The Game Of Childhood Throne: Turumpo

Adults today loved to watch children play; I don't know back then why my uncles loved to do that when we were small and fragile aged, sometimes they were this one to tease us and make fun of the "palpak" or worst thing that happened; they are the one that laughed and somehow teach the basic, I remember those days and times I did try some playthings, and I don't know how its work, my uncle will come and will play first. At the sight of me as a child, I thought he was just the one that taught me. Now that I have become an adult, I think I know why, and I am enjoying playing somehow, just like the game that goes back, the childhood throne.

My childhood memories go back to when I saw some children playing outside the house. They are this noisy, and I become curious about what they are doing. I give a glance to fill my curiosity. They were playing the Turumpo, an old game invented in the year when electricity and the internet weren't still present in the Philippines. A spear-to-cone shape then uses a nail to balance the spin of the toy, and the simple toy will start spinning, having a cord that cover-tied the wooden shape spear to cone and releasing some effort that could make the wood toy spin.

It was hard to play when you had no practice to do so. The tied-up rope, perfect force to make the turumpo spins, and the first journey to find the spinning momentum were hard when you have no practice, and honestly, I have become alien to that game anymore. Children are more talented than me these days.

When you become familiar with the momentum, you must remember to hold the turumpo in your hands, spinning and finding the trick to hold unto it.

Then goes to the battle. This duel happens in turumpo, but only the players who know how to play it by hand will go to a place, and the chosen player will have the chance to spin his toy, hold it, and try to destroy others' toys.

That was what the game was about: giving a chance to everyone. They called it "Dugkalan", or forcing destructing the shape and leaving them with debris dots, making the opponent toys spin low fast.

This is where sometimes the actual fighting begins when they destroy too much, and the other opponent cannot have a chance irritates them.

When I was young, my father won't allow me to play turumpo. When he found out I had that one, he would snatch it and place it under where I couldn't reach the young petite boy. I am annoyed by what is happening.

But at the end of the day, there is also a danger of playing turumpo, the "dugkalan" Ilokano for force destructing other toys sometimes goes to harm, the nails could result to injuries. I don't know; maybe my father had that kind of experience when he was this young or witnessed the same, so I was forbidden to have that toy.

Back when 2010, I was jealous to have one. As other children experienced and had it in school playing during recess or lunch break when we were in elementary, I tried to tell my father to buy me one, but I only heard some murmuring, so I started to save up. Back then, one Turumpo cost 20 pesos or $0.40, took me one month to have it, and one peso per day for I only had a 10 pesos ($0.10) allowance for the whole day.

I tried to hide it from my father for sure he won't like that I had one, then one day I found out that the place I kept my turumpo suddenly went to none, and he said he had removed the nails already.

Growing up, I understood things that happened when my uncles wanted to play with my childhood toys. I am an uncle now and somehow do the exact thing to my nephew. Second, my father might have encountered something with turumpo, so I was forbidden and last, It's nice to be a kid, but I have painful memories of being a child. I have a lot.

Watching them laughing and sometimes arguing makes me look at it, made me smile, for I see myself as a kid with them. The times when the only problem is where and when to play, as a growing adult, playing somehow goes to something, and playing is not fond anymore, we should work.

With social media and gadgets, they also feel tired of holding their phones, so they look for something else to play with, somehow a good side because that was also my childhood, no internet, just with the plastic of the toy handmade.

Have you been with turumpo before?