Popularity of traditional Kazakh togyzqumalaq brain game growing in Lithuania
It was registered by the Lithuanian family of Aidas Zandaris and Ramutė Zandarienė.
For several years now, the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Lithuania, as well as the World Federation of Togyzqumalaq, in cooperation with Lithuanian partners, have been meticulously working to introduce the ages-old intellectual game of Kazakhs and several other nations in this country, the Kazakh MFA’s press service reports.
Master classes in togyzqumalaq are held on a regular basis, during which Lithuanian schoolchildren and students are taught the basics of the game. In 2019 Aidas Zandaris and Ramutė Zandarienė, together with the Embassy of Kazakhstan and the World Federation for the first time published a methodological manual on the game in the Lithuanian language and presented it at a large regional exhibition.
The intellectual game actively develops in Lithuania and conquers minds of more and more admirers. Two tournaments on togyzqumalaq have already been held in the country.
Everyone can buy the boards made in Kazakhstan in the very center of the Old Town of Vilnius, in the bookstore of Zandaris.
The founders of the Federation dedicated its opening to the 30th anniversary of independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan and plan not only to develop the game, but also to challenge soon the most skilled masters of the game in Kazakhstan.
As reported earlier, in December 2020, after reviewing the joint proposal of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey, UNESCO inscribed the traditional intelligence and strategy game of togyzqumalaq into the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.