And the word “mahibs” is a diminutive of the word “mahbas”, which means ring in the Iraqi dialect, and it is a popular game that brings together different age groups. Ramadan, but has evolved over the past few years.
The rituals of this game usually start after the time of Iftar, or Tarawih prayers, where the men go to the popular cafes, for the summer, or what they call locally “Talouh”, where the match that everyone is waiting for begins.
This game is based on the presence of two teams, (in any possible number), where the players are organized in two groups that often represent a residential neighborhood, a region, or a governorate, and usually between them there is a challenge and intense competition, or a strong desire to win, to go up to the other stage, if Organize a league, as is the case with football.
After that, the players sit in two opposite rows, and the leader of one of the two teams hides the “lock” in the hand of a player from his team, away from the eyes of the other row, then the leader of the opposing team, or one of his players, seeks to identify the hand that hides the stopcock from all the blocked palms. If he succeeds in the task, he starts applauding and cheering, and a point is awarded to his team.
This game requires agreement on the number of points required to be obtained to win, and who will reach it first, will be the winner, while the losing party will have to purchase trays of baklava, dumplings and six znod (types of local sweets) and distribute them to the winning team, fans and patrons. The cafe as well.
During the past decades, this game has become famous for its men, who are known for their physiognomy, sharp look, and the ability to pick up the ring, among hundreds of hands, as their owners try to camouflage, manipulate, use psychological tricks, and show tension, to delude the opponent into their possession of the ring.
The researcher in Baghdadi heritage, Adel Al-Ardawi, says that “there is no specific date in the day and year, for the launch of this game, but it goes back to previous eras, and its traditions were formed through time, as a result of social practice, and it is a well-established tradition, invented by the Iraqis, to spend the long nights of Ramadan, Some go to prayers, others to visit religious shrines, while the majority of young people resort to this game.”
Al-Ardawi added in a statement to Sky News Arabia, “This practice requires special qualities in team leaders and key players, such as the skill of reading faces, controlling nerves, controlling provocation, and moving the mind, during the journey of searching for the ring, to win,” referring to It “begins with the inclusion of the Mahbas, which is popularly called (Bat), and ends with distributing sweets to all winners and losers.”
Before 2003, that game witnessed the organization of its own tournament by influential parties in the former Iraqi regime, and it was highlighted by the Iraqi media at the time. Football, singing and acting.
In recent years, new players have emerged, but they have not been able to compete with Jassem Al-Aswad, who remains the first star in the Al-Muhaibis game in Iraq because of his great insight in diagnosing the location of Al-Mahbis.
During the years of security turmoil that Iraq witnessed, popular interest in this game declined, in terms of the difficulty of moving between regions, and being in cafes late at night, but after the end of the war on ISIS, in 2017, and the relative stability of the security situation, this game returned strongly, and under the auspices of From local companies, the “Iraq Central Muhaibis Championship” is currently being held, with the participation of 20 teams.
Some of them trace the history of that game to the council of one of the Abbasid caliphs, as it is said that it appeared after one of his sats hid the caliphate’s seal, and began to guess his whereabouts. The news spread and the matter pleased many, so they played it and then spread outside the palace in Baghdad.
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