Agawan Base, One of my Favorite Traditional Game in 80's

Agawan base is another traditional games in Philippines that is so popular from the past 2-3 decades. In our old school in Elementary, these game is one of our favorite, especially the boys. We are playing this game starting Grade1 up to Grade 6 during break time and after class.

The mechanics is easy and better if you are many players for each teams. There are two teams assigned for each base. The base we used before is a flat stone, this stone is approximately five to ten inches in diameter and we typically placed at the bottom of tree's trunk or side of a wall. The distance between two bases is good for about thirty to fifty meters for better allowance and mobilization. The goal of each team is to tag the other team's base using their feet, then shouting "base!!!". It is usual practice to guard your base by one to two person while other players of your team are running to tagged opponent players or their base. The technique in this game is to attract opponent players to run for you and attempt to tag you while you are trying to make close in their base for a possible tag, same idea with other member of your team so your opponent base will be left less guarded and an opportunity for your team to make a tag. Take note that the penalty of being tagged is you will become prisoner of the other team. Increasing your prisoners is a technique also to minimize the guard of your opponents base, but on the other side it will become disadvantage because all prisoners will link each other using their hand or feet connected to make short distance from your base waiting for rescue from their team.

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Agawan Base, Prisoners are being rescued by their teammates

The decision which one wins will be based on the score of tagged for each others base. Sometimes there is a possibility that both teams has no score because time is short or due to a better defense for each base against the tagger. Typically we played this game minimum of thirty minutes to one hour with five to ten players for each team until every one are tired enough to run.

The video below is played in school with another variation wherein every tagged for each player will be counted as score.

The following video is played by small kids in street same in my old days 3 decades before.

Larong Piko or Hopscotch

                                         Image via WikipediaThis traditional game of "Piko" or "Hopscotch" is among the popular streetgames during my early age in 80's. Usually played by girls in elementary school or after the school in streets. I remember almost all of my girl classmates playing "piko" during recess or break-time, while some of us are busy in playing other traditional games like "agawan base", "sipa", "teks", "goma" and many others depending what is "in" (uso) that time. Even me and some boys have tried this kind of game and its enjoyable. After school, some students still playing this game for hour before going home. In street, its a common scene to see small girls playing this kind of game like my sisters and girl friends. This is how much popular "piko" or hopscotch during 80's.

Playing "piko" is very simple. All you need to have is marker usually "chalk"or "crayola" or anything than can be use to draw lines in the concrete ground. Some plays in plain ground, a sandy loam soil, and draws the mark using a stick. You need also a "pamato" or pucks for this game, this is usually a flat stone or part of broken pot. 

The mechanics for this game is easy and can be played by single or by group. By group, it should be started by finding out who will play first usually by jack-en-poy. The first step is by throwing  your pucks in 1st box then jumping with one leg for 2nd and 3rd box, with left leg on 4rth box and right leg on 5th box, one leg on 6th box, with left leg on 7th box and right leg on 8th box, one leg in 9th box, and two legs on 10th box. In the 10th box you need to make pivot and repeat the process going back, making a pause in 2nd box while getting your pucks in 1st box by bending your body down with single leg then jumping out of the box. The next steps is throwing your pucks in 2nd box up to 10th box and follow the same procedure in first step. If the player's pucks or her body touches the line, it will be a turn for another player. The one to complete until 10th box will declare winner of this game.

Other variation of this game is done by the player looking towards the sky then throwing his marker on the diagram. Without looking, he must walk across the diagram to fetch his marker without touching any lines. This stage is intentionally more difficult to give the other players a chance to catch up.

This traditional game is not only popular in the Philippines before but also in many parts of the world but the rules and mechanics varies on locations. It is thought that the origin maybe from Romans or Chinese. The earliest record was in 1677 in Poor Robins Almanack with the name "Scotch-hoppers". In India it is called "Stapu or "Kith-kith", "Rayuela" in Spain, "Golosa" in Latin America, "Knaccuku" in Russia, "Klasy" in Poland, "Camapana"or "Mondo" in Italy, "Hinkelen" in Netherlands and Flanders, "Skolica" in Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia. "Tengteng" in Malaysia, "Bebeleche" in Mexico, "Peregrina" in Puerto Rico, "Soton" in Romania, "Amarelinha" in Brazil, "Escargot or "La Marelle Ronde" in France, "Rrasavi" in Albania, "Potsy" in New York, "Laylay" in Iran, and "Himmel und Hölle" in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. 

