Welcome to the Philippines: Laro ng Lahi
March 10, 2022
Hi everyone! I’ve just got a chance to talk to my one of my childhood friends over messenger app. It was so fun talking to him, reminiscing the old times. We talked about the all our kapalpakan moments and the games we played before. And he told me about the kids today who are now just in front of their gadgets. Yeah, kids today aren’t the same as us before. We don’t have any gadgets. All we have is ourselves. That is why I choose right now to write something about filipino traditional games which are called “Laro ng lahi.”
Luksong baka - one player crouches while the other players jump over him/her. The crouching player gradually stands up as the game progresses making it harder for the other players to jump over him/her
Palo sebo - a traditional filipino game where players climb a bamboo pole with grease. Whoeve gets the flag on top of the pole wins
Pitik bulag - this game involves two players. One cover his eyes with his/her hand while the other one flick a finger over the hand covering the eyes. The person with the covered eyes gives a number with a sign with his free hand the same time the other does. If their numbers are the same then they exchange role in the game.
Luksong tinik - two players serve as the base of the “tinik” by putting their right or left feet and hand together. A starting point is set by all the players giving enough runway for the player to achieve a higher jump. So as not to hit that “tinik” player of the other team jump over the teenage followed by other team members. If a player hit either hands or feet of the base player, he is out or will be punished.
Sipa - it has been the nationals part of the philippines until 2009. Here the object used to play the game is also called sipa. It is made of a washer with colorful threads usually plastics straw attached to it. It can also be played using a “ratan” ball or a lead washer covered in cloth or plastic. The sips is then thrown upwards for the player's toss using their foot. The player must not allow sipa to touch the ground by hitting it several times to their foot just above the knee. The one with the most number of kicks wins
Patintero - one of the most popular filipino street games. There are two teams playing the attack and defense team. The attack team must try to run and cross the line without touching or catching them
Tiyakad - is a cultural filipino game used for recreation. Itis a racing game played with stills preferably made out of bamboo or tall branches.
Luksong lubid - this game is similar to the western jump rope game. The game is played with two players holding the rope on each end making circular movements where the other player must jump inside without touching any part of the rope.
Tumbang preso - is a popular filipino street game. The game requires three or more players. Each player is provided with a large throw away object called pl”pamato.” A semi-flattened empty can is placed in a pride position. A player is thrown as the prisoner who will guard the empty can while the other players stand at the throwing line, they take turns throwing their pamato at the empty can trying to knock it down. As soon as the can is knocked down, the prisoner must put back the can in upright position before he can attack any of the players attempting to recover their pamato. If the prisoner tags a player while recovering the pamato, he/she will be now the prisoner.
Those games that mentioned above are some of the games that I played before when I was a kid. I always got scolded by my grandparents every time I go home because I am dirty and doesn’t smell good. Amoy maasim. Lol. But if given a chance, I would love my daughter to experience this traditional games. A good recreational activities to build socialization with others and good exercises too.
Image source:
Lead image source unsplash
In my country also there are we traditional games similar to your that we used to play like kho kho, Gilli danda