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Subject: PHYED 109: PHILIPPINE TRADITIONAL GAMES AND SPORTS

Instructor: Elvin C Genova, Lpt

UNIT 2: Philippine Traditional Games

Philippine Traditional games are very rich in culture, it represents the tradition of every
ethnicity of the different region of the country and becomes the center of diversity in the country.
Today our traditional games and sport is slowly vanished in the childhood of our generation now
a day due to the presence and innovation of technology. We the BPED students will entitled by
the law to learn by profession and implement those games and sports to promote and preserve
our culture and traditions by practicing this inside our classroom for the next generation
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
 demonstrate understanding to the rules and mechanism of traditional games and sports
 appreciate the beauty of our own traditional games and sports structure
 relate the difference between games before and games now

1. Tumbang preso

Tumbang preso or presohan (tumba-patis in most visayan regions) is a popular filipino street
game and is commonly seen in most filipino movies and tv series.
Like other filipino traditional games, members take the following rules: one as the “taya”,
someone who takes the rule of a-player-at-stake and holds the responsibility of the lata (tin can),
and; the two others as the players striking. The game is performed by having the players a
“pamato” (which is one’s own slipper) used for striking the tin that is held beside the taya.
As to how the game cycles, the taya, is obliged to catch another player to take over his
position of running after the tin that keeps from throwing away by the strikes of the players.
Nevertheless, the taya is only privileged to do so only if the player is holding on his way a
pamato and when the tin is on its upright position. Hence, running after another player is keeping
an eye to the tin can’s position. As for the players, they have their whole time striking the tin can
and running away from the taya keeping themselves safe with their pamato since making the tin
fell down helps another player from recovering. Instance like having everyone had their turns
over is one big climax of the game that leads them to panic since case is that taya has all his
rights to capture whether the player have a hold of their pamato or not.
However, mechanics also give each side privileges. With the roadway or streets as the
area being performed, the taya take its place on one side held its tin centered on the ground while
on the other end is bound by a line that limits the player when throwing. Breaking rules to the
players give way for the taya to have his overturn, like: stepping on or outside the boundary line
when throwing; kicking the tin; striking the tin without having oneself reaching the line; or even
touching it.
In other versions, especially those in Visayan regions and southern Luzon, is of
complexity for the part of the taya. The latter has to make the tin can stand upright together with
its own “pamato” on the top of it which also adds up to the mechanics of the game. The tendency
is that even when the taya has already made everything stood up but when the slipper will fall
from the tin, he is not allowed catching anybody unless he hurriedly put it back to its position.
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2. Luksong-baka

Luksong-baka (lit. Jump over the cow) is a popular variation of luksong tinik. 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.then he will be
the taya if he dangled it the baka. It will repeat again and again until the players declare the
player or until the players decide to stop the game.it is the filipino version of leap frog

3. Luksong-tinik

Luksong-tinik (lit. Jump over the thorns) two players serve as the base of the tinik (thorn) by
putting their right or left feet together (soles touching gradually building the tinik). A starting
point is set by all the players, giving enough runway for the players to achieve a higher jump, so
as not to hit the tinik. Players of the other team start jumping over the tinik, followed by the other
team members.

4. Piko

Piko is the philippine variation of the game hopscotch. The players stand behind the edge of
a box, and each should throw their cue ball. The first to play is determined depending on the
players' agreement (e.g. Nearest to the moon, wings or chest). Whoever succeeds in throwing the
cue ball nearest to the place that they have agreed upon will play first. The next nearest is
second, and so on.

5. Agawan base

There are two teams with two bases. How many players on each team depends on the
players. There are two bases which each team claims as their own. The goal is to tag the other
team's base without getting tagged. If you're tagged, you're transferred to the other team and must
be rescued. There are several variations in which the rules are changed, in some, you can connect
other items on the base so you can easily touch the base.
There are usually set points, such as first team to tag the other team 5 times wins. You can tag
other people who has touched their base before you and are on the opposite team. If they've
touched their base after you've touched your base, they can tag you, and you can't tag them.

6. Patay patayan

Also referred to as killer eye. There should be at least 4 players. Cut pieces of paper
according to how many players are playing. There should be 1 judge, at least 1 killer, at least 1
police, and others are normal people. The objective of the game is for the police to find and catch
the killers by saying "i caught you" and say the name of the killer before the killer kindats (winks
at) the judge. The killer gets to kill people by winking at the person he wants to kill. If he kills a
normal person, the person says "i'm dead!" if he kills the judge without being caught, the judge
says "i'm dead, but i'm the judge" and repeat again.

