Qugunqiu
01 · Historical Records
It has a long history of more than 900 years and is mainly distributed among the townships of the plains of Yutian County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Uyghur field hockey, called "qiongmaq ball" and "maire ball" in the Uyghur language, is a folk sports activity with wide coverage and a large number of participants. Field hockey is participated in mainly by peasants; it is a mass recreational activity, mostly held during the off-season and at festivals. Participants hold hockey sticks; the two sides may be unequal in number, with at most twenty players a side, or as few as two competing. The field is flat ground of more than half a mu, with wooden posts or piles of stones used as markers for the goals. The rules require each player to strike the ball with a stick with a "7"-shaped curved head. The sticks are generally wooden, about one meter long; metal sticks are not allowed. During matches it is forbidden to catch the ball with the hands or kick it with the feet, to strike or injure a person with the stick, or to obstruct the advance of an opposing player. Each match has two referees. There are two kinds of match balls, chosen according to the time of play. For daytime matches, the ball is wound from cotton or wool yarn into a sphere, wrapped in cloth and sewn, about 8 centimeters in diameter. For night matches, the ball is instead made by filing and grinding the dried fungal bodies of willow or poplar trees into a sphere. In night matches the ball is set alight to become a fireball; as it is struck, sparks fly, and the players chase the fireball in play, a spectacular scene. The players' ages differ, and so the length of a match differs accordingly. Usually a match lasts 15 minutes for the elderly and 30 minutes for young people. Uyghur field hockey makes no strict demands on venue, stick, or clothing; participation is high, it is simple and easy to learn, and easy to spread. Participants play for their own enjoyment; there is no economic cost and no prize. The losing side often treats the winning side to a simple meal as a reward. Field hockey matches are recreational and competitive, with many participants and wide coverage; they are of great significance for enriching rural cultural life, improving people's physical fitness, and promoting social harmony and stability.
Two Uyghur names for the game
Two Uyghur names for the stick-and-ball game, both in use in different villages of Yutian county.
The seven-shaped stick
Every player must use a 7-shaped wooden stick about one metre long; metal sticks are forbidden.
Day ball and night ball
Two balls are used by time of day: a cloth-wrapped cotton or wool ball of about eight centimetres for daytime, and one ground from dried willow or poplar fungus for night play.
The burning-ball night match
For night matches the ball is set alight; sparks fly as players chase the burning ball, the most distinctive form of the game.
Ground and team size
Play takes place on level ground of half a mu or more with posts or stones as goals; teams range from two to twenty a side and two umpires officiate.
The meal as prize and the three-generation lineage
There is no cash prize: the losing side treats the winners to a simple meal, while transmission runs mainly through the community with the family as supplement.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Yutian County lies on the northern foot of the Kunlun Mountains and the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, with the Keriya River running through the whole county from south to north. The townships of the oasis plains are the main areas where Uyghur field hockey is transmitted. Locally the sport is called "qiongmaq ball" and "maire ball" respectively, the same activity going by two names in different villages. Matches have no fixed field: flat ground of more than half a mu marked with wooden posts or piles of stones serves as the goal, and during the off-season and festivals villagers can form teams and start a match on the open ground at the head of the village. According to surveys by the Yutian County Cultural Center, the activity is most widely spread among the plain townships; participants range from teenagers to the elderly, and the length of each match is adjusted according to age — 15 minutes for the senior group and 30 minutes for the youth group. Like other Uyghur traditional sports such as horse racing and wrestling, Uyghur field hockey is tied to the rhythm of oasis farming life and is most active after the wheat harvest and in the winter slack season.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Uyghur field hockey is transmitted mainly in group form, with family transmission as an important supplementary form; the lineage, with clearly defined generations, now spans three generations. Uyghur field hockey is a component of the sports culture of the Chinese nation and is of great significance for the study of the development history of folk sports among China's ethnic minorities.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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