How the ‘it’ kept our culture: An Cultural Analysis of Traditional Children’s Games
(Reprinted with permission from the author)
There are various repositories of our local culture. Many of these repositories are quite familiar to many of us. These come in the form of our written histories, local arts and crafts, and language. There are, however, repositories of culture that are very often overlooked. A classic example of this kind of repository is the games our children play.
Perhaps the reason why this is so often overlooked is the fact that children’s games are so trivial and quite insignificant. When we are young, we play these games, but as we mature and grow older, we find that these games have become useless or irrelevant to our daily lives; but it is the reason that these games are played that all the more make them very important. Children play these games for entertainment, unconsciously preserving culture. This is where the value of these games figure – culture that is preserved consciously can sometimes be contaminated culture, notwithstanding the objectivity of the chronicler or historian and the desire to accurately record culture. Once a chronicler is aware that he/she is doing the job of preserving a particular culture, he/she may be selective and subjective at times and chronicle only those that he sees would look or sound good, thus, making the account faulty or inaccurate. This does not imply that all written histories are faulty or incorrect, it simply states a fact that is inherent to human nature – that human error exists and human nature draws from the principle of self-preservation. Why write something down when it can prove to be damaging to certain extents in the future? With this assumption, we can easily say that whatever element of culture is recorded unconsciously, as it would happen in children’s games, with the children doing these things simply and solely for entertainment purposes, is an accurate representation of actual culture, pure and unadulterated. The value, therefore of children’s games lies in the fact that these serve as cultural time capsules. What culture do children’s games preserve in the first place for these to be truly significant?
It is common knowledge that games are a manifestation of the internal need for social interaction, and it is through social interaction that culture is created. For instance, let us take into consideration the children’s game ‘palo sebo’ where a child climbs up a greased bamboo pole to acquire the prize that is hanging at the top of the pole. Obviously, this game is the materialization of the need for human achievement. The child braves the obstacle of a slippery, vertical bamboo pole to reach for the prize. If we analyze the game further, it would seem that the concept is simply reward motivation, but if we consider the cultural root of the game it is actually a reminder of our struggles – that we earned our prize, and that earning something that we want is not easy. If we compare this to other cultures, greasing the pole would seem very unreasonable, but for Filipinos, the struggle is defines the achievement. The effort that goes into achieving something! determines the satisfaction that goes into claiming the coveted prize. Furthermore, we will notice here that it is not actually the material prize that matters anymore, in this kind of endeavor, but the elements that constitute the intangible component of the prize. Here now, in the simple game of ‘palo sebo’ we have the treasured Filipino cultures of industry or ‘kasipagan’ and the immaterial equal of a material representation; valuing what is not immediately seen by the physical eye. This is just one of the many games that harbor a culture that, at first, would seem insignificant. Another classic example of children’s games encapsulating a culture is ‘Doctor Wak-wak’. In this game, the ‘it’ is asked to turn his back while a group of children holding hands, tangle themselves in the most twisted as possible. The ‘it’ then begins to untangle the ‘human tangle’ when the children calls for Doctor Wak-wak to help them. At first glance, the game is absolutely pointless, but with careful analysis we can actually see what goes into the entire game. The ‘it’ has to figure out how to untangle the seemingly twisted mass of bodies using his own ingenuity. The value of this game is in the preservation of the Filipino problem-solving approach, the value of innovativeness and the traditional culture of ‘pagkamalikhain’. This same problem-solving approach is also evident in games like sungka, ‘biko’ and ‘lumpat-tunok’. Other Filipino traits and values that can be seen in various games are agility and resiliency in ‘patintero’, and ‘chinese-garter’; and conservativeness in ‘panaguay’ and ‘pepsi-pepsi-seven-up’. As a point of objectivity, let us also point out that the culture of gambling can also be seen early on in games like ‘bug-oy’, ‘teks’ and ‘pitik-pitik’.
With these games it is evident that what may seem as plain and insignificant to the observer are actually repositories of a colorful culture. So, how are we to deal with these things? Naturally, as culture is an essential part of being a Filipino, we have to preserve these games and make sure that they are not clouded by what the modern era has to offer. Nowadays, we can no longer find children playing at the roadsides after classes because of the excitement online games have to offer. Children would rather spend their time couching in front of the television, playing video games than spend the same time in a physical work-out with traditional Filipino games. There are problems that have emerged from this neglect of tradition and culture. Directly, it has affected the growth of our children and their ability to address real-life situations and decision-making.
If we don’t do something about our traditional Filipino games these are in grave danger of eventually fading away and just disappearing into oblivion. The price that we pay for modernization is a price that is way beyond our measure. We cannot afford to lose our identity and lose our people in the process. Our pride comes from our ability to adapt to the times while preserving what is most important to us in the process. Once we lose this ability, then we also lose the ability to claim the future as it comes.
There is a child inside each one of us, and as we move on to conquer great things, let us not lose touch of this inner child, because after all, the games that children play are not just games, but real and tangible symbols of the Filipino.