Tata Steel organises tribal sport Sekkor tourney for Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh

Two-day Sekkor tournament at Gitilader, Tantnagar Block Maidan, Chaibasa

Tata Steel organises tribal sport Sekkor tourney for Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh

Posted : Sat, 14/07/2012 - 1:37pm | SportzPower Team

MUMBAI: Set up in 1993, Tata Steel’s Tribal Cultural Society (TCS) has been working to promote ethnic identity and tribal heritage in Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
In its strive to promote traditional sports, TCS has been implementing various sporting and cultural events to popularize tribal culture amongst youth and general masses.
As another step towards this direction, a two-day Sekkor tournament which begun Friday has been organised at Gitilader, Tantnagar Block Maidan, Chaibasa.  It is one of the traditional tribal games being promoted by TCS by encouraging youth to participate in a tournament. Sekkor is a game played by the Ho tribe. According to the “ho” mythology, this ancient game was first played between two early men and Devils and eventually the early men won. Traditionally, this game is played during summer season to prevent drought and bring rain.

“We focus on three important issues: education, improvement of livelihood opportunities and the preservation of the ethnic identity of the tribal community. This game of the “ho” tribe is losing its significance amongst the tribal and with passage of time it is becoming less known to the people. We have taken steps to promote this ethnic game” said Urmila Ekka, secretary, Tribal Cultural Society, Tata Steel.

About 40 tribal teams participated in the tournament. The League matches were played Friday while the finals are later on Saturday. 
Biren Bhuta, chief, Corporate Sustainability Services, Tata Steel, said, “In keeping with our philosophy of improving the quality of life of the communities we serve, Tata Steel always has, and shall continue to support, nurture and promote sporting talent in the country, especially the one from tribal communities. Reviving tribal sports is one of the key areas of intervention for Tribal Cultural Society (TCS).”