Kid Culture: Beaten Tiger, Eaten Caterpillar

Arts & Sciences Culture & History
1

Today some kids at my school were playing a game called “Beat the Tiger with a Stick, Chicken Eats Caterpillar (or insect, or worm)” (棒打老虎雞吃蟲 bang4 da2 lao3 hu3 ji1 chi1 chong2) . It’s similar to “Paper, Scissors, Stone.” The difference, I think, is you say “tiger,” “stick,” “chicken,” or “caterpillar” instead of showing paper, etc. Anybody know any more Taiwan kids’ games? Or Chinese kids’ games? Old ones, new ones, it doesn’t matter.

Another thing:

My kindy kids when I was in Miaoli County used to sing this song:

星期一，蘋果穿新衣；
星期二，香蕉肚子餓；
星期三，桃桃去爬山；
星期四，西瓜去考試；
星期五，大家來跳舞；
星期六、星期日，放假囉！

Translation (I think):

Monday, Apple wears new clothes.
Tuesday, Banana’s belly is hungry.
Wednesday, Peach climbs a mountain.
Thursday, Watermelon takes a test.
Friday, everybody dances.
Saturday and Sunday, take a vacation!

I found it on the 'net, here (google cache) andhere.

There’s also a “monkey” version of the song, which I heard some other kids sing. I found it on the 'net here.

Anybody know any more Chinese-language kids’ songs? Or Taiwanese-language kids’ songs? Or Hakka or aboriginal kids’ songs? Kids’ songs from cartoons or commercials, or old, old songs that Granddad sang as a kid?

2

I heard one of my kids take that days of the week song up to xingxi 11 I think. :laughing: I asked him about 12 and he said he didn’t have one.

3

Pazih (Pazeh) Children’s Songs

These are songs of the Pazih tribe of the Taichung area. Pazih is spoken by only a few residents of Puli and only spoken fluently by Pan Jin Yu, a 92 year old woman from Puli. These songs were taught to her as a child by her church.

  1. tautaukua pakupakusia
    (Leader and subordinates)

alu ta-kan-i niam a sumay
iu punu luxut!
Come, let’s eat our rice and head of a deer!

alu, ta-kan-i sumay iu
punu luxut!
Come, let’s eat our rice and head of a deer!

  1. Lailailai lai piaw
    Cry of cicadas

piaw sauri, sauri batu
look for places to lay their eggs

batu rikihan, raki yauzu
the eggs hatch, and baby cicadas come out to act

tuntun amayuk.
tey flap their wings and fly

4

How about the 007 game.

I’ve never heard the real words properly, but it’s a bot like paper, scissors, stone, I htink - “ling ling qi …”

Must have been an ad or kids show once, because every class I’ve taught has knownt he chant “Hallelujah! Ni mei shua ya!”

Most popular games are ‘Wall Ghost’ - tag, but you’re safe if you’re touching a wall - and ‘hong lu deng’ (traffic lights) - tag, but you’re safe of you cross arms in front of you and say “hong” (red).

Brian

5

:laughing: I wonder what lyrics the kid was saying for days eight through eleven?

[quote=“maowang”]Pazih (Pazeh) Children’s Songs

These are songs of the Pazih tribe of the Taichung (Taizhong) area.[/quote]

maowang, those songs are beautiful. Got any more? And is there any way I can hear them or get the musical notes for them?

When I was about four or five, I remember my cousin and I sometimes made imaginary armies out of discarded cicada shells and fought cicada battles.

My kids in Korea had a 007 game, but I don’t remember how it went. They had one game in which the loser had to write his name with his body (without using the arms). I don’t remember if that one was 007.

When I was a kid, we used “King’s X” to be safe in a game of tag. We also had a game we called “team chase” in which team members could be tagged, captured and taken to a “base.” Opposing team members could liberate them if they could get past the “guard.” I believe this was a very old game, earlier called “prisoner’s base,” but I’m not sure.

Thanks everybody! Know any more games or songs?

6

This is a song from Pazih, sing to a Japanese melody taught to Pan Jin Yu when she was 12 years old by a missionary named Aunt Pholat.
There is a book with the songs and two CDs by Paul Ren Kui Li and Tsigeru Tsuchida available through Academia Sinica. Check my book list in this forum for details. I think I listed it.

Flowers Butterflies and Birds

ta-tika?-i tulala
let’s look at the flowers

lubahin iu risilaw.
red and white

ay, kaaren tulala
Ay, beautiful flowers!

ta-kizib-i tulala
Let’s pick the flowers

ta-zubu-?-aw di punu
let’s wear them on our heads

ay, kiaaren haisiw ?i
Ay, you are so beautiful

ita ita dadua
We, we, all

tabarak iu risilaw
yellow and white

ay, kiaaren rapiaw na!
Ay, beautiful butterflies!

ita ita dadua
we, we, all

ta-kita?-i ayam na!
Let’s look at the birds!

kaidi babaw di kahuy
they are on the trees

ay, kiaaren ayam na!
ay, beautiful birds

7

Great song, maowang! Thanks, and I’ll check the book list you mentioned.