Tag Archives: Childhood

Sardinian Pig Finger Game

Nationality: Sardinian
Age: 55
Occupation: Teacher
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 22, 2013
Primary Language: Italian
Language: Sardinian, Engligh

“It is something that you do with children, with the fingers on one hand and uh, the thumb is the pig. And the other fingers are, ‘one killed the pig’, ‘the other one umm well after you kill the pig you have to pass it on the fire to burn the…the hair, its kind of a strong hair, and then finally the ring finger ate it. But then little pinky who told everyone, you know, spilled the beans, and then he didn’t get any. In Sardinia it goes like that, touching the finger. (The informant repeated this little rhyme in Sardinian). And this is in Sardinian which is the language of the island of Sardinia and the variety that I speak, not very well, but the one that I uhh learned through my maternal grandparents is the variety called Locudorese that is in the north. So I remember my grandmother, Antonina, um you know, playing with us and doing this thing. And it is very Sardinian because you know, that’s what people used to do when propane was scare, was to fatten the pig, typically around Christmas umm they killed it and of course they didn’t throw away anything because they made, you know, prosciutto, sausage, the ears, the feet, everything was used. And umm so this is the process. The fact that after you kill it, you know, the pig has this kind of this strong hair that you have to burn so you pass the pieces of meat on a fire. And it gives off a terrible smell, like when you accidentally burn your nails, because it is basically that same kind of substance. But you have to do it otherwise you can’t eat the meat.”

As the informant stated, he learned this game from his grandmother as a young child. The game relates to the traditional cooking in the region of Sardinia where he grew up. Folklore is born from culture, and eating is very important to a culture, so it makes sense that there are children games that deal with food and eating. The informant placed a lot of  importance on the process of burning the hair. Possibly this is because he remembers the distinct smell and the unique process, or because it is a foreign idea to me, as the collector, so he spent extra time on it. He also said later that the reason that the pinky-finger didn’t get any meat was because he spilled the beans about the feast, and when people hear about someone cooking pig in the village, that person has to share. This demonstrates the community ties of a small village such as the one where the informant grew up. They would share meals because such luxuries (like pig) were rare.  He says that this was a game he played when he was very young. It allowed him to bond with his grandmother, reaffirm his local cultural traditions, and partake in childhood games. Playing with the fingers instead of the toes allows the game to continue into later childhood, because it is less weird for someone to touch your fingers than your toes.

This little finger game reminds me of a similar game we play with babies and children. The version I remember goes, “This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home, this little piggy had roast beef, this little piggy had none, and this little piggy went wee wee wee all the way home”. And instead of touching the fingers, starting with the thumb, you touch the toes, starting with the big toe. This game reminds me of playing with children and making them giggle. The pinky seems to be a funny finger/toe, always getting into trouble or doing something silly. The game also helps children connect with their bodies, which they need to do in the early stages of life. I think it’s interesting that the Sardinian version talks about cooking pigs, while the version I know talks about buying beef at the market. It reflects the difference in culture, because here we rarely cook our food from scratch, while that is more common in rural Sardinia. It should also be noted that the informant said the Sardinian version, but I didn’t want to attempt to spell (or misspell) his words phoenetiallay. However, I included his  translations.

Tower of Fists Game

Nationality: Sardinian
Age: 55
Occupation: Teacher
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 23rd, 2013
Primary Language: Italian
Language: English, French, Sardinian

“Okay, this is a game that children play, and so everyone puts their um fists on top of each other making like a tower, and then the one who leads the games sort of knocks everything, as if it were a building. Actually, in this one it’s as if it were a series of boxes, one on top of the other. And so basically, it goes up and down, ‘knock, knock’, ‘who is this?’, “well go upstairs’. But the last one is the most important one, when he reaches the top, and he says, (in Sardinian) ‘What is this?’ (Also in Sardinian) ‘A little box’, and then he asks, (in Sardinian) ‘What’s in it?’ (in Sardinian) ‘A golden apple’ (in Sardinian) ‘To whom are you going to give it?’ (in Sardinian) ‘Oh, to my beloved one in Alghero (which is a city nearby). May she be shown around with happiness’. And then they say something which doesn’t have anything to do with uhh. Whoever laughs first will get a slap in the face, because at this point everybody, you know the tower is destroyed, and everybody starts going like this, starts switching their hands like this, like mmmm (The informant rolls his hands quickly around each other, flat and with palms facing him, in front of his mouth). Of course its hard not to laugh when you are a child and doing this stupid thing. So uh that’s the game”

