TİKA Supports the Knuckle Bone Tournament, a Traditional Game, in Kazakhstan

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) supported the Asık Atu (Knuckle-Bone Shooting) Festival, a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage and a common national value of the Turkish World.

In order to promote traditional games and instill children’s love for these games in an environment where different generations come together, a tournament of knuckle-bone, a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage and a common national value of the Turkish World, was organized on February 15, 2020 in Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan.

36 students, who became knuckle-bone shooting champions at middle schools in Nur-Sultan, competed against each other in the tournament at the Saryarka Velodrome organized by the Ethnosport Federation of Kazakhstan with TİKA’s supports. After the student tournament, a short knuckle-bone shooting tournament took place with the participation of Turkey’s Ambassador to Nur-Sultan Ufuk Ekici, President of the Ethnosport Federation of Kazakhstan Bekbolat Tleukhan, and celebrities from Kazakhstan.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Ambassador Ekici noted that the Turks have a common history and culture with the Kazakhs and expressed her satisfaction with the development of traditional games such as knuckle-bone shooting. Stating that knuckle-bone shooting is played in Turkey as well, Ekici said, “We should encourage traditional sports because they are our common values. I hope they will become widespread worldwide.” Noting that Turkey was the first country to recognize Kazakhstan’s independence, Bekbolat Tleukhan said, “I would like to thank Turkey, our sister country, for its contributions to the development of our traditional games.” Tleukhan also reminded that TİKA has supported several traditional sports in their country up to now. TİKA Nur-Sultan Deputy Coordinator İslam İsmail stated that TİKA has always been happy to support the development and popularization of traditional sports, which are our common values.

Knuckle-bone shooting, which is aimed to be more popularized throughout Kazakhstan, especially in schools, is one of the games frequently played by Kazakh children.