PULILAN, Bulacan—Young children in this town again enjoyed the fun-filled traditional under the sun farm games during this year’s seventh “Ibalik ang Saya” annual “Palaro ng Lahi” and Christmas gift-giving activities held recently in a private agricultural farm.
About a hundred 6-12 years old boys and girls on Dec. 8 returned to the rice fields of “Pulong Kabyawan,” in Barangay Inaon for this year’s hampas palayok, Culliot (tug of war), sack race, palosebo, agawan buko and agawan biik field games.
Andrew Alto De Duzman, a multi-awarded visual artist and a local filmmaker conceptualized in 2018 the holding of the traditional games in his family’s “Pulong Kabyawan” agricultural farm to continue enriching the Philippine culture by reliving to young kids today the rice field games played decades and centuries ago.
According to De Guzman, the project aims to remind and make the grandchildren of the farmers to continue to experience and explore the fun-filled traditional games and make them bring the same tradition to the next generations.
“Palaro ng Lahi is a mixture of sports, games, arts, rice farms and culture. It is one way of keeping the traditional games alive until the next generation. We are teaching our young children today, many of them are the grandkids of our very own farmers so that they will continue and transfer them to their own grandchildren in the future for our rich cultural Filipino rice field games to continue and thrive years and years beyond,” he told NEWSCORE in an Interview on Dec. 6.
“Agawan ng buko at agawan ng biik have the farmer or the parent’s version as the rest of the games are played by the children,” De Guzman added.
The children are residents of M. Santos, Alto St. and other streets going to Pulong Kabyawan.
Pulong Kabyawan is a 6 hectare private farm owned by the family of De Guzman. The farm, now an agricultural tourism hub, which also serves and offers food, coffee, bicycle, fishing activities and planting and harvesting experiences, was a former sugar plantation during the early to mid-1900’s.
De Guzman said more than the cultural, the tradition and the heritage values of the games, “Ibalik and Saya” is part of the agricultural legacy they continue to create for Pulilan.
Pulilan is considered as a major rice producing town in Bulacan. Pulilan artists led by De Guzman have been conducting heritage and cultural projects and programs as part of their campaign to help protect and preserve the agricultural lands and farms from commercialization and industrialization.
The artist who is also a farmer is behind the now 12 years Mandala Art Festival of Pulilan, a visual art that showcases the different harvest and rice farm scenes. The Mandala festival is held during the annual Feast of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of the farmers every May 14 which also highlights the Carabao Festival and also features the Kneeling Carabaos in honor of the patron saint. Mandala is a local term for haystack.
Mayor Maritz Ochoa expressed elation that the old traditional games are being revived and continuously played in the rice fields.
May Arlene Torres, the newly installed Bulacan Provincial History,-Arts, Culture and Tourism Officer said the Pulong Kabyawan Ibalik ang Saya rice field games is De Guzman and Pulilan’s contribution in enriching and preserving not only Bulacan’s rich culture but of the whole country as well.
Ibalik ang Saya Palaro ng Lahi is held for the seventh year through the support of the Rotary Club of Pulilan.
Congee and egg were first served to the children before the games. After the games, winners are awarded trophies and cash and are also provided with merienda.
There are also gift-giving and other activities including the lighting of Christmas lanterns in Pulong Kabyawan.
