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NCERT Solutions for Class 4th English Chapter 9 Hekko — Let us Read

Book page 89–92 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.
Let us Read — Hekko. Read the passage and find out what the word “Hekko” means and how the game is played.
Answer

This chapter is not a story. It tells you about a real game played in Nagaland. Here is everything the passage says, in order.

1. What the name means. ‘Hek’ means to challenge. ‘Ko’ means tiger. Put them together and Hekko means “Challenging the tiger.”

2. The folk story behind the name. There is a folk story in Nagaland about “Aami” (The Man) and “Aakho” (The Tiger). Once upon a time humans and animals lived together. They had a disagreement about their superiority — that is, about who was greater. The humans challenged Aakho. That challenge came to be known as Hekko.

3. Where it is played. The people in the Mokokchung district of Nagaland play Hekko. It is a well-known sport today. The strongest people in the village are identified through this game.

4. The teams. Hekko is played as a team game between two teams, Aakho and Aami. There are 11 players in each team. The toss before the game decides which team will be called Aami and which will be called Aakho.

5. How it is played.

  • A circle is drawn on the ground.
  • The Aami team has to stay inside the circle by making a human chain.
  • The Aakho team stays outside the circle.
  • At first two members of the Aakho team enter the circle and try to push the Aami players out. A pushed-out Aami player is out and cannot come in again.
  • The Aami team tries to catch the Aakho players by surrounding them. A caught Aakho player is not released until he says “Joko”, which means surrender.
  • When one player is caught and surrenders, another player of the Aakho team enters the circle.
  • Whenever a team gets a player of the other team out, it gains points.
The Hekko playing circleAakho team (red)Aakho team (red)Aami team (blue)the circle drawn on the ground
How the ground is set for Hekko, as the picture on page 91 shows it: one big circle drawn on the ground, the Aami team inside it and the Aakho team outside. Two Aakho players have come in.

6. How the game ends. It gets over when any one of these three things happens:

  1. All the members of the Aakho team get caught.
  2. All the members of the Aami team are pushed out of the circle.
  3. The time runs out.

The team with the maximum points wins the game.

7. The two titles. The fastest player of the Aami team is given the title “Khozuba”. The strongest player of the Aakho team is given the title “Khotiba”.

Why the game has this name: In the folk story the man challenged the tiger. In the game one team is still called Aami (The Man) and the other Aakho (The Tiger). So every match repeats that old challenge. That is why it is called “Challenging the tiger”.
Tip — the word decide: The passage says the toss “decides” which team is which. When you decide something, you make up your mind. The thing you make up your mind about is called your decision. The toss gives the decision.
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