National Holiday: Pinoy Native Games Day 2014! :-)
If I could implement and declare 1 national holiday,
it would be called “Pinoy Native Games Day” and it would require everyone to stop
whatever they are doing to play the native games we used to play and celebrate
it.
When I was a kid, the only games
we would normally play were ones that required other people’s participation and
the best place to be in was always outdoors. Right now, most kids are just glued
to their computers, phones and whatever gadget and prefer to be in the comforts
of their own room as opposed to getting all sweaty under the heat of the sun.
Today, I am celebrating that
national holiday (albeit without an
approval from the Philippine government)… Happy Pinoy Native Games Day to
all!
And in the spirit of this
celebration, here are the Pinoy games that we so loved before but have been
forgotten by the newer generations…
Sungka
This game is usually played
indoors and requires 2 players to move a number of “sigay” (cowry) shells in an oblong-shaped wooden receptacle from one hole to
the other in the hopes of amassing more shells. Whoever gets the most number of “sigays” wins
the game. (For those who are strangers to this game, the explanation above might
not quite explain the game itself but those who do know the game, it should be
totally understandable. )
This is a mind-game and requires
some form of planning, analyzing and Math to be able to amass the most shells
and not get defeated by the other player.
Siyatong
Now this game is definitely
played outdoors; although a soil-less version cold be done indoors as well but
with limited running space. This game is played by multiple persons and uses a
set of wooden sticks – a short one and a long one. (The long one serves more like a bat while the short one in a way
represents the ball)
The game has many phases but
mostly involves doing exhibitions using the wooden sticks and if such
exhibitions are not done properly makes the player lose a turn. It also
involves running and shouting “siyatong” to the top of your lungs if and when
your team loses.
Slipper Game
This is probably one of the games
I was very good at because it involves kicking a slipper far away so you could
make all the goals. From a Western perspective, you could compare it with
Baseball and the slipper is the ball and you have to hit it with your foot (a.k.a. the bat).
I would mostly get a homerun
during these games because I could kick the slipper really high that it gets
stuck on roofs and I would be free to run around to get the homerun.
Batu lata
This game still involves slippers
but is somewhat comparable to bowling as the slippers are used as the balls to
target a can that serves as the bowling pin. Also very popular among boys
rather than girls; possible because boys were dirtier back then and liked
dirtier games. (Well, they still actually
do even when they grow up as men...no offense meant of course, just had to add that in...hehe)
Kulon-kulon/Luto-luto
Back when I was a child, most of
our toys were either made of wood or ceramic and we could buy ceramic
mini-kitchen utensils such as pots and pans called “kulon” that we would use to
cook food. Most of the “food” we used were leaves of plants and we would try to
recreate the cooking experience with no fire. As we grew older and more careful
with fire, we would cook real food like rice and actually eat them after as
well. This role-play of sorts was played during sessions of “Balay-balay” (House
role-play). There were also other kids
who instead of having houses, had stores where we could buy items with the use
of our make-believe money consisting of candy wrapper for bills and soft drink
bottle crowns as change or at times just leaves.
Chinese garter
I believe some school children
still play this game or are familiar with it still. This involves two groups of
players and uses “Chinese garter”. It is the opposite of limbo rock because the
aim is to out-jump all the levels of the Chinese garter no matter how high it
can get. This is mostly popular with girls but boys too still play alongside
girls at times.
Luksong-tinik
This game is more or less similar
to Chinese garter but does not require any paraphernalia. Instead of the garter,
the hands are lined up higher and higher for other players to out-jump each
level. If I am not mistaken, there is still another phase to this game and if I
remember it well, I think it could also lead to a tug of war game or something
of that kind.
Bitok-bitok
This game was mostly played
during full-moon or on brownouts and there was nothing to do inside the house
but the moon was so bright that it was ok to play outdoors. It was more like a
guessing game wherein the “hagu” (it)
would try and figure out whom among the players (on sitting position as if hiding something) had the stone. He
would try and figure out who had the stone based on how hot the ears are of the
each player. If you ask me why, I don’t really know but I guess there must be
some form of science behind it. Hehe..
Tug of War
Our tug of war before was more
intricate and had some steps before the tug of war itself. We would first sing “London
Bridge” and have all the other players get in line and cross a “bridge” made by
two players holding hands and when chosen based on the lyrics of the song, they
would be asked a question wherein they could choose only 1 answer. That answer
would determine the members of each team.
Once the team members are
determined, the tug of war game commences.
Sisira ang Bulaklak
Mostly for girls and those aiming
to be one :-),
this game required the “hagu” to dance in the middle of a circle formed by the
players and at the end of the song, cover his eyes to choose who gets to be the
next “hagu”.
Isang Mariang Makiling
This can be played by two or more
players and is a game using the hands only. The song is sang and at certain
times of the song, a player is required to slap another players hand and if he
is able to, that hand becomes useless or gets amputated in the game. The winner
is the person who still has hands or a hand at the end of the game.
Tagu-tagu (Hide and Seek)
Still very much alive today is
the game of hide-and-seek where a member of the team is tasked to figure out
where everyone else is hiding and the game ends when everyone is found. Some
children are so good at this that the game has ended without them getting
found. (This can get annoying at times as
the hider ends up giggling to himself thereby alerting the finder of his
location or just giggling to himself and no one to share it with.. hehe..)
Other similar games were P.S. I
love you, Dakup-dakup, Langit Lupa, etc. that involved running and getting to a
certain spot considered safe.
Vicks (or Step-step)
The newer generations today would
know of this as the name of a cold medicine but those during my childhood days
knew this as an outdoor game that required flat stones, lines on the street and
players trying to get those stones to from those lines with the use of their
feet. Expertise on this game meant you would have most of the squares as your
home and other players would have to skip those houses to continue the game.
Jolin (Marbles)
Although widely-known as a boy’s
game, girls still can play this game. The aim of the game is to be able to
shoot the marble into the hole on the ground and amass as many marbles by
hitting the other players’ marbles.
I still see a few school kids
play this game every now and then and at certain times of the year. Apparently
this is a seasonal game like that of spider-fights.
Climbing trees and mountains
This is technically not a game
but something that we used to do a lot when we were kids because it was fun.
Personally, I would climb fruit-bearing trees (guava, papaya, tambis, mantsanitas, iba, etc) because of the
rewards that await me when I am at the top. This is one of the most dangerous
things we used to do as kids that had even gotten some of us a broken bone or
two yet we so loved communing with nature and would do it anyway. Right now,
the lack of trees might be the culprit on why our kids no longer do this but if
and when I see an opportunity to climb trees, I still relish the experience.
Dancing and playing in the rain
Those were the days when “acid
rain” was unheard of and we were worry-free of Leptospirosis or getting hit by
thunder (which are real dangers by the
way but not so much as it is today). Every time the rain starts to trickle
down, my friends and other kids would start to trickle down as well and we
would all be running around and splashing water under the rain. We would even
parade around and circle our neighborhood (which
by the way, back then, were people we all knew…) drenched in the cold rain.
These are just some of the games
I would ask everyone to play during Pinoy Native Games Day but I am
sure there are more than I might have missed. For those who were able to
relate, good for you. For those who are part of the newer generations and
unfortunately missed it, hopefully you can get a renewed interest in these
games and try to even play it.
If you know of other games as
well or can better describe the games above, please feel free to comment below.
And may you all have a wonderful and
enjoyable Pinoy Native Games Day!!
Started 09/24/14 @ 4:22 pm
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