Chapter 9 — Hekko

Chapter 9 of the Class 4 English NCERT textbook (Santoor), "Hekko", introduces students to a traditional folk game from the Mokokchung district of Nagaland, rooted in an ancient story of humans challenging a tiger. The chapter explains the game's rules, scoring, and special titles awarded to star players. Download the PDF and read a summary and Q&A below to prepare for class and comprehension exercises.

• The Folk Story Behind Hekko — The word 'Hekko' comes from two Nagaland words: 'Hek' meaning to challenge and 'ko' meaning tiger. An old folk story from Nagaland features 'Aami' (The Man) and 'Aakho' (The Tiger), who once lived together and had a disagreement about superiority. The humans challenged the tiger, and this challenge became known as Hekko.
• Rules of the Game — Hekko is played between two teams of 11 players each — Aami and Aakho — decided by a toss. A circle is drawn; the Aami team stays inside forming a human chain, while the Aakho team stays outside. Aakho players enter the circle two at a time and try to push Aami players out, while the Aami team tries to surround and catch Aakho players. A caught Aakho player must say 'Joko' (surrender) to be released.
• Winning Conditions and Special Titles — The game ends when all Aakho players are caught, all Aami players are pushed out, or time runs out — and the team with the most points wins. The fastest player of the Aami team is awarded the title 'Khozuba', and the strongest player of the Aakho team receives the title 'Khotiba'.
• Language and Grammar Activities — The chapter's exercises cover homophones (their/there, two/too, through/threw, caught/cot, right/write), consonant blends (st, ch, gl), animal sounds, and past simple tense including regular verbs with -ed and irregular verbs. A listening activity asks students to identify five traditional Indian games from descriptions.

1. 01'Hekko' means 'Challenging the tiger' — from the Nagaland words 'Hek' (challenge) and 'ko' (tiger).
2. 02The game is played in the Mokokchung district of Nagaland and identifies the strongest people in the village.
3. 03Each team has 11 players; the toss decides which team is called Aami (humans) and which is Aakho (tigers).
4. 04Aami players form a human chain inside a circle; Aakho players enter two at a time to push them out.
5. 05A caught Aakho player must say 'Joko' (surrender) before another Aakho player can enter the circle.
6. 06The fastest Aami player is titled 'Khozuba'; the strongest Aakho player is titled 'Khotiba'.
7. 07Grammar focus: homophones (their/there, two/too, right/write) and past simple tense with regular (-ed) and irregular verbs.
8. 08A listening activity describes five traditional Indian games for students to identify by their rules.