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7. Sekqu base

Sekqu base it is another version of agawan base but no score limits. If a team scores five, the
game is still going on. The players can hide in other things near the enemy base and ambush
them.

8. Agawang sulok

Agawang sulok (lit. Catch and own a corner) the it or tagger stands in the middle of the
ground. The players in the corners will try to exchange places by running from one base to
another. The it should try to secure a corner or base by rushing to any of those when it is vacant.
This is called "agawan base" in some variants, and "bilaran" in others.

9. Araw-lilim
Araw-lilim - sun and shade - the it or tagger tries to tag or touch any of the players who is in
direct contact with the light.

10.Bahay-bahayan

A role-playing game where children act as members of an imaginary family, sometimes to

the extent that one of them becomes the family "pet." they then act out various household
situations such as dinner, going to mass, and the like. There should be 4 to 5 players of it.

11.Hand clapping games

A hand-clapping game generally involving 4 people. They are split into two pairs, a pair
having 2 people facing each other, and all members from both pairs facing the center (the two
pairs being perpendicular to each other). Each pair then does a hand clapping "routine" while
singing the "bahay kubo" or "leron-leron sinta" at the middle of the song, each pair exchanges
"routines"

12.Bati-cobra
This is a hitting and catching game. This game is played outdoors only by two or more
players.
To play this game, 2 pieces of bamboo sticks (1 long, 1 short) are required. A player acts as a
batter and stands opposite the others players at a distance. The batter holds the long bamboo stick
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with one hand and tosses the short one with the other hand. The batter then strikes the shorter
stick with the longer stick. The other players will attempt to catch the flying shorter stick.
Whoever catches the stick gets the turn to be the next batter. If nobody catches the stick, any
player can pick it up. The batter then puts down the longer stick on the ground. The holder of the
shorter stick will throw it with the attempt to hit the longer stick on the ground. If the longer stick
is hit, the hitter becomes the next batter. If the player with the shorter stick misses to hit the
longer one, the same batter will continue.

13. Bulong-pari
Bulong-pari - whisper it to the priest - it is composed of two teams and an it. The leader of
team a goes to the priest and whispers one of the names of the players of team b. Then he returns
to his place and the priest calls out, "lapit!" ("approach!"). One of the players of team b should
approach the priest, and if it happens to be the one whom the leader of team a mentioned, the
priest will say, "boom" or "bung!" the player then falls out of line and stays somewhere near the
priest as a prisoner.

14.Buwan-buwan

A rough circle is drawn on the ground and one person from the group is tagged. He is not
allowed to enter the circle, but instead has to touch one of the people inside the circle without
having entered it. If he succeeds, he can enter the circle, and the person touched becomes the
next one tagged.

15. Calahoyo ("hole-in")

This is an outdoor game by two to ten players. Accurate targeting is the skill developed in
this game because the objective of each player is to hit the anak (small stones or objects) with the
use of the pamato (big, flat stone), trying to send it to the hole.
A small hole is dug in the ground, and a throwing line is drawn opposite the hole (approx 5 to
6 metres (16 to 20 ft) away from the hole). A longer line is drawn between the hole and the
throweing line. Each player has a pamato and an anak. All the anak are placed on the throwing
line, and players try to throw their pamato into the hole from the throwing line. The player whose
pamato is in the hole or nearest the hole will have the chance for the first throw. Using the
pamato, the first thrower tries to hit the anak, attempting to send it to the hole. Players take turns
in hitting their anak until one of them gets into the hole, with the players taking turns a complete
round and so on. The game goes on until only one anak is left outside the hole. All players who
get their anak inside the hole are declared winners, while the one with the anak left outside the
hole is the alila (loser) or muchacho. Alila or muchacho will be 'punished' by all the winner/s as
follows:
Winners stand at the throwing line with their anak beyond line a-b (longer line between hole
and throwing line). The winners hit their anak with their pamato. The muchacho picks up the
pamato and returns it to the owner. The winners repeat throwing as the muchacho keeps on
picking up and returning the pamato as punishment. Winners who fail to hit their respective anak

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will stop throwing. The objective is to tire the loser as punishment. When all are through, the
game starts again.

16.Chinese garter

Two people hold both ends of a stretched garter horizontally while the others attempt to cross
over it. The goal is to cross without having tripped on the garter. With each round, the garter's
height is made higher than the previous round (the game starts with the garter at ankle-level,
followed by knee-level, until the garter is positioned above the head). The higher rounds demand
dexterity, and the players generally leap with their feet first in the air, so their feet cross over the
garter, and they end up landing on the other side. Also, with the higher levels, doing cartwheels
to "cross" the garter is allowed.

