This Game Is Fun My Parents Are Fighting Again
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Traditional Indonesian Children's Games
In this historic period of electronic games and hi tech toys, we often forget that it is often the simplest of inventions that can entertain a kid for a long flow of fourth dimension. Although state-of-the-art, high tech figurer games are available in Republic of indonesia, such as the ever-popular game cubes, smart phone and iPad game apps, these modernistic inventions are non affordable for the majority of the population. These games would only be plant in the homes of eye to upper class families.
Among the economically disadvantaged in society, it is often hard for parents to make plenty money to feed their family, so toys are often quite simple or something that has been fabricated by the parent. Fortunately, traditional toys are not expensive ... and are fun! The toys and the games that are described below are usually seen and played by Indonesian children today.
Kelereng or Gundu
Kelereng, or marbles to the western world, is a favorite with boys. At that place are many variations of games played with marbles.
I of the more than popular versions is that a small circle is drawn on the ground. All the players put one of their
marbles inside the circumvolve. And so each of the players drops some other marble to a point outside of the fatigued circle. The actor that owns the marble furthest away from the circle is entitled to play start.
He must attempt to use the marble that is exterior of the circle (striker) to hitting the marbles within the circle and knock them outside of the band. If he is successful in doing, this he is entitled to keep the marbles that he has knocked out of the circle. The striker marble, withal, must also come to balance outside of the drawn circle. If it does not, this marble must remain within the circle and the owner so forfeits this marble.
If the player is successful in knocking ane of his opponents' marbles out of the ring, he tin can continue his turn and try to strike whatever other opponents. striker marbles. If he is successful in striking his opponents. striker marble, he is entitled to take that marble and his opponent can no longer play the electric current round. If yet he misses his opponents. striker marble, he looses his turn and the next player tin can then start to play.
Gangsing or Gasing
This game is normally played by boys. The gangsing is a meridian made from bamboo with a modest opening on the side. This small pigsty makes the top whistle very distinctively as it 
spins. The size of the pigsty determines the pitch of the whistle. Cord is wound around the dowel that goes through the center of the gangsing . The child then holds onto the flat bamboo handle that is tied to the end of the string and pulls this handle to gear up the gangsing spinning. Normally a circle is fatigued on the ground about 50 cm. in bore. Two children play against each other. The object of the game is to try and knock your opponents gangsing out of the designated circle. Gangsing are normally sold outside the temples and tourist attractions in Yogyakarta, Central Java.
Lompat Tali
This is a very popular game which simple school girls play at recess time. It is much like skipping rope however the rope that the girls use is made from hundreds of elastic bands that are looped together to grade a big ring. The girls have turns trying to jump over the rubberband rope which is held by two girls at each cease.
The meridian of the rope ordinarily starts low, such as at ankle height, and gradually moves above the bodies of the children after the jumpers have successfully jumped over the lower height. Experienced jumpers tin often jump over ropes that are neck loftier! A adept thing that comes from using a rope that is made from prophylactic bands, is that if a jumper is not successful in jumping over the rope, the rope will give and the jumper will not be hurt in her unsuccessful endeavour. Thus, a lot of skinned knees are avoided.
Bekel
This is the equivalent of western jacks, and is commonly played past Indonesian girls. The shape of the bekel differs from the western jacks in that they are flat with a small bridge holding the 2 sides together. On the upper side of the biji bekel there is a pocket-size blood-red dot that is called the pit. The under side of the bekel is called a roh. On one of the flat sides of the biji bekel there are minor indentations or dots and the other side is smooth.
The game is played is a like method to jacks, just with a few differences. When the game is started, the biji bekel are all held in the hand of the thespian and are dropped equally the brawl is allowed to bounce one fourth dimension. The player then starts to play by attempting to option up the biji bekel i at a time without disturbing whatever of the other biji bekel inside the time that it takes the ball to bounce one time.
If the role player successfully has picked upward all of the bekel, he then drops them once more and starts the second set of the game. In this ready he must attempt to position the biji bekel with the pit facing upwardly over again i at a fourth dimension. This activeness must be completed while the player throws the ball in the air and allows it to bounce once. The role player must endeavour to turn over the bekel without moving whatsoever of the other bekel.
If the player completes this successfully, he then picks upwards the biji bekel one at a fourth dimension while throwing the brawl in the air until he has all of the biji bekel in his hand. He then drops them all again and now picks the biji bekel up two at a fourth dimension so iii at a fourth dimension, etc. until he picks up all the biji bekel with 1 sweep of the hand.
He drops them once more and now starts the roh set. The actor must attempt to plough over all the biji bekel and then the roh side is now facing up. It is permitted to pick upward more than one group of the set up number while the ball is existence thrown in the air. For case if the histrion is picking up groups of 2 while the ball is existence thrown in the air, he may catch iii groups of two bekel. The action of grabbing a set number of bekel is called cek.
If the role player moves any of the biji bekel that he is not attempting to selection up, or if he drops whatever of the biji bekel in his hand, he loses his turn and information technology goes to the side by side role player. A skilled player tin can go through many sets of the game before he makes a mistake and has to turn the bekel over to the next histrion. The thespian that completes the virtually sets without making a error is considered the winner of the game.
The proper name is derived from the Dutch game"bikkelen" using the aforementioned copper "bikkels".
Layang-layang
Layang-layang or kite flying is a very popular pastime for Indonesian children. Provinces throughout the land take their own designs. There are two singled-out types of kites: the first is those that are just to be used for flying which have a tailed attached to them to rest the kite; and those that volition be used for one-on-one dogfights, a favorite pastime amongst kite flyers.
