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ლელო [lelo] Lelo game
Lelo is a very ancient ball game. In the past of many countries you can find contests in which a town or village is divided into two teams that have to try and get a big, heavy ball to a specific place.
Lelo is different, probably because in Georgia it is being played again with great enthusiasm and devotion. In its oral communication, however, lelo involves verbal expression which implies achieving the game’s goals with a lot of sweat and back-breaking exertion.
Unlimited emotion, what at first sight seems to be pointless bravery, unity, a determination to survive and to win, is what seems to keep lelo alive: it has now been transformed into what the west calls rugby; even though that changes the essence of lelo considerably, its significance as a sport and its existence as an example of archaic beauty still remains.
The basis of the game lies in pagan culture, the ball that everyone pursues is no less than the sun, which you have to seize in order to consolidate yourself, the sun being a vital condition for life. It is not surprising that everything has to be made available for a game of lelo.