The informant also gave another version of the story inside the game, one from elsewhere in Sardinia: “And this one I remember from my father and it’s kind of the same idea. This time it’s about somebody going to the shoe maker, and the idea is that he has left the shoes to be repaired, and so the customer goes back and knocks and you know, again you do the tower with the fists and knocks and knocks. Like, ‘I’m looking for maestro so-and-so, you know, the shoemaker’, ‘well he’s not here, go to the… go upstairs’ and upstairs, upstairs until, you know, he reaches the top fist and this time he asks, uhh, ‘tum-tum (that’s like knock-knock)… (in Sardinian) who is this?’ (in Sardinian) ‘Is master Antonie there?’ ‘Si!’ This time the answer is yes, he is here. In all the other cases, it was go upstairs, to the other floor. This time, yeah, ‘Is master Antonie there?’ ‘Yes, he is here!’ (in Sardinian) ‘Is he done, has he finally fixed my shoes?’ ‘No’ ‘Oh!’ Then the customer gets angry and he says, (in Sardinian) ‘Now I’m going to destroy all the building’. And then, you know, everybody again starts like doing this movement, switching the hands in front of their month. And of course again, whoever is the first to crack up in laughter gets a little slap from all the others, so it’s the same idea.”

The informant played this game when he was a young child. He still found it pretty fun though, because we played it after the interview, and he laughed a lot when I laughed first. However, I avoided the slap. The hand motion is pretty silly looking and it’s hard not to laugh. The informant played the game in his hometown in northern Sardinia, but there are other versions of the story in different regions of the island, as well as in Italy. The first story version is more romantic and fantastical, with a lover and a golden apple. However, the other version, from another region in Sardinia, is focused on the business of shoe-making. A lot of childhood games, especially in Sardinia, have connections to food or jobs. This could be because Sardinia is more rural than many cities here in America, so much of the people’s time is taken up with finding money and food, and they pass that on to their children.

I found the game silly and enjoyable. I have never seen any similar game here in America. It’s hard for me to picture a group of kids playing this. I think it’s interesting that the structure in both versions is the same, even though the stories are very different. This suggests that the story is not the important part of the game. Rather, the hand motions and the laugh-slap finale are the real appeal. The story lengthens the game and creates a process for it. This creates suspense and the children can imagine that they are actually following a narrative while they play, instead of just stacking their fists and knocking on each one. There are games here in America that I’ve played that involves a story simply to structure it. Some examples include Mafia, and Honey will you please please smile. These games are fun if the leader is good. I wish I could play the informant’s game for real, just to experience it.

Bebe Leche

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 23rd, 2013
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English, Italian

The informant drew a series of six boxes in a row, sharing a side with the next one. And the end of this row of boxes was a semi-circle. “So you draw this, and you throw like a piece of like a rock or something. And then you have to jump on one foot and then grab the rock throw it again while you’re still on one foot and then you go like that and like this (making his fingers jump on the drawing he made) and then you have to go back.”

The informant played this game when he was a child with his friend. It’s usually played outside on the dirt or sidewalk. He said that is was more of an elementary school game. The informant offered to talk about this game after hearing another person talk about his childhood games. When asked, people seem excited to talk about what they did for fun in their childhood. It probably brings back good memories, and we rarely get to revisit our childhood when we get older. Also, once people start talking about their childhood games, they don’t want to stop!

I grew up with a similar game, but we called it “Hop-Scotch”. It was essentially the same idea, although I never learned the “official” rules and never really knew how to play. I think it was waning in popularity when I reached elementary school. I never understood the point of the game, it seemed boring to hop about on one foot back and forth. However, the game does involve coordination, creativity, a little pressure to not mess up, and can be played with a group of kids, so it does have many of the aspects of a successful childhood game. This is another example of a simple game that appears in more than one country.

