Gasing (Giant Top Spining)

Gasing or (Giant top spinning) is a popular traditional game played in Terengganu and Kelantan. Yet it is no child's play as each gasing may weight as heavy as 5kg. The size too may be as big as a dinner plate. Which explains why most of the players are adult men or young men, as hurling the gasing using a piece of rope wound around the gasing requires strength, coordination and skill to ensure that the gasing remains spinning for the longest time.

The gasing is made out of  a fine piece of hardwood such as merbau, keranji or cengal . The wood is then left to dry naturally before it is shaped into a discus. A good gasing  needs to be properly grooved and perfectly  symmetrical in order to enable it to spin for a long time.

Gasing competitions are an annual feature in the east coast. These annual competitions help  the younger generation  to preserve  the gasing as a proud heritage. In  Wakaf Changak, Batu Rakit, Terengganu the gasing competitions are an annual affair that create lots of excitement and frenzy among the viewers and the participants as they watch  the gasing spin round and round, sometimes as long as 3 hours.