There are no synthetic tracks here. No floodlit stadium. No branded jerseys, expensive sports shoes or professional training camps.
Instead, there are gunny sacks, earthen pots, ropes, bows and arrows, mud, wooden sticks and the physical skills that have travelled through generations of the Baiga community.
In Baihar, in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district, these everyday objects become sporting equipment during the Baiga Olympics — a tribal sporting and cultural festival designed around the traditional games of the Baiga people.
The event was first organised in Baihar in 2015 by the Balaghat Tourism Promotion Council, with the stated aim of showcasing traditional Baiga games and helping conserve the community’s cultural heritage.
Later editions have brought together Baiga participants from Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring states.
A 2020 edition, for instance, was planned over three days and invited Baiga communities from parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh.
But who are the Baigas?
The Baigas are one of Madhya Pradesh’s Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)-a special category created to identify tribal communities facing particularly severe socio-economic and infrastructural disadvantages.
India currently recognises 75 PVTGs across 18 states and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The classification has historically been based on indicators including low literacy, economic vulnerability, geographical isolation, dependence on subsistence livelihoods, and stagnant or declining population trends. The Baiga are among the PVTGs listed in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
The term itself has an important history. These communities were earlier officially referred to as “Primitive Tribal Groups”, but the terminology was changed to PVTG in 2006–07 because the word “primitive” was considered inappropriate and value-laden.
They have traditionally lived in close relationship with the forests of central India, particularly across areas of Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring Chhattisgarh. In Madhya Pradesh, large concentrations of the community are found in districts including Mandla and Balaghat.
Their relationship with the forest goes well beyond livelihood.
Baiga communities have traditionally depended on forest resources for food, medicine and other necessities, while maintaining extensive knowledge of local plants and their uses.
And then there are the games.
Long before the word “Olympics” was attached to them, many of these activities were simply part of community life. The Baiga Olympics takes those games out of the village setting and puts them into a common arena.
So, what exactly happens at the Baiga Olympics?
The answer is wonderfully different from what one might expect from a conventional sporting meet.
Take Bora Daud.
Instead of sprinting down a professional track, participants climb into gunny sacks and race. The humble sack becomes the equivalent of a piece of sporting equipment.
Then there is the Matka race, where participants race while balancing earthen pots. It turns an everyday object into a test of balance, coordination and speed.
From Matka Daud and Bora Daud to Bhalafenk, Dhanushbaan, Kabaddi and Kho-Kho, the games blend tradition with sport. Photograph: (Madhya Pradesh Tourism/Shutterstock)
Bhalafenk, or spear throwing, draws on the physical precision associated with traditional hunting skills.
Dhanushbaan, involving the bow and arrow, is another important traditional contest. The Madhya Pradesh government lists it among the Baiga Olympics’ traditional “hunter games”.
There is also Vajni Khel, described as a traditional form of wrestling; Rassa-Kashi, the tug-of-war; and running events including relay and Tritangi races.
The official list of competitions has included Matka Daud, Bora Daud, Tritangi race, relay race, Bhalafenk, Vajni Khel, Lipa-Poti, kabaddi, kho-kho, volleyball, Rassa-Kashi and Dhanushbaan. Earlier editions have also featured games such as Gobardanda.
What do you need to compete?
Not much by modern sporting standards.
A sack for Bora Daud. An earthen pot for the Matka race. A spear for Bhalafenk.
And, most importantly, the knowledge of how to use them.
A special torch also forms part of the event. According to the Balaghat district administration, the torch travels through different districts before reaching Baihar, with a promotional vehicle accompanying it and inviting Baiga youth to participate.
The event was first organised in Baihar in 2015 by the Balaghat Tourism Promotion Council. Photograph: (Government of Madhya Pradesh)
The participants, too, are not necessarily professional athletes.
The Ministry of Tourism describes the event as one where both young and older members of the Baiga community can participate, rather than restricting competition to trained athletes.
A participant does not need years of specialised coaching, a sponsorship deal or access to a stadium. A skill learned through community life can become the basis for competition.
Why does something like this matter? Because indigenous cultures can disappear quietly.
The Baiga Olympics offers one way of keeping some of those practices visible.
People from Baiga community are all set to welcome you to take a sneak peek into their world with Baiga Olympics, Balaghat. The 3 day fiesta from 4th-6th Jan will showcase the rich culture of Baiga tribes of Madhya Pradesh.#MPTourismpic.twitter.com/nsFQWyLVUD
— Madhya Pradesh Tourism (@MPTourism) January 2, 2020
There is also an important question of dignity. For years, tribal communities have often been represented primarily through poverty, remoteness or deprivation.
The Baiga Olympics attempts to shift the frame.
An Olympics without an Olympic-sized budget
That may ultimately be the most compelling part of the Baiga Olympics. The event borrows the language and spectacle of a global sporting competition, the torch, competitions, teams, spectators and prizes but changes the meaning of what counts as an athlete and what counts as sport.
The Baiga Olympics does not attempt to reproduce the world’s Olympics in a forested corner of Madhya Pradesh. It builds a sporting platform around what the community already knows.
