two or more
competitors for supremacy. Chinlon is designed simply to exercise the
body.
If Shway Yoe were still alive he would be happy to find that his
favourite chinlon has developed into a Myanmar game, gaining popularity
at home and abroad. In 1908 a Sports Competition was held at the Rangoon
(Yangon) Government High School Chinlon was first introduced as a game
and competition was by a marking system. In 1940, the All Burma
(Myanmar) Chinlon Competition was held at BAA (Burma (Myanmar) Athletic
Association. When the Second World War broke out, endeavours to further
develop chinlon came to a halt. But on 29, June 1953 the All Burma
(Myanmar) Chinlon Conference was held at Rangoon (Yangon). Delegates
from 33 districts attended the conference and they unanimously laid down
and approved the game law and regulations whereby chinlon games were
prescribed by the chinlon game law, namely (1) Individual competition
for chinlon tossing, Single (2) Individual competition for chinlon
tossing, Double (3) Chinlon competition by team of players in circle and
(4) Chinlon competition by team of players in circle for displaying
skill, posture and beauty of style. All together 15 styles were
registered by the game law according to the movement of chinlon (1) fall
(2) rise (3) give (4) take (5) control (6) toss (7) turn-up (8) coming
in (9) going out (10) cornering (11) attack (12) cut (13) support (14)
touch the ground and (15) up lift.
There are many details regarding grades of competition, size of chinlon,
measurement of circle for team players, terms for postures, styles and
tactics and chinlon jargon. Myanmars are football enthusiasts but
chinlon is still in their heart.
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