17.Declan ruki
Declan ruki - i declare, do it! - participants are told to do something by the winner of the
previous games. It is similar to the game simon says.

18. Holen

You should hold the ball called holen in your hand then throw it to hit the players ball out
of the playing area. Holen is called marble in usa. It is played a more precise way by tucking the
marble with your 3rd finger, the thumb under the marble, the fourth finger used as to stable the
marble. You aim at grouped marbles inside a circle and flick the marble from your fingers and
anything you hit out of the circle is yours. Who ever got the most marbles win the game. You
can also win the game by eliminating your opponent by aiming and hitting his marble. You have
to be sharp shooter to be a winner.

19.Iring-iring
Iring-iring - go round and round until the hanky drops - after the it is determined, he or she goes
around the circle and drops the handkerchief behind a person. When the person notices the
handkerchief is behind his/ her back, he or she has to pick up the handkerchief and go after the it
around the circle. The it has to reach the vacant spot left by the player before the it is tagged;
otherwise, the it has to take the handkerchief and repeat the process all over again.

20.Jack 'n' poy

This is the local version of rock-paper-scissors. Though the spelling seems american in
influence, the game is really japanese in origin (janken) with the lyrics in the japanese version
sounding very similar to the "gibberish" sung in the philippines.
         the lyrics: “jack and poy, hale hale hoy, sinong matalo syang unggoy!”

21.Juego de anillo
A game notably spanish in influence. The name literally translates to "game of rings." it involves
riding a horse while holding a dagger and "catching" rings hanging from a tree or some other

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structure using the dagger. But now, people usually play this game nowadays by riding a bicycle
while holding a dagger.and the competitors need to continue their speed in riding their bicycle.

22. Juego de prenda

Juego de prenda - game of looking for the missing bird - there is no limit to the number of
players that can play. Players sit in a circle with the leader in the middle. Each player adopts a
name of a tree or flower that is given by the leader. The leader recounts the story of a lost bird
that was owned by a king. He or she says, the bird of the king was lost yesterday. Did you find it,
ylang-ylang? The player who adopted the name of the ylang-ylang tree at once answers that he or
she has not found it, so the leader continues to ask the other trees whether the bird has hidden in
them. If a player cannot answer after the third count, he or she is made to deposit a thing he or
she owns to the leader until the leader has been able to gather a lot of things from the
members.the boy is choosing a tree. The girl is choosing a flower. The one participants will be a
king

23.Kapitang bakod
Kapitang bakod - touch the post, or you're it! Or hold on to the fence - when the it or tagger is
chosen, the other players run from place to place and save themselves from being tagged by
holding on to a fence, a post, or any object made of wood or bamboo.

24.Langit-lupa

Langit-lupa (lit. Heaven and earth) one it chases after players who are allowed to run on level
ground (lupa) and clamber over objects (langit). The "it" may tag players who remain on the
ground, but not those who are standing in the "langit" (heaven). The tagged player then becomes
"it" and the game continues.
In choosing who the first "it" is usually a chant is sung, while pointing at the players one by
one:
Langit lupa impyerno, im im impyerno sak-sak puso tulo ang dugo patay, buhay, umalis ka na sa
pwesto mo! When the song stops and a player is pointed at they are "out" and the last person left
is the "it"

25. Lagundi
A game of Indian influence. Basically game of tag, except here, the divide into two teams, the
"it" team members get to hold the ball, passing it between themselves, with the of the ball
touching the head of the other (not "it") team.

26. Lawin at sisiw ("hawk and chicken")

This game is played by 10 or more players. It can be played indoors or outdoors.
One player is chosen as the 'hawk' and another as the 'hen'. The other players are the 'chickens'.
The chickens stand one behind the other, each holding the waist of the one in front. The hen
stands in front of the file of chickens.
The hawk will 'buy' a chicken from the hen. The hawk will then take the chicken, asks him/her to
hunt for food and goes to sleep. While the hawk is asleep, the chicken will return to the hen. The
hawk wakes up and tries to get back the chicken he bought while the hen and other chickens
prevent the hawk from catching the chicken. If the hawk succeeds, the chicken is taken and
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punished. If the hawk fails to catch the chicken, the hawk will try to buy the chicken. The game
actually came from japan. There, it is known as janken.

