Children’s Games
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Skeat, Walter William
Si ʿAli’s gone to the plain,
[Di-]tudongkan daun
Sheltered by the leaves,
Sa-hari ta’ makan,
With nothing to eat for a day,
Ta’ makan sa-tahun.
Nothing to eat for a year.
Here they hook their little fingers together, and rock their bodies to and fro, singing—
Angkei-angkei p’riok
... the cooking-pot,
P’riok dĕri Jawa
The cooking-pot from Java;
Datang ’Wa’ Si Bagok
Here comes Uncle Bagok
Bawa kĕtam sa’ekor:
Bringing a crab.
Chepong masok ayer,
A dish (?) to put water in,
Chepong masok api,
A dish (?) to put fire in,
O nenek, O nenek,
O granny, O granny,
Rumah kita ’nak runtoh!
Our house is tumbling down.
Reh! Reh! Rum!
. . . . . .
Finally they sit still with hands clasped on knees, and sing—
Nuria! Nuria!
. . . . . .
Tali timba ’ku
The rope of my bucket,
’Nak ’nimba lubok dalam,
To draw water from a deep hole,
Dalam sama tĕngah,
Right in the middle of it,
Saput awan tolih mega.
Veiled by the clouds, looking up at (?) the welkin.178
Of minor children’s games the following may be mentioned:—
(1) Tuju (not tujoh,179) lobang, which appears to be identifiable with “Koba,” and which is played by throwing coins as near as possible to a hole (or holes?) in the ground.
(2) Chimplek, which is a sort of “heads and tails” game; “heads” being called chaping, and “tails” sim.