Sundanese Traditional Games
Traditional games are indeed starting to be abandoned by many children in this beloved archipelago. However, with the existence of a pandemic like this, children are experiencing extreme boredom because they cannot meet their friends at school. Some of them are starting to revive traditional games with their friends.
There are many traditional games in Indonesia that you can play. You can choose by region. For example, here are traditional Sundanese games that were quite popular among Sundanese children in the past.
Gatrik or Tok Kadal Lobang
In Sundanese, this game is known as gatrik or tok kadal lobang. In other places like East Java, this game is known as patil lele. Perhaps in other regions of the archipelago, it is also called by different names.
This game can be played by 2 people or in teams. The number of players is divided into 2 teams. Each team collects points until they reach the agreed winning points. Usually, it uses 500 points or 1,000 points.
Before playing gatrik, you need to have 2 sticks, one long and one shorter. The shorter stick is about 20 cm. While the longer stick is about 40 cm. Since this is a traditional game, the materials are very easy to find and still utilize nature. In addition to the 2 sticks, you need to prepare a small hole by digging into the ground. The hole should be about 15 cm long and narrow enough for the small stick.
The way to play is by placing the small stick into the hole, then hitting the end of the short stick with the long stick. What happens is the small stick will spin upwards. While the short stick is spinning, you must hit it forward as far as possible.
If the small stick is caught by the guard from the opposing team, then you do not get points. However, if the guard from the opposing team cannot catch it, then you will get points according to the distance of the hit. Points are counted based on the ratio of the small stick.
You are said to win if one of the teams touches the agreed points. The more players there are, the faster it is to reach the points, as each point is accumulated by its members.
Galah Asin or Gobak Sodor
Another traditional Sundanese game is galah asin. Galah asin is usually better known as gobak sodor. This game is usually played by 3 to 7 people on each team. This game emphasizes speed and strategy.
The field used for galah asin is usually 9 x 4 square meters. There is a defending team and an attacking team. Each team takes turns being the defender or the attacker.
The way to play is that the defending team stands on the horizontal and vertical lines on the field. Meanwhile, the attacking team must try to get past the guards at each of their lines. Attackers must not be touched by the line guards. If touched, the attacking team must switch to defending.
You are said to win in this traditional galah asin game if in 1 round you have the highest points. Points are obtained from the number of team members who pass through the defending team's grasp.
Boi-boian
This game is quite simple. You just need to collect broken tiles and a baseball. This game is individual but played by many people.
The way to play is to choose one person to guard the broken tiles. Then another person throws the baseball towards the pile of broken tiles. If it hits the broken tiles and scatters, then the other players run away. However, if the thrower misses, then the thrower becomes the guard of the tiles. This continues until the tiles are hit.
If the tiles have scattered, the guard must rearrange them and start throwing the ball as accurately as possible to hit the other players. The guard must hit all players. If before hitting all players the tiles are scattered again, then the guard must rearrange them again and hunt for the other players.
Those are some traditional Sundanese games that you can play. There are still many other traditional Sundanese games such as sorodot gaplok, paciwit-ciwit lutung, oray-orayan, and others.
Author: Iskael
