play for keeps…
2009.08.29 09:14
Back in the days without Barbies and Beyblades, the things that keep children amused are made of simple stuff.
Stick a couple of emptied snail shells on split-thin bamboo rods, you get a musical instrument. Pick a hard shell of certain fruits, punch a hole and swirl it, you get a musical spinning top.
It’s not game levels that limit one’s play time, but creativity and imagination. Yet, even those last two human traits are not enough to keep them alive.
Some of them stand the test of time played by children in cities and villages every now and then. Most simply fade away and turn into artifacts like those found in Gudang Dolanan.
“It’s difficult for traditional toys to compete with modern ones like Play Station. But, if they are not continuously introduced to children, we will loose part of our cultural heritage,” said Endi Aras, a cultural event organizer turned preserver of games of the past.
Literally meaning ‘toy warehouse’ in Indonesian, Gudang Dolanan is home to some 30 kinds of traditional toys and 70 types of spinning tops that the 46-year old collected in the last four years.
Some of his collection are still being produced and sold near schools in urban areas, like the colorful tin-boats that will float and sail if a short fuse at the back is burned. A miniature replica of Watt’s steam boat, but this one sold for only Rp 5,000 and have no place inside toy stores.
From cleaned tin cans decorated with reused cover of books comes animals-on-wheel that children can drag around, producing a rhythmic sound as a piece of wood is beating the can when the wheels turned.
In the capital, only a dozen home workshops are still producing the toys, most of which are located in the suburb of Tangerang, Endi said.
Among his collection is a set of mini musical set consisting of a small pentatonic gamelan set, a tambourine-like instrument from wood and tin and a similar one made of hard fruit shells.
“This set is used by Balinese storyteller Made Taro when he performs. They provide dramatic background sound but made of the simplest materials,” he explained.
Some others require more adventure to obtain. He was on a trip to West Java’s Cirebon when he found something that he played during his own childhood: Tin spinning tops.
Unlike the conventional cone-shaped wooden spinning tops, this one has a more creative streak applied. Standing no more than five centimeters is a colorful tin biker which looks like a racer ready to reach the finish line.
“Roll the rope around the wheel and pull it,” Endi said as he demonstrated how the toy is played. A strong pull propels the tiny biker forward and keep it moving around a bit, just like a speed racer.
“It’s difficult. I don’t want to play this,” said fourth-grader Lintang Abiyoga, Endi’s youngest son, after trying out the toy.
Some, if not most, traditional toys indeed require more than two thumbs and a joystick. Endi’s most varied collection of one type of toy is the spinning top, a play thing that requires strength, skill and strategy.
Perhaps the most universally known toy, spinning tops are played individually or in a group where children —or even adults— compete to keep their tops spinning the longest or to hit that of the opponents.
“You have to be able to measure how strong a throw you’ll give the top. Too weak and it won’t spin, too strong will send it out of the boundaries,” said Aji Saestu, who demonstrated how to spin a 5-kilogram saucer-shaped spinning top originating from East Lombok, Nusa Tenggara.
Well, this one definitely is not child’s play.
Apiong in Maluku, panggal in Banten, mawon in Papua, whatever the name is, it refers to the traditional spinning top.
As a country rich in cultural diversity, Indonesia is equally rich in the variety of its spinning tops alone. They are not only fun to play, but also interesting just to know about.
Ranging from heart-shaped wooden ones to small bamboo and nyamplung (Calophyllum inophyllum) shell tops that make a sound when spun; all have certain stories behind them that could make a good read if well documented.
“The Dayak tribe perhaps has the most interesting story behind their spinning top,” Endi said.
Legend has it that the spinning top known as Bapangka by the Dayak Kanaytn tribe is a divine being that oversees the forest. The tree from which it is made is the symbol of earth’s fertility and is among the species that produces food for locals.
Thus, for the tribe, spinning tops is done not only in their pastime, but also during rituals at the start of the planting season and before harvesting. They even reserve a special place to spin tops underneath their rice barn.
The fact that it’s a game played in almost every province in the country has prompted the Indonesian Spinning Top Community to propose the traditional toy to enter the National Sports Week PON.
Currently, the group founded in 2007 has started its annual Spinning Top festival where top-makers and players are invited from all over the country to display and show their ability.
The spinning top is only one among several toys that has local flavor in each province. Yoyo, the two attached disk spun on a finger’s throw of rope rolled in between, is another one of such toy.
“This one is found in Demak (Central Java),” Endi pointed to a box full of yoyo painted in red and purple and decorated with a flower pattern.
Another box contains yoyos from Jogjakarta whose shapes are more round than the ones from Demak.
For toy treasurers like Endi, the hunt for traditional toys is more fun than playing them. And it’s perhaps a treasure hunt that will never end as Indonesia has at least 750 types of traditional toys widespread in the country, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs reveals.
But, like it or not, the toys that our great great grandparents played sometimes cannot compete with modern gadgets and electronic toys. What they become is remnants of romanticism that fathers cherish more than their sons.
“Pa, come on,” said Lintang, showing his impatience as he had to wait for his father to help turn on the PlayStation. Meanwhile, his father is busy showing people the traditional toys of his childhood days.
Related posts:
1 Comment on “play for keeps…”
dolanane asyik tenan!!!!
Leave a reply