Fighting kites practise non have tails fastened to them. They are made from light bamboo and waxed paper. Oft the string that is fastened to these kites is coated with crushed glass. The cord is dipped in a solution of crushed glass, which has been boiled with ka, chemicals and dye. The mixture acts as an adherent so the tiny particles of glass will cling to the string. The string is strung out on a small rack to let information technology dry out. This process makes the cord very precipitous and capable of cut the opponents string.
Ready-made glass coated string tin likewise be bought in various thickness. . Virtually kite flyers opt to purchase ready-made cord every bit it is a long and messy process to gear up their own. The choice of the thickness of the cord would depend the on the size of the kite, and a greater consideration, the budget of the buyer. If the possessor is non careful this string can likewise cut his fingers as well!
The object of the game is to try and cut the opponents' kite loose. The way that the cord is attached to the kite determines the control that the flyer has over his kite. If the two holding strings are attached far apart to the frame of the kite, this will brand information technology heavier to hold on to when it is flying. However, this gives the kite flyer greater control over the movements of the kite.
If the two property strings are attached closer together onto the frame of the kite, this makes the kite much lighter to hold on to only sacrifices control. These kites tend to be wilder in flight.
Experienced kite flyers know that a taunt string is not as easy to cutting every bit a slack cord, so information technology is up to the skill of the kite flyer to apply techniques of pulling and releasing the string to try and avoid having his kite cut free. If a kite is cut free by an opponent, the victor is the one that is notwithstanding holding a kite. The loose kites are often the culprits of reckless chases. The kid that gets to the loose kite first is considered the new owner of the kite.
Kuda Lumping
These small replicas of the larger kuda lumping that are used in a trance dance on Java are cut out from woven 
bamboo mats and painted with hit colored patterns. Sequins, beads and other materials can besides be added to give the kuda lumping its colorful appearance.
When given to a kid, their imaginative minds are the only limit equally to what dramas these kuda lumping are the center of! Although intended as a toy, many of these delightful horses end up in suitcases to be given as souvenirs of an expat's trip to Indonesia or smaller more colorful versions tin exist used as center-catching decorations on Christmas copse.
Mobil-mobilan Kulit Jeruk
Although today'southward children may think that cars made from Jeruk Bali skins are no match for contemporary toy cars,
many Indonesian men have fond memories of these abode-made cars. Jeruk Bali is a large pomelo (grapefruit-like) that has a very thick skin. Once the fruit has been removed, the skin can and so be then cutting into pieces that will form the parts of the car.
Stiff coconut frond ribs are used to hold the pieces together. A long stick is fastened to the back of the automobile and can exist used to button the machine along. Sometimes a string is tied to the front of the auto so that it can be pulled behind the owner besides. This very uncomplicated toy has brought a smile to the faces of many Indonesian children.
Congklak or Dakon
One of the oldest known games in the earth, Congklak can be traced equally far back equally ancient Arab republic of egypt. Brought to 
Indonesia, probably centuries ago past Arab or Indian traders, information technology is just every bit popular in Republic of indonesia today as it has been for through the ages. Congklak is played on a board with round indentations along both sides and a domicile indentation on each finish of the board.
The game is played with 98 pocket-size markers such every bit shells or beads, which are divided evenly between all the indentations. Although at start glance this many appear to be some type of calculator, it is quite a challenging strategic game and takes a lot of exercise before a player becomes skilled.
Musical Instruments
A large bulk of Indonesian traditional instruments tend to be made of bamboo, as it is readily bachelor
throughout Indonesia. School children are oftentimes taught basic music on instruments such as Suling, Gambang or Angklung. A suling is a small flute-similar instrument, which resembles a recorder, notwithstanding it is made of bamboo. It has holes down the length of the instrument that when covered or uncovered by the player'due south fingers issue in the diverse notes.
Angklung are another traditional Indonesian instrument that is fabricated from bamboo, originating from West Java. Angklung are actually a group of diverse sized hand-held instruments made from bamboo. When the angklung is shaken is produces a chord of music. The size of the angklung determines the chord that information technology produces. Songs are played with one person standing upward behind a group of hanging angklung or past a group of people holding one angklung and playing their chord at the appropriate time within the song - much like a group of people would play bells in the west.
A gambang is a xylophone-blazon musical instrument with keys made from different lengths of bamboo. The different lengths of the bamboo effect in different notes. The bamboo produces a very pleasant soft sound when struck with the mallets.
A very unlike blazon of instrument is the gamelan orchestra. Gamelan is actually a group of percussion and accompanying instruments which are housed on short legs which permit the musician to play the instrument sitting down on the floor cross-legged. Gamelan are used in traditional music, primarily in Java and Bali.
Semut, Orang, Gajah
This game is popular throughout Asia, just as information technology is throughout the world in all its variations. I recall playing a newspaper, scissors, stone game of similar design. In Indonesia the game is besides known as suwitan or pingsut and is played by young children to see who goes showtime in play, or only for fun to meet who wins.
Hand signs:
| semut - ant Little finger points towards partner |  |
| orang - person Pointer finger points towards partner |  |
| gajah - elephant Thumb points towards partner |  |
How to Play:
Face up your partner with your mitt in front of you in a fist. Then, count to three together, open y'all hand and make ane of the iii hand signs. If both of you make the same sign, beginning again.
The Winner:
The semut wins over the gajah considering the semut tin can crawl in the gajah'due south ear and tickle him to drive him crazy.
The orang wins over the semut considering the orang can stomp on the semut and squash it.
The gajah wins over the orang considering the orang can get trampled by the gajah.
Source: https://www.expat.or.id/info/games.html