Traditional Filipino Games Series #01: Luksong Tinik

Pinoy Kids Were Jumping Before the Mario Brothers Did

Long before the age of internet and electronic games, Filipino kids were playing with toys they themselves devised. They invented playthings from scratch. Sometimes, they used their own limbs to play with. like what they did in Luksong Tinik. What’s important for them was fun.

We didn’t know any internet games like what you know of today. We never heard about the Mario Brothers, Game Boy, or Tetris. What we were familiar with, however, were local household materials. We made use of scraps in our surroundings to make our toys. Oftentimes, we made balls and “jewelry” out of coconut leaves, toy guns from bamboo, and money from any plant Our porches were turned into a playhouse, a kitchen, or a store.

And most of all, we had friends from the neighborhood. Together, we designed and create our playthings, and laid down the rules of the games, too. You could rarely see any child playing alone back in our childhood days.

Social Games

Unlike many modern children, Filipino kids in the 1960s, 1970s, and earlier were not used to playing alone in any corner of our home. We went outside to play with the neighborhood children. Our playground? Anywhere! It could be

A neighbor’s backyard
any family’s porch
on the road
by the beach
at the farm
or any open space in the community.

We did not have mobile phones to call our friends. Instead, we walked up to one another’s houses and personally invite them to play. It was easy to assemble friends. Everyone was a call away. And once we were gathered together, we decide which game to play.

How We Organized our Games

In our time, we chose how we played our games. When there were many participants, we divided our group into teams. There were also instances when we played one against everyone else, making each participant an opponent. But, no matter how we played, we always upheld camaraderie and fun.

Moreover, it didn’t matter for us if our clothes get soiled, or we smelled bad from perspiration. We also never cared if we acquired germs in the process. (Did I know what germ meant back then?). All I can remember was, rarely did it happen that any of us got sick from germs. Was it perhaps we were good at making friends with germs, too? Anyway, whatever “mess” we made was fun!

And when we got tired of the active and rough games, we rested, and just talked about anything we could imagine. That was our definition of chat in our days!

Luksong Tinik: Using Our Limbs as “Props”

Now, let me introduce one of the traditional Filipino games we played. This is a game that uses no toys. Instead, we used only our arms and legs to execute this activity. We called this game Luksong Tinik. According to our old folks, this activity originated from Cabanatuan City, in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines.

(Photo credit to the owner)

Traditional Filipino Games Series #01
Luksong Tinik

Luksong Tinik literally means “jumping over thorns” in English. It’s a group game of two teams. Each team is composed of an equal number of players. The players choose their respective nanay (mother). While the rest of the team members call themselves anak (children).

The Mechanics of Luksong Tinik

The objective of the game is for all players in a team to jump over the height of the piled hands of the opposing team. A player must avoid hitting the piled hands with any part of his body or clothing. The two mothers are expected to be high jumpers. The first to jump is decided by the mothers by tossing a slipper. The mother whose team wins the toss will have the first jump. The other team serves as the tayâ (on base) and forms the tinik (thorns) with their feet and hands.

Two players on the base sit facing each other, putting a foot forward and touching the other player’s foot.
Then, each member of the other team starts jumping over the feet.
When all members are done jumping over the feet, the players on the base add a hand at a time. The palm and fingers are open wide above their feet. The same process is repeated until all the base players have piled their hands over.
When all the jumpers have successfully jumped over without hitting the hands of the base players, the game is repeated with the jumpers leaping over again.
If the mother’s children hit the hands of the base players, it’s considered a “fault” (an error). The mother then jumps for the erring child.
If the mother fails in making a successful jump, it’s time for the base players to take the jump.

Luksong Tinik in Myanmar?

Apparently, one of our neighbors in southeast Asia has its own version of Luksong Tinik. They call it Hpan Khone in Myanmar. Hpan Khone was played mostly by girls. However, over the course of time, boys began to play it, too.