By Benazir Ahmed Siddique, an expat in Hoa Thanh, Tay Ninh City, Vietnam
Childhood is a blend of golden memories. We frequently remember those days and become nostalgic. Most of the cases we remember the moments of different childhood games that we played either inside or in front of our homes, streets and small playgrounds with our local friends. Anyone’s childhood will experience childhood games filled with memories with neighbors herding buffalo, mowing grass, especially the childhood days of children growing up in the countryside deeper than ever. These childhood games, like Trốn tìm, Thả diều, Rồng rắn lên mây, Nhảy dây quay, Bắn bi, Chơi chuyền, Ô ăn quan, Trồng nụ trồng hoa, etc., cemented our bondage with friends and surroundings. These traditional childhood games helped enhance our creative thinking abilities and in mental grooming.
The folk games from the age of five to seven, the grandmother, the mother who taught the game, or the older brothers and sisters in the neighborhood who once guided them seem to have carved into a deep corner of the mind of every adult. These days, most of the children in urban and sub-urban areas are engaged in different gadget-oriented games and entertainment. Unquestionably, they have missed the true natural moments and pleasures of childhood games that we used to enjoy. Let us for a moment go back to the golden days to take stock of the most popular childhood games in Vitenam.
Trốn tìm (Hide and seek)
It is one of the folk games loved by many children. The game is not only entertaining but also brings players together. This is a game that children in urban or rural areas have played through this game. The whole group plays rock-paper-scissors and whoever loses will have to stand facing the column, blindfold and count from 0 to a predetermined number of the group. The rest will go find any place that feels secluded to hide there. After the other person has finished counting the numbers, that person will go to find the people who are hiding and pay attention to keep the position of the column just standing so that the people who are hiding have the opportunity to run out and clap their hands on that column. If clapping fast, the person counting has to cover his face and repeat another round. This is a very easy game and requires both agility and cunning. If you remember it, invite your friends to play right away!
Thả diều (Kite flying)
It is a familiar game and brings many dreams of peaceful countryside children. The kites that are flying in the high and blue sky are made of bamboo slats as diamond-shaped ribs, colored papers are glued and glued on those bamboo sticks and can be attached with a long paper tail or colorful nylon rope, when it meets the wind, it will flutter more and more. Skilled people can make more small flutes attached to the kite’s body, so that when it is high, it will emit a cry that echoes the whole sky. The kite is hooked on a very long and strong coil, then dropped in the direction of the wind into the sky thanks to the skillful control of the player. The more the kite flies, the more it seems to carry the children’s dreams further. They dream of a new horizon, a brighter future. And the other kite is the message of childhood for that.
Rồng rắn lên mây (Dragon and snake)
This is one of several famous Vietnamese traditional games that attract every child in the country. Whenever having free time, they often play it to have fun, which expresses a part of Vietnam tradition and customs. In the game, there is a very interesting question: “Dragon snake in the cloud has a swaying tree, there is a review house, ask the doctor if there is a good house. Are not?”. A young man was made a doctor and stood in front of people lined up as dragons and snakes. You make dragons and snakes grab each other’s shirt tails to form a straight line. The leader is usually chosen to be the biggest and strongest friend in that group to be able to protect the “children” behind. The snake dragon ran back and forth, circling around and reciting the familiar rhyme: “The dragon snakes up in the clouds, there is a swaying tree, there is a review house, ask if the doctor is home or not?” The doctor answered “Yes” or “No” and then chased the group of dragons and snakes. At that time, the child at the top had to spread his arms wide to stop the doctor. The doctor must try to find a way to catch the last child in that group of dragons and snakes. If the doctor catches you in the tail, you will be disqualified. The game continues from the beginning until the dragons and snakes are shortened. Maybe while running, the snake dragon breaks or falls and separates from each other, you will also lose!
Nhảy dây quay (Jumping rope)
Jumping rope is a folk game that has been around for a long time, loved by teenage girls and children. Take advantage of your free time at home or recess at school, a few friends, a rope or rubber band and a large enough space to start the game. It is a familiar game of sincere rural children. Both boys and girls love to play this game. Because this is a game that can train the player’s high jump ability and body flexibility. The two of you will stand with the rope facing each other and the rest of you will take turns jumping over the rope according to the right rotation of the two friends according to the tension from low to high. Whoever jumps and gets caught in the rope will jump in instead of one of the two people standing holding the rope. This game is very funny and brings a lot of laughter to the participants.
Bắn bi (Shoot marbles)
This is a game that is especially loved by boys. Just draw a small circle in the middle somewhere called the hole. Just far enough from the hole, add a horizontal line as the starting point. Each player must contribute an equal number of marbles, which are then placed in the drawn hole. The players take turns shooting the retained cue ball starting from the drawn line towards the hole. Whoever’s marble stops at the position closest to the hole but is not allowed to stay in the hole, that person has the right to shoot the first turn with his hand and so on, in turn, shoot the ball in the hole and run out, it is collected until The last person. There is also a type of game where you draw the starting line and just shoot and touch the balls to get the ball back. At the end, we will all count to see who gets the most marbles will win.
