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| Some of the popular Filipino traditional games. Courtesy: Magna Kultura Foundation |
This coming September 27th, the shipping company I currently work with is having a sporting event to be held at Clark Parade Grounds. It is a one-day event, though, because we still have to accomodate loads of incoming calls and e-mails from our customers the next day. However, unlike our previous sporting events for the past couple of years, instead of conventional sports like basketball and volleyball, the management had decided that the games to be played are traditional Filipino games in our childhood, like Patintero, Piko, Tumbang Preso, Luksong Baka, Luksong Tinik, Sungka and so on.
However, since our top bosses abroad have recently arrived to analyze our current state of our working environment (resulting in us forcing to speak English only on the floor, and I speaking it with a Cuban accent just for the fun of it), I expect that they will also be there to witness the event. I am sure they might get some new ideas from our games (they are already aware of Piko, though, as they call it hopscotch), and it would be very awesome if they would tell me someday that they have taught the kids in their respective communities about them, and had fun playing them. In other words, cultural exchange. I would love to see that happen.
While most of us may find it absurd at our age, on the other hand, I imagine that it will be very fun playing these traditional games, especially since they are not usually being played by children nowadays. Since the advent of modern technology, these traditional games has been slowly replaced by video games (console, PC, portable and online). And as time goes by, the gadgets being getting smaller and smaller, the kids nowadays tend to play Candy Crush Saga or Clash of Clans with their iPads and tablets, instead of having fun outdoors playing the games we used to play when we were kids.
Being born in 1987, I admit that I was a 90's kid, as I spent my childhood around this decade. I and my familiy once lived in my grandmother's matriarchal house in Navotas City, back when it was then a town, until we moved to Angeles City, Pampanga in 1998 when my father got a job in Mimosa Regency Casino in Clark (now Casino Filipino Mimosa when PAGCOR purchased it in 2000).
During my childhood years in Navotas City, it later came to my realization that the kids in our community, especially the kids within the street where we lived in (that includes my siblings and cousins, of course), has a certain traditional game we usually play, depending on the month or season.
If my memory serves me right, we play tops and yo-yos from January to March. I used to own both toys when I was a kid, as they are easily purchased outside our school for a few pesos. However, I was unable to further master both arts since I prefer playing alone with action figures in our room or read books.
However, since our top bosses abroad have recently arrived to analyze our current state of our working environment (resulting in us forcing to speak English only on the floor, and I speaking it with a Cuban accent just for the fun of it), I expect that they will also be there to witness the event. I am sure they might get some new ideas from our games (they are already aware of Piko, though, as they call it hopscotch), and it would be very awesome if they would tell me someday that they have taught the kids in their respective communities about them, and had fun playing them. In other words, cultural exchange. I would love to see that happen.
While most of us may find it absurd at our age, on the other hand, I imagine that it will be very fun playing these traditional games, especially since they are not usually being played by children nowadays. Since the advent of modern technology, these traditional games has been slowly replaced by video games (console, PC, portable and online). And as time goes by, the gadgets being getting smaller and smaller, the kids nowadays tend to play Candy Crush Saga or Clash of Clans with their iPads and tablets, instead of having fun outdoors playing the games we used to play when we were kids.
Being born in 1987, I admit that I was a 90's kid, as I spent my childhood around this decade. I and my familiy once lived in my grandmother's matriarchal house in Navotas City, back when it was then a town, until we moved to Angeles City, Pampanga in 1998 when my father got a job in Mimosa Regency Casino in Clark (now Casino Filipino Mimosa when PAGCOR purchased it in 2000).
During my childhood years in Navotas City, it later came to my realization that the kids in our community, especially the kids within the street where we lived in (that includes my siblings and cousins, of course), has a certain traditional game we usually play, depending on the month or season.
If my memory serves me right, we play tops and yo-yos from January to March. I used to own both toys when I was a kid, as they are easily purchased outside our school for a few pesos. However, I was unable to further master both arts since I prefer playing alone with action figures in our room or read books.
From March to the end of May, most boys mostly play jolens / holen (marbles) like a somewhat variation of bowling. We also play Teks, small trading cards showing various TV characters that boys usually buy for a peso. We play this by throwing three of the cards (2 from one player and 1 on the other) over the air, and the boys will collect the cards depending on the way the cards landed on the ground, similar to heads and tails.