Piscatore

Nationality: Sardinian
Age: 55
Occupation: Teacher
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 23rd, 2013
Primary Language: Italian
Language: English, French, Sardinian

“So this is a game we play in Sardinia. Everybody holds the hand of the person next to them making like a circle. And there is a person in charge and he gives secretly everyone a type of fish. Like, you know, I would whisper to Samuel, ‘salmone’, salmon. And I would whisper into your ear, ‘you are, I don’t know, um, trout’. So each child is a type of fish. And then they, you know, they start singing this song, ‘We are fish and the fisherman is here to catch you and if I’m lucky I’m going to catch…Salmon!” And at this point Samuel is supposed to leave the circle and run around it while I try to catch him and if he’s able to get back to where he was and avoid the hands of the fisherman then he wins, and I have to go again. If I catch him, then it’s his turn to lead it.”

The informant told me about this childhood game after telling me about several other games he played as a child. It seemed that once he started talking about what he did as a child, he did not want to stop! He said that this was one of his favorite games to play, because it involved running around and was a little silly. It’s fun to make up fish names for people and then chase your friends around. He would normally play this at school during breaks with his friends. He has good memories of such times. Furthermore, he still remembers the tune of the song, which he sang to me. Now, as a teacher, he still sometimes uses games like this to teach his students Italian vocabulary.

This game remind me of duck, duck, grey duck, a game I used to play when I was in preschool and elementary school. The punchline is still the same: race your friend around the circle to the spot you just left. However, I like the edition of the silly fish names and the song. I think even now, as a college student, I might find this game entertaining, because it’s simple yet the chase is exciting. It’s interesting that the version I know talks about ducks, while the Sardinian version is about fish. Sardinia is an island off Italy, and they probably have a lot of fishing in their economy. A lot of culture centers around what and how people eat, so it makes sense that this version is about a fisherman, a “piscatore”, and his fish. Furthermore, it involves the fisherman chasing the fish, sometimes winning and sometimes losing. This reflects the reality of how hard it can be to fish for your food. I’m sure that the idea of chasing someone around a circle of people has many origins, because it is a simple and fun way to entertain a group of people. It is still interesting that similar versions of this game appear in many different countries. I like the idea that we grew up playing similar games, despite our disparate birthplaces.

Smurfs Peed in My Toilet

Nationality: Japanese-American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/18/13
Primary Language: English

Smurf

 Ok…so when I was little I was in my “why phase”—I’m not really sure when that was exactly, I think I was maybe like four or five—you know that point in your life when you just ask why to everything? Ok, so every like, once every like, once every two weeks I would come home and see the bathroom and the toilet was, like, blue! And I would always go to my dad and ask why the water was blue, and he’d always say, “well, because a smurf came and peed in our toilet!” I didn’t question it—I mean… I was four or five so… smurfs exist right!? Um… but yeah, I just never questioned it until I started helping clean the bathroom when I was, like, 8? Until then I believed that smurfs came and peed in our toilet and made the water blue. He thought it was funny. I think its funny too…now that I know, like…I just think it’s a really funny story.

 

Haley’s story touches upon an interesting paradox of childhood: constantly questioning everything about the world but also believing whatever your parents tell you. Haley come from a very intelligent family that is scientifically and mathematically inclined—her mother is a doctor and her father a computer engineer. Being of a rather analytic nature, it is surprising that her parents simply didn’t explain to her that the chemicals in the toilet bowl cleaner made the water turn blue. Haley says that if she ever had a question about anything, her parents would take the time to sit down and thoroughly explain to her the details of what she was inquiring about.

 

I find that, being of such a scientific nature, her parents wanted to experience the magic of childhood in which the fantastical, the supernatural, and the improbable is generally preferred over the banality of reality. For Haley, the blue smurfs’ pee was an escape to a fantasy realm. Yes, she eventually learned the truth about the toilet bowl cleaner, but her mental dislocation from the real world afforded her a wonderful childhood.