27.Palosebo

Palo-sebo - greased bamboo pole climbing - this game involves a greased bamboo pole that
players attempt to climb. This games is usually played during town fiestas, particularly in the
provinces. The objective of the participants is to be the first person to reach the prize—a small
bag—located at the top of the bamboo pole. The small bag usually contains money or toys.

28.Pitik-bulag

This game involves 2 players. One covers his eyes with a hand while the other flicks a finger
(pitik) over the hand covering the eyes. The person with the covered eyes gives a number with
his hand the same time the other does. If their numbers are the same, then they exchange roles in
the game

29.Sambunot

Sambunot is a Philippine game which may be played outdoors by ten or more players, but
not to exceed twenty. The goal in the game is to get the coconut husk out of the circle.
A circle is drawn on the floor, big enough to accommodate the number of players. A coconut
husk is placed at the center of the circle. The players position themselves inside the circle. At the
signal ″go,″ players will rush to the center to get the coconut husk. Players may steal the coconut
husk from another player in an attempt to be the one to take the husk put of the circle. A player
who is successful in getting out of the circle with the coconut husk wins, and the game starts
again.

30. Sawsaw-suka
The name literally translates to "dip into vinegar." the "it" has his palm open while the other
players touch this with their index fingers, singing "sawsaw suka/ mahuli taya!" which translates
to "dip into the vinegar/the last one (or the caught one) becomes "it". And indeed, the "it" tries to
catch any player's finger at the end of the song.

31.Sipa

Sipa - game of kick - the object being used to play the game is also called sipa. It is made of
a washer with colorful threads, usually plastic straw, attached to it. The sipa is then thrown
upwards for the player toss using his/her foot. The player must not allow the sipa to touch the
ground by hitting it several times with his/her foot, and sometimes the part just above the knee.
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The player must count the number of times he/she was able to kick the sipa. The one with most
number of kicks wins the game.
The game mechanics of sipa is similar to the western game called hacky sack. Sipa is also played
professionally by Filipino athletes with a woven ball, called sepak takraw, with game rules
borrowed from our southeast asian neighbor, Indonesia.

32.Taguan

Taguan - hide and seek in America. What is unique in tagu-taguan compared to its
counterpart, hide and seek, is that this game is usually played at sunset or at night as a challenge
for the it to locate those who are hiding under the caves in LagunaCavite which is a popular site
for pro taguan players

33.Takip-silim

Takip-silim - twilight game, look out, cover yourself! Or take-cover game! - participants
usually step on couches, hide under tables, or wrap themselves in curtains – much to the dismay
of neat-freak parents.

34.Ten-twenty

A game involving 2 pairs, with one utilizing a stretched length of garter. One pair faces each
other from a distance and has the garter stretched around them in such a way that a pair of
parallel lengths of garter is between them. The members of the other pair, then begin doing a
jumping "routine" over the garters while singing a song ("ten, twenty, thirty, and so on until one
hundred). Each level begins with the garters at ankle-height and progresses to higher positions,
with the players jumping nimbly on the garters while doing their routines.
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35.Tinikling

A game variant of the tinikling dance, with the same goal - for the players to dance nimbly
over the clapping bamboo "maw" without having their ankles caught.

36.Tsato
Tsato - stick game, better be good at it - two players, one flat stick (usually 3') and one short flat
piece of wood (4" usually a piece cut from the flat stick).
Player a hitter and player b as the catcher. Played outside on the ground where you dig a
small square hole (slanted) where you put the small wood so it sticks out.
Player a hits the wood with the stick so it catches air enough to be hit by the stick.
The further the wood gets hit the more points you get (usually counted by the number of stick
length
Player b on the other hand has to anticipate and catch the small piece of wood to nullify
the points and become his turn or looks forward to player a to miss hitting the wood.
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37.Ubusan lahi
Ubusan lahi - clannicide - one tries to conquer the members of a group (as in claiming the
members of another's clan). The tagged player from the main group automatically becomes an
ally of the tagger. The more players, the better. The game will start with only one it and then try
to find and tag other players. Once one player is tagged, he or she then will help the it to tag the
other players until no other participant is left. Some people also know this as bansai.

38.Teks

Teks or teks game cards - texted game cards - filipino children collect these playing cards
which contain comic strips and texts placed within speech balloons. They are played by tossing
them to the air until the cards hit the ground. The cards are flipped upwards through the air using
the thumb and the forefinger which creates a snapping sound as the nail of the thumb hits the
surface of the card. The winner or gainer collects the other players' card depending on how the
cards are laid out upon hitting or landing on the ground
References: :
http:// http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_games_in_the_Philippines

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