From the start of June until the end of August, there are various games, but most of the time the boys play Tumbang Preso (sometimes using a ketchup lid instead of the conventional tin can), and Luksong Baka, while the girls mostly play Piko, Luksong Tinik, Chinese Garter, and other games that requires hand coordination while singing traditional Filipino nursery rhymes. We also play sungka at this period, especially if one of us owns one. However, Patintero was seldomly played in our area because our street was very narrow.
From the start of June until the end of August, there are various games, but most of the time the boys play Tumbang Preso (sometimes using a ketchup lid instead of the conventional tin can), and Luksong Baka, while the girls mostly play Piko, Luksong Tinik, Chinese Garter, and other games that requires hand coordination while singing traditional Filipino nursery rhymes. We also play sungka at this period, especially if one of us owns one. However, Patintero was seldomly played in our area because our street was very narrow.
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| In Navotas City, spider fighting was popular among young boys back in the 90s every September. |
Once September arrives, the boys will begin to collect house spiders and have them pitted against each other on a stick. The only rule to this game is that the spider who will get knocked out from the stick is the loser. Since spiders tend to quickly spin its thread once it gets knocked off from the stick, and that arachnids are not included in our animal laws, this game is not considered illegal. The spiders are usually stored in matchboxes or any improvised small cardboard box with sections so the boys can store multiple spiders.
When October comes, the boys will set the spiders free and will eventually fly kites. When climate change was not a threat back then, cool winds begin to arrive during this month, which is perfect for kite flying. Most of us make simple rhombus kites using cellophane or Japanese paper, with the frame made out of thin coconut sticks we get from brooms. Most of these simple kites have streamers on three of its corners, and we use Japanese paper for that. There are also kites of various shapes and designs being made aside from the traditional rhombus-shaped ones. There are also box kites, but were seldom made. I remember when I was in the fifth grade when I routinely skip my Filipino class to watch the kites flying from the end of the corridor, partly because the lessons were already being taught before. Surprisingly, I still passed my subject.
Kite flying runs from October to December, but that depends if the kids would still continue flying kites during the Christmas season. Most kids tend to shift their focus on expecting gifts in cash or kind from their godparents every Dec. 25.
Even though I personally did not experience to play some of these games (with the exception of tops, yo-yos and marbles) since I am an intrapersonal and prefer to read books, still I find the childhood in the 90s very enjoyable for other kids in our community. Sadly, these games slowly died down by the start of 2000s with the advent of coin-operated video game consoles and arcade machines which one our neighbors (who owns a bakery) had setup. And with the popularity of iPads and Android tablets, these games become obsolete.
When October comes, the boys will set the spiders free and will eventually fly kites. When climate change was not a threat back then, cool winds begin to arrive during this month, which is perfect for kite flying. Most of us make simple rhombus kites using cellophane or Japanese paper, with the frame made out of thin coconut sticks we get from brooms. Most of these simple kites have streamers on three of its corners, and we use Japanese paper for that. There are also kites of various shapes and designs being made aside from the traditional rhombus-shaped ones. There are also box kites, but were seldom made. I remember when I was in the fifth grade when I routinely skip my Filipino class to watch the kites flying from the end of the corridor, partly because the lessons were already being taught before. Surprisingly, I still passed my subject.
Kite flying runs from October to December, but that depends if the kids would still continue flying kites during the Christmas season. Most kids tend to shift their focus on expecting gifts in cash or kind from their godparents every Dec. 25.
Even though I personally did not experience to play some of these games (with the exception of tops, yo-yos and marbles) since I am an intrapersonal and prefer to read books, still I find the childhood in the 90s very enjoyable for other kids in our community. Sadly, these games slowly died down by the start of 2000s with the advent of coin-operated video game consoles and arcade machines which one our neighbors (who owns a bakery) had setup. And with the popularity of iPads and Android tablets, these games become obsolete.
However, there are still children in the suburban and rural areas who keep these games alive. When I moved to a subdivision since mid-August this year (as my sister who works in Kuwait had purchased a house), I still see children playing traditional games in the park located on the street parallel to ours whenever I buy some Betamax and Isaw on weekends when I have small change left in my weekly stipend. But I still hope that children in highly urbanized areas would also experience the fun in playing these games, so that our culture and tradition would be preserved so that the children of the next generation would also enjoy.
I, the Pooch, have spoken.
For more information about some of our traditional games, please click the source below:
For more information about some of our traditional games, please click the source below:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_games_in_the_Philippines
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