Welcome to the sport of hair-pulling
January 1, 2003 | 12:00am
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Did you know that hair pulling is a sport in the Cordilleras?
Called "oonet" by folk in Talubing, Bontoc, Mt. Province, it is played by girls after the planting season or on any occasion. The protagonists pair up and then pull each other’s hairs to ease their feelings toward one another.
After the game, the players become friends again and leave their past misunderstandings together with their pulled hairs behind.
For the boys in the same village, the sport that they play to release their pent-up feelings is "lulupag" (boxing with bare hands). If not satisfied with "fagfagtu" (stone throwing), the boys play "lulupag" to develop endurance to physical pain and learn not to hold any grudge against each other.
Like "lulupag," "fagfagtu" is played after the planting or harvesting season in Central Bontoc and in some adjacent barangays. After the butchering of animals in their houses as offerings, the boys play "fagfagtu" in a place where there is a river or creek, which serves as the boundary line.
When a participant is hit then bleeds, this foretells a plentiful harvest. It is played for three successive days, morning and afternoon, after which the opposing players would catch some fish in the river to end the stone-throwing game.
The "fagfagtu" is also played after a rain dance when there is drought.
"Oonet," "lulupag," and "fagfagtu" are among the many odd games or sports played by people in the Cordilleras in the past and to this day.
These are featured in a book titled "Cordilleras Games" written by Dr. Josephine Almendral Flores.
Brief descriptions of the games written by Dakila Padua were published in the latest issue of The Mountain Collegian, official student publication of BSU, the regional university in the Cordillera.
The common sports played by Cordillerans popular in the country are "a-amak" (formal wrestling), "a-an-nang" (palm wrestling), "binnadkiyang" (feet wrestling), "dinnongol" (leg wrestling), "lappi-it/torsi" (finger wrestling), and "sanggor" (hand wrestling).
Another "macho" game is "ginnayang" (spear or axe throwing), one of the most popular sports in the northern Luzon highlands.
The materials for the game are a spear or an axe and a post. A post is marked in the middle and is then placed vertically on the ground. Any number of players stand behind a line 10 meters from the post and try to hit the mark with their axe or "gayang" (an ethnic spear in the Cordillera). The player who hits the mark or closest to the mark wins. "Ginnayang" is a game played for accuracy in hunting animals in the forest.
An outdoor game played by women and girls is "innagto," which is the carrying of pot using the head with the aid of a "giken" (head supporter). The game’s objective is to transport as many pots as possible using the head in the shortest possible time. The path by which the player must travel is like that of a "Z" design.
One interesting game is "innomoman" (holding one’s breath), a water game. Its main objective is to hold one’s breath under water. The player who can hold his breath the longest wins.
"Pinnalsi-it" is played by shooting a target, most often tin cans hung in the air, with the use of a slingshot. The player with the most number of target-hits is the winner.
A game preferably played by groups in Benguet, "pinnalsu-ot" uses bamboo poles .5 to 1.5 inches in diameter and 10-12 inches long. It is used as a mini-cannon to shoot the opponent with wet pieces of paper.
"Pinnokpok ya pinnaltog" (sound shooting) is also a mini war game played by children acting as soldiers in a gun battle.
"Pinnukukan" (trapping) is a game played by pairs of boys in Bontoc, especially when there is an occasion. It is similar to "dama" but once a player is trapped, he cannot proceed. Each one has only three traps to use. The player who can cross the center of the line wins but to win, he must be skillful because while one moves the other keeps on blocking him.
"Balneg" (top tussling) is an outdoor game played on bare ground with a top, a thread, and a circle. The players place their tops in the middle of the circle as "taya" (it). The first player does the "soyo", getting the spinning top on his palm, then throwing it to hit the "taya" out of the circle. When the player cannot take the "taya" out of the circle, it is his turn to be the "taya."
A game played in Abra and other parts of the Cordillera, "bisnag" (thigh hitting) determines the pain endurance of a competitor. Players sit side by side and hit the thigh of their opponent with their thigh as strong as they can.
"Innakpayat" (vine crossing) entails crossing a river when the current is strong. This is usually played by children who cling to a vine and swing to reach the other side of the river. A player who fails to reach the other side losses the game. The player who crosses the fastest wins.
