Traditional Game "Bekelan"

In this age of electronic games and hi tech toys, we often forget that it is often the simplest of inventions that can entertain a child for a long period of time. Although state-of-the-art, high tech computer games are available in Indonesia, such as the ever-popular Nintendo and Playstation, these modern inventions are not affordable for the majority of the population. These games would only be found in the homes of middle to upper class families.

During the recent years of economic crisis, it is often hard for parents to make enough money to feed their family, so toys are often quite simple or something that has been made by the parent. Fortunately, traditional toys are not expensive ... and are fun! The toys and the games that are described below are commonly seen and played by Indonesian children today.
Kelereng or Gundu

Kelereng, or marbles to the western world, is a favorite with boys. There are many variations of games played with marbles.

One of the more popular versions is that a small circle is drawn on the ground. All the players put one of theirmarbles marbles within the circle. Then each of the players drops another marble to a point outside of the drawn circle. The player that owns the marble furthest away from the circle is entitled to play first.

He must attempt to use the marble that is outside of the circle (striker) to hit the marbles within the circle and knock them outside of the ring. If he is successful in doing, this he is entitled to keep the marbles that he has knocked out of the circle. The striker marble, however, must also come to rest outside of the drawn circle. If it does not, this marble must remain within the circle and the owner then forfeits this marble.

If the player is successful in knocking one of his opponents' marbles out of the ring, he can continue his turn and try to strike any other opponents. striker marbles. If he is successful in hitting his opponents. striker marble, he is entitled to take that marble and his opponent can no longer play the current round. If however he misses his opponents. striker marble, he looses his turn and the next player can then start to play.
Gangsing or Gasing

This game is normally played by boys. The gangsing is a top made from bamboo with a small opening on the side. This small hole makes the top whistle very distinctively as it Gangsingspins. The size of the hole determines the pitch of the whistle. String is wound around the dowel that goes through the center of the gangsing . The child then holds onto the flat bamboo handle that is tied to the end of the string and pulls this handle to set the gangsing spinning. Normally a circle is drawn on the ground about 50 cm. in diameter. Two children play against each other. The object of the game is to try and knock your opponents gangsing out of the designated circle. Gangsing are commonly sold outside the temples and tourist attractions in Yogyakarta, Central Java.
Lompat Tali

This is a very popular game which elementary school girls play at recess time. It is much like skipping rope however the rope that the girls use is made from hundreds of elastic bands that are looped together to form a large ring. The girls take turns trying to jump over the elastic rope which is held by two girls at each end.

The height of the rope normally starts low, such as at ankle height, and gradually moves higher up the bodies of the children after the jumpers have successfully jumped over the lower height. Experienced jumpers can often jump over ropes that are neck high! A good thing that comes from using a rope that is made from rubber bands, is that if a jumper is not successful in jumping over the rope, the rope will give and the jumper will not be hurt in her unsuccessful attempt. Thus, a lot of skinned knees are avoided.
Bekel

This is the equivalent of western jacks, and is commonly played by Indonesian girls. The shape of the bekel differs from the western jacks in that they are flat with a small bridge holding the two sides together. On the upper side of the biji bekel there is a small red dot that is called the pit. The under side of the bekel is called a roh. On one of the flat sides of the biji bekel there are small indentations or dots and the other side is smooth.

bola bekelThe game is played is a similar method to jacks, but with a few differences. When the game is started, the biji bekel are all held in the hand of the player and are dropped as the ball is allowed to bounce one time. The player then starts to play by attempting to pick up the biji bekel one at a time without disturbing any of the other biji bekel within the time that it takes the ball to bounce once.

If the player successfully has picked up all of the bekel, he then drops them again and starts the second set of the game. In this set he must attempt to position the biji bekel with the pit facing up again one at a time. This action must be completed while the player throws the ball in the air and allows it to bounce one time. The player must attempt to turn over the bekel without moving any of the other bekel.

If the player completes this successfully, he then picks up the biji bekel one at a time while throwing the ball in the air until he has all of the biji bekel in his hand. He then drops them all again and now picks the biji bekel up two at a time and then three at a time, etc. until he picks up all the biji bekel with one sweep of the hand.

He drops them again and now starts the roh set. The player must attempt to turn over all the biji bekel so the roh side is now facing up. It is permitted to pick up more than one group of the set number while the ball is being thrown in the air. For example if the player is picking up groups of two while the ball is being thrown in the air, he may grab three groups of two bekel. The action of grabbing a set number of bekel is called cek.

If the player moves any of the biji bekel that he is not attempting to pick up, or if he drops any of the biji bekel in his hand, he loses his turn and it goes to the next player. A skilled player can go through many sets of the game before he makes a mistake and has to turn the bekel over to the next player. The player that completes the most sets without making a mistake is considered the winner of the game.

The name is derived from the Dutch game"bikkelen" using the same copper "bikkels".