Lelo burti
Lelo burti ( Georgian ლელო ბურთი , literally "field ball (playing)", briefly called Lelo ) is a traditional full -contact ball sport practiced in Georgia , which bears great similarities to rugby . The game is said to have been played in Georgia since ancient times . One of the oldest written mentions can be found in the Georgian national epic The Knight in the Tiger Skin by Shota Rustaveli from around 1200, in which the main characters play Lelo burti .
Traditional version
The traditional version has no fixed rules and no fixed number of players. Two teams try to get a ball to the other side of a field by any means possible; a watercourse serves as a middle or finish line. The ball, which weighs around 16 kg and is made of cowhide, is filled with wood chips and sand, the filling having been soaked in holy wine beforehand. Just before the game begins, an Orthodox priest blesses the ball and then throws it in the air, signaling the start of the game.
The traditional version is regularly held only every Easter in the village of Shuchuti in the western region of Guria . Several hundred people from two neighboring districts are playing – men, women and children alike. The game is over when the ball is successfully carried or rolled to one end of the field, which can sometimes take several hours. According to tradition, the ball is then placed on a predetermined grave in the cemetery in honor of a deceased, depending on which team won.
Standard version
In an effort to separate the game from centuries-old Christian tradition, the Soviet Union 's communist authorities introduced a standardized version. According to modern rules, Lelo burti is played on a field 90 to 135 m long and 60 to 90 m wide. The round leather ball is filled with horsehair, grass and sheep's wool; it weighs two and a half kilograms and has a diameter of 85 to 90 cm. As in rugby union , fifteen players face each other, but forward passes are allowed. Players are allowed to knock the ball out of opponents' hands, but blocking opponents without the ball is not allowed. Pushing and tripping opponents is also prohibited, and players are not allowed to jump on them. The goal is to get the ball into the goal, known as the mak . Also, players are only allowed to carry the ball for five seconds before passing it. The game consists of two halves of 30 minutes each, with a 10-minute break.
Lelo and rugby
Today's great popularity of rugby union in Georgia is attributed to the Lelo burti . In Georgian rugby terminology, the word lelo is used for a try . The nickname of the Georgia national rugby union team is Lelos .
itemizations
- ↑ Richard Bath (ed.): The Complete Book of Rugby . Seven Oaks, 1997, ISBN 1-86200-013-1 , pp 67 .
- ^ "Lelo Burti" - Deadly Sport. Irakli Dzeneladze, 2018, accessed 2 January 2022 (English).
- ↑ a b Rugby without rules - Ancient tradition of Leloburti in Georgia. Georgian Journal, April 19, 2017, accessed January 2, 2022 .
- ↑ Lelo burti. Encyclopedia of Sports, accessed 2 January 2022 (English).
- ↑ Victor and Jennifer Louis: Sport in the Soviet Union . Pergamon Press , Oxford 1980, ISBN 0-08-024506-4 , pp 39 .