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young boy playing piko

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player of piko touching the box line

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teaching piko to the youth to revived traditional games in Philippines

Image via Wikipedia

Girls in Cuba Playing Hopscotch

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Girls playing Hopscotch in Jaura, M.P. India

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A hopscotch game in Boston USA

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A traditional hopscotch game with a magpie rhyme in Morcambe ,  England

How to Play Turumpo

Turumpo or trumpo is a native Filipino game which is a popular as outdoor game in 80's. Turumpo's shape is a combination of half sphere on top and conical section at the bottom where the common iron nail is attached. The body size usually varies from 4 to 6 cm in height with the nail 2 to 4cm in length. The wooden material is usually hardwood such as "bayabas", "ipil", or "sampaloc" so that it will be durable from the hits of other player during the group game. Playing turumpo is manipulated using "tyate", an 80 to 100 cm string to be twirled starting from nail tip to the half of wooden body then throwing it in the flat ground. "Tyate" has a single knot at one end and a knot with "tansan"(cover of glass soft drinks) on the other end.

Playing "turumpo" has many variations, it can be played by a group or by single only in a form of exhibitions. Exhibitions is done by spinning it in the flat concrete surface and observe how is the duration and quality of its spinning. We called it "kangkarot" if the spinning is not balance that makes it easy to stop and makes irregular movement, usually happen if the nail was not attached in center or the nail is not sharpened. We called it "matining" if the the spinning of "turumpo" is smooth and will take longer time to stop. Another exhibition is by throwing "turumpo" in the air and catching it with your palm or with the "tansan" in the end of "tyate".

Playing "turumpo" by group is more exciting, but prepare for the possible damage of your "turumpo". Usually it is played by 2 to 6 person in a flat sandy loam ground. A 30 to 60cm circle is drawn in the ground using the nail tip of one player's "turumpo". Before the game starts, each player will spin their "turumpo" in the ground simultaneously, the first "turumpo" stops spinning will be the "taya" and putting his "turumpo" in the center of the circle. Other players will now start in hitting the "taya"on circle with the player having the 2nd shorter time of spinning will throw his "turumpo" first. If the striker hits the "taya" out of the circle while his "turumpo" is still spinning, it is consider a valid hit and he will punish the "taya's" "turumpo" by putting it fixed on the ground with its  nail then hitting it by nail of striker's "turumpo". If the striker did not hit the "taya" he will be in danger of becoming the next "taya" because while his "turumpo is spinning outside the circle, the present "taya" has the option of picking it up by his "tyate" and catching it by hand. If the striker hit the "taya" and his "turumpo" makes "baldog" (not spinning), he will join the first "taya" together inside the circle. A strike with spinning sidesway called "sikad" is consider a valid strike. The technique to make your "turumpo" will spin after you strike on ground is by making sure that you twirl the "tyate" tightly. This group game will tend your "turumpo" to damage after many times of playing.      

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A boy playing turumpu, making it spinning on his hand

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Turumpo spinning on the ground

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different style of turumpo

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playing turumpo by group

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Turumpo for sale

Today its hard to see this game anymore with kids after the development of more high-tech games.

Luksong Tinik: Jumping Over Thorns

Luksong Tinik (“jumping over thorns”) is one of the famous native street games of children in 70s to 80s in the Philippines. The mechanics here is dividing the players into two groups and choosing a leader for each group called “Nanay” (mother). The team makes “bato-bato pick” or jack en poy to choose who will start first and who “taya” (base team) is. The start is made by two base players serving their feet together and let the other team players to jump over without touching their feet. After they all successfully jump, the difficulty will increase by putting base player hands on top of their feet making it high and difficult to jump over. An additional hand from other base player will put on top to make it more elevated if they successfully pass from the previous height until one of the serving players will make touch the spread fingers on top (called thorns). If this happen, the “Nanay” or mother needed to redeem the other player who missed the earlier jump. If the “Nanay” misses the jump, the team exchange in place and the games starts anew.

this game makes our children more physically fit

it involves personal development and interaction with other kids

Its free and helps "green environment"-
no need for gadgets, electricity, no toxic waste

Actually this is no "age limit"

I remember myself playing this game in rice field, playing also other  games like
 "Luksong Baka",  "Saranggola" and  "wresling-wreslingan in rice hulls". ^__^

This game is popular during my teenage days in Elementary school, rough road streets, and rice fields after post-harvest way back 1980s in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. Sad to say that this native game that makes children physically fit is now seldom seen or even not practice anymore after the evolution of technology that introduces PC, celphones, PSP, PS3, WII, Xbox etc.