Called "oonet" by folk in Talubing, Bontoc, Mt. Province, it is played by girls after the planting season or on any occasion. The protagonists pair up and then pull each other’s hairs to ease their feelings toward one another.
After the game, the players become friends again and leave their past misunderstandings together with their pulled hairs behind.
For the boys in the same village, the sport that they play to release their pent-up feelings is "lulupag" (boxing with bare hands). If not satisfied with "fagfagtu" (stone throwing), the boys play "lulupag" to develop endurance to physical pain and learn not to hold any grudge against each other.
Like "lulupag," "fagfagtu" is played after the planting or harvesting season in Central Bontoc and in some adjacent barangays. After the butchering of animals in their houses as offerings, the boys play "fagfagtu" in a place where there is a river or creek, which serves as the boundary line.
When a participant is hit then bleeds, this foretells a plentiful harvest. It is played for three successive days, morning and afternoon, after which the opposing players would catch some fish in the river to end the stone-throwing game.
The "fagfagtu" is also played after a rain dance when there is drought.
"Oonet," "lulupag," and "fagfagtu" are among the many odd games or sports played by people in the Cordilleras in the past and to this day.
These are featured in a book titled "Cordilleras Games" written by Dr. Josephine Almendral Flores.
Brief descriptions of the games written by Dakila Padua were published in the latest issue of The Mountain Collegian, official student publication of BSU, the regional university in the Cordillera.
The common sports played by Cordillerans popular in the country are "a-amak" (formal wrestling), "a-an-nang" (palm wrestling), "binnadkiyang" (feet wrestling), "dinnongol" (leg wrestling), "lappi-it/torsi" (finger wrestling), and "sanggor" (hand wrestling).
Another "macho" game is "ginnayang" (spear or axe throwing), one of the most popular sports in the northern Luzon highlands.
The materials for the game are a spear or an axe and a post. A post is marked in the middle and is then placed vertically on the ground. Any number of players stand behind a line 10 meters from the post and try to hit the mark with their axe or "gayang" (an ethnic spear in the Cordillera). The player who hits the mark or closest to the mark wins. "Ginnayang" is a game played for accuracy in hunting animals in the forest.
An outdoor game played by women and girls is "innagto," which is the carrying of pot using the head with the aid of a "giken" (head supporter). The game’s objective is to transport as many pots as possible using the head in the shortest possible time. The path by which the player must travel is like that of a "Z" design.
One interesting game is "innomoman" (holding one’s breath), a water game. Its main objective is to hold one’s breath under water. The player who can hold his breath the longest wins.
"Pinnalsi-it" is played by shooting a target, most often tin cans hung in the air, with the use of a slingshot. The player with the most number of target-hits is the winner.
A game preferably played by groups in Benguet, "pinnalsu-ot" uses bamboo poles .5 to 1.5 inches in diameter and 10-12 inches long. It is used as a mini-cannon to shoot the opponent with wet pieces of paper.
"Pinnokpok ya pinnaltog" (sound shooting) is also a mini war game played by children acting as soldiers in a gun battle.
"Pinnukukan" (trapping) is a game played by pairs of boys in Bontoc, especially when there is an occasion. It is similar to "dama" but once a player is trapped, he cannot proceed. Each one has only three traps to use. The player who can cross the center of the line wins but to win, he must be skillful because while one moves the other keeps on blocking him.
"Balneg" (top tussling) is an outdoor game played on bare ground with a top, a thread, and a circle. The players place their tops in the middle of the circle as "taya" (it). The first player does the "soyo", getting the spinning top on his palm, then throwing it to hit the "taya" out of the circle. When the player cannot take the "taya" out of the circle, it is his turn to be the "taya."
A game played in Abra and other parts of the Cordillera, "bisnag" (thigh hitting) determines the pain endurance of a competitor. Players sit side by side and hit the thigh of their opponent with their thigh as strong as they can.
"Innakpayat" (vine crossing) entails crossing a river when the current is strong. This is usually played by children who cling to a vine and swing to reach the other side of the river. A player who fails to reach the other side losses the game. The player who crosses the fastest wins.
BrandSpace Articles
<
>
- Latest
- Trending
Trending
Latest
Recommended