What is the traditional game for kids in the Malay?
Is Chapteh a Malay game?
The earliest reference to a game of kicking a feathered object dates back to the 5th century BCE in China. Later known as ti jianzi (踢毽子), which means “kick little shuttlecock” in Chinese, the game was used to train military men.2 During the Tang dynasty, Shaolin monks in Henan were also known to have practised the game to strengthen their martial art skills.3 It was popular for about two millennia, from the Han dynasty (206 BCE–200 BCE) until after the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE).4 Since the Song dynasty (960 CE–1278 CE), the game has been known as jianzi (毽子) or jianqiu (毽球), as derived from the Chinese word for “arrow”, and which sounds the same as the word for “shuttlecock”.5

Known as da cau in Vietnam, capteh was included as a competitive sport at the 22nd Southeast Asian Games, which were hosted by the country in 2003. Internationally, the game is known as shuttlecock kicking. The founding of the International Shuttlecock Federation in 1999 is testament to the international status the game has garnered.
In Singapore, the game is known as capteh. The name is thought to be either Malay or Hokkien in origin. Variants of the name include chapteh, chaptek and chatek. Still very much alive in Singapore, the game is promoted in a range of places – from museums and retail outlets to vintage cafes.