have you ever played with mud?

children in days of yore were so inventive in coming up with games of their own. there might be no tangible gains whatsoever in winning but it was the enjoyment of it that mattered. we enjoyed playing a game because it provided us a chance to hone our skills. it also made us think of how to improve on our technique and to make sure we got it right everytime. it did not have to benefit us materially or financially.

like this game we played, using mud to make a shallow dish. we used the yellow clay to mould a dish to fit into our palm. the base of the dish was flat. this game was usually played between two contestants; however, we would accommodate more. in the case where we had four contestants, then we could pair up and played as two teams.

the objective was to throw the mud dish onto the floor so that the impact would cause the base to burst. the winner of the game was the one who managed to get the base of his dish to open up. in the case where both dishes were broken, then the one with the bigger crack won.

so, when we moulded the dish, we did not wet the side as much as the base. this was to ensure that the whole dish did not collapse when hurled onto the ground. there were some who believed that if you thinned the base, it would burst easily on impact.

you would not think that anyone would cheat when it came to playing this game. yes, there were dishonest ones. these were those frustrated ones who could not achieve any 'break through' with their mud dishes and who then resorted to cheating. they would use their finger to poke the base just before the throw.

in those days, we had not known or heard of meliodosis - the disease that is caused by playing in the mud or being in constant contact with mud. so, we played without fear.

goli panjang - childhood games from our kampong days

kampong life was all adventure and play. when we were not catching spiders or catching longkang fish in the monsoon drain or canal, we would be playing games like goli panjang, hatam bola, modified soccer with mini-posts, five stones and many other ingenious forms of play making use of everyday objects like the discarded bicycle wheel, tin cans or even bus tickets.

i will try and describe one of my favourite childhood's games - the goli panjang. two persons can play this game but the more, the merrier because the winning pool gets bigger. it is usually played on a sandy patch, which was not a problem to find in a kampong.

an arrow, with a head and a tail, is drawn on the sand. each player contributes a specified number of glass marbles to start the game. the number of marbles is decided by the players. if you have four players and each put out five marbles, there will be twenty marbles. these glass marbles are then placed on the arrow, spaced out, starting with one on the arrow head and it goes right to the tail. if it goes beyond the tail, then the surplus marbles are pooled together at the tail.

a straight line is drawn, four or five metres, from the arrow with all the marbles. the players take turn to try and hit one of the marbles on the line with a rolled marble. the ultimate aim is to hit the one at the head of the marble, then you get to win all the marbles. if you hit, say the 3rd marble, then all the marbles from the 3rd one onwards are yours. however, if you hit the bunch at the tail of the arrow it does not count.

as the game goes on, the pool may get bigger and bigger. how is this so? each time you start from the line and miss, the rolled marble goes to the pool. so, if everyone keeps missing, then the marbles accumulated at the end of the arrow will get more and more.

if you are a champion shooter, you can go home with two pockets full of marbles.