Wa Wa Warisan: Keeping the Traditional Games Going
Photo by Thum Chia Chieh
Traditional games are part of one’s heritage and cultural tradition which should be preserved but with the passing of time, they are slowly being forgotten and are not passed down to younger generations. Through WaWaWarisan, one of the education modules under Cultural Heritage Education Programme (CHEP), we gathered a total of 120 diverse students, aged 9 to 12, from 7 different schools (SK Permai Indah, SJKC Jit Sin (B), SK Jelutong Barat, SK Convent Pulau Tikus, SK Sungai Ara, SJKT Sungai Ara, SJKC Chong Cheng) in Penang to learn, play and innovate a traditional game of their choice in a 4-session engagement. This is also part of the effort to create awareness and appreciation towards our local traditional games among young people.
Students were seen using the chant “Lat tali lat tali tam plom” or “Lai lai li lai tam tom” to decide how to split multiple players into two teams when playing games.
As a start, during the first session, the students were exposed to four different traditional games. (Pickup sticks, Baling Tin, Musang & Ayam, and Galah Panjang). With the help of a trained facilitator, the students were taught how to play and understand the basic rules of the game. The students were then required to reteach their peers with minimal guidance from the facilitator.
Before the first session ended, the students were encouraged to ask an adult to describe and demonstrate a game from their childhood. Among the games shared were Hopscotch, Tarik Upih, Guli, Gasing, and Batu Seremban.
The second session was where creativity and innovation took place. The students were split into four groups (Group A, B, C, and D). Each group had 10 members. Using the knowledge and experience from the previous session, all groups brainstormed and came up with a new game with guidance from the facilitators.
Group A then tested out their game by conducting a play session with Group B. After the session, Group B, along with the teacher and facilitators, gave constructive feedback to Group A on how to improve their game in terms of play formation, rules, space, materials, and timing. All four groups went through this same process.
Photo by Thum Chia Chieh.
During the third session, the students made some final amendments of their innovated game and prepared for the upcoming Pesta WaWaWarisan.
The picture on the left shows the students making amendments to their poster and the game continued with them presenting their game to their peers.
Fostering peer interaction and more among 120 diverse students was a challenging task for the facilitators. However, over the course of the 3-day workshop (4 hours each), the students successfully developed several important skills including understanding team dynamics, how to communicate, organize themselves, and strengthening their motor skills. The students had the pleasure of seeing their efforts take shape around a shared idea.
Pesta Wa Wa Warisan poster.
The final fourth session was the Pesta WaWaWarisan that took place on the 19th October 2019 at SK Jelutong Barat, from 8 am to 1 pm. On this day, all 120 students that went through all the 3-sessions, had the opportunity to showcase and play their innovated game with their peers and adults. An additional 58 students from SK Bertam Perdana, SJKC Phei Shin, SK Jelutong Barat and SK Convent Pulau Tikus also participated in the fourth session. Facilitators guided all 12 groups of students while they presented their innovated games. The students then had the chance to vote for their favourite game according to the categories of Most Creative, Most Fun and Most Teamwork.
We were greeted by faces of children beaming with joy at the end of the session, looking forward to playing more of this type of games.
“These activities would bring my students away from their comfort norms of indulging in tech gadgets. It encourages teamwork and social interactions among the kids of various ethnicities. In a way, it promotes unity.”
WaWaWarisan is a CHEP programme, a collaboration between Arts-ED and Georgetown World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI), supported by Penang Education Council & Northeast District Education Office, endorsed by Penang State Government.
Written by Radziah Othuman Sahib.
Photos by Thum Chia Chieh, Lim Pei Fang, Will Jing Ding, Chen Yoke Pin.
The poster was illustrated by Loo Hui Yee, design layout was by Mood Design Studio and Sean Chew.
Video by Sean Chew.