NCERT Solutions for Class 4th English Chapter 9 Hekko
Updated on 2026-09-19
About this chapter
What the word means. ‘Hek’ means to challenge and ‘ko’ means tiger . So Hekko means “Challenging the tiger.” The folk story. Long ago humans and animals lived together. They had a disagreement about their superiority. The humans challenged Aakho (The Tiger), and that challenge came to be known as Hekko. Where it is played. The people of the Mokokchung district of Nagaland play Hekko. It is a well-known sport today, and the strongest people in the village are found through this game. The two teams. Hekko is played between two teams, Aami and Aakho , with 11 players in each. A toss before the game decides which team is Aami and which is Aakho. How it is played. A circle is drawn. The Aami team stays inside it by making a human chain; the Aakho team stays outside. Two Aakho players enter and
- Hekko
- declared · superiority · disagreement · surrender
- A. Answer the following.
- B. Think and discuss.
- A. Choose the correct option to complete the sentence.
- C. Match the animals with their sound.
- E. Fill in the blanks using -ed.
- A. Look at the pictures and identify the games being played.
- A. Write about a new game that you would like to play.
- Nagaland is a land of festivals.
Quick revision
| Word | What it means | Where it comes in the chapter | A sentence of your own |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hekko | “Challenging the tiger” — the name of the game. | “the word ‘Hekko’ means ‘Challenging the tiger.’” (page 89) | We watched a game of Hekko in the village ground. |
| Aami | The Man — the team that stays inside the circle. | “Aami” (The Man) (page 89) | The Aami team made a strong chain. |
| Aakho | The Tiger — the team that stays outside the circle. | “Aakho” (The Tiger) (page 89) | Two Aakho players ran into the circle. |
| Joko | Surrender — what a caught Aakho player must say. | “he is not released until he says ‘Joko’” (page 91) | He shouted “Joko” and they let him go. |
| Khozuba | The title given to the fastest player of the Aami team. | “awarded the title of ‘Khozuba’” (page 92) | Our captain was made the Khozuba this year. |
| Khotiba | The title given to the strongest player of the Aakho team. | “the title of ‘Khotiba’” (page 92) | The Khotiba pushed three players out of the circle. |
| disagreement | When people do not agree with each other. | “They had a disagreement about their superiority.” (page 89) | The two boys had a disagreement about the last run. |
| superiority | Being better or higher than others. | “a disagreement about their superiority” (page 89) | The lion claimed superiority over all the animals. |
| declared | Said something out loud, for everyone to hear. | “Aakho declared that the tigers had the first right” (page 96) | The teacher declared our team the winner. |
| surrender | To give up and accept that you have lost. | “he says ‘Joko’ (surrender)” (page 91) | The tired player had to surrender. |
| human chain | A line or ring of people holding on to one another. | “stay within the circle by making a human chain” (page 91) | We made a human chain around the school tree. |
| toss | A coin thrown up to decide something before a game. | “The toss before the game decides which team will be called Aami” (page 90) | Our captain won the toss and chose to bat. |
| Mokokchung | The district of Nagaland where Hekko is played. | “The people in the Mokokchung district of Nagaland” (page 90) | Mokokchung is a district in the state of Nagaland. |
| Hornbill | A festival of Nagaland that shows the culture of the state. | “Hornbill is one of the festivals to promote the culture of the state.” (page 101) | We saw Naga dances at the Hornbill festival. |
Exercises
- Hekko — Let us Read Page 89–92
- declared · superiority · disagreement · surrender — New Words Page 92
- A. Answer the following. — Let us Think Page 93
- B. Think and discuss. — Let us Think Page 93
- A. Choose the correct option to complete the sentence. — Let us Learn Page 94–95
- B. Look at the pictures and write their names. One has been done for you. — Let us Learn Page 95
- C. Match the animals with their sound. — Let us Learn Page 96
- D. Read the following sentences. Notice the underlined words. — Let us Learn Page 96
- E. Fill in the blanks using -ed. — Let us Learn Page 97
- Listen to the description of some traditional games of India. Identify each game and write its name in the space given below. — Let us Listen Page 98–99
- A. Look at the pictures and identify the games being played. — Let us Speak Page 100
- A. Write about a new game that you would like to play. — Let us Write Page 101
- Nagaland is a land of festivals. — Let us Explore Page 101