Chơi chuyền (Bamboo jacks)
This is another popular traditional game, especially among the girls. “Cây mốt, cây mai, cái trai, cái hến, con nhện chăng tơ, quả mơ có hạt…” is a folk song that girls often sing when playing this game. This is a game that girls love so much, even though many of them can’t play it. This game requires a round ball (can be replaced with a glove, small orange or green guava) that can be held in the hand and 10 bamboo sticks that are rounded like chopsticks. The right hand holds the fruit and then throws it in the air and picks up each stick and then catches the fruit as soon as it falls. Repeat if the fruit falls to the ground then lose the turn and move to the next friend. This game has 10 tables with 10 rhymes for each table that very few people can memorize. Each table calculates according to the number of sticks to pick up: the first table picks up 1 stick, the second table picks up 2 sticks, until the 10th table is finished.
Ô ăn quan (Mandarin square capturing)
It is also a very popular game played by everyone. This 2-player game is played on a rectangle on the ground which is divided into ten small squares called “rice fields” or “fish ponds”. There are two more semi-circles drawn at the ends of the rectangle called “mandarin boxes”. Each player has 25 small pebbles and a large stone of which 50 smaller pebbles represent the peasants and only 2 mandarins represented by bigger stones. Each square has 5 pebbles that are placed in the semi-circles. The game begins with the first player taking up the pebbles of one square on his side of the board and distributing the pebbles one by one, starting with the next square in either side. The player can take all the pebbles inside a square that is next to an empty square as captives. He loses his turn if 2 consecutive blank squares or the square followed a blank square is a Mandarin Box. Turn is given to another player once a player takes the pebbles of one square. If all five squares of one player are blank, he must place one captive pebble per square to continue playing. The game ends when there are no mandarins on the board. The winner is the one that has more captives.
Trồng nụ trồng hoa (Jumping over feet)
The way to play is to have 2 people sitting opposite each other, legs stretched out and touching each other’s feet, one of your feet must overlap the other’s feet so that they are vertical. The other children played jumping over those two upright feet and then jumped back again. Then one friend overlaps another fist on the other’s toe to make a flower bud. The other students jumped back and forth so as not to touch the flower bud. Just arrange the next flower bud and then spread your hand out to make a flower for you to jump over, whoever touches it will be eliminated. Until a winner is found and changed to another flower bud grower.
Con quay (Spinning tops)
This is a game for boys. Usually, it is played in 2 groups, and these can be divided into more groups if there are more players. You can also play it alone but it is more fun and exciting if you have more friends cheering for you. In the countryside, most children make their tops from guava, jackfruit, or longan wood. Sometimes they fashion tops from buffalo horns, though there tops are rare because horns are harder to obtain and more difficult to shape. Meanwhile, children in the city frequently use wood scraps left from making furniture to fashion their tops. To play, a player needs to have a “spinning top”, which is made of wood or animal horn and is cone-shaped. A wire is wrapped carefully from bottom to top and then the top is spun on the ground. The spinning top that that spins the longest is the one that wins. Players can use their tops to hit those of their opponents. If their spinning top stops, they lose the game.
Cá sấu lên bờ (Crocodile ashore)
It is one of the favorite games of childhood. Because the game does not require the use of any equipment, it can be played in most spaces, so it is often played by children in the classroom. The way to play will be to choose one of the children to be a crocodile who is responsible for catching the other children, if caught, the captured child must be a crocodile. However, this crocodile is not allowed to go ashore, so it is okay to just find the shore and run up, the shore can be anywhere higher than the ground. Find the shore and run up and then sit around the crocodile, look at the helpless crocodile and feel pity.
Bịt mắt bắt dê (Blindfolded and catching goat)
This is a familiar childhood game in Vietnam. Blindfolded goat catching is suitable for all ages, especially for children, so it appears a lot in rural areas of Vietnam, at village festivals along with tug of war, dragons and snakes on the clouds. Popularity of Blindfolded catching goats is also shown in Dong Ho paintings with bright colors and playful lines. To be suitable for more people, blindfolded goats have had many different versions and rules to increase the fun.
Mèo đuổi chuột (Cat and mouse)
This game consists of more than seven members in one team. They stand in a circle, hold and raise their hands over their heads. Then, they will choose a person to play the cat and another to play the mouse. Both stand back to back in the middle of the circle. When someone counts from 1 to 3, the mouse starts running and the cat must chase after it. The cat wins the game when the mouse is captured. At the beginning of the game, everyone in the circle also start singing a song, usually a folk song. Moreover, the children forming the circle also can make it more difficult for the mouse or cat to run through them. Then the mouse will act as the cat in turn. The game continues.
Folk games are an important “spiritual food” associated with childhood memories of many Vietnamese people. Above is one of the folk/traditional games that remind everyone of the childhood memories the most. Did your childhood experience those games? If you remember, invite your friends right next to you to play those games again!
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Source: Vietnam Insider