BİR DİR BİR
LEAP FROG
One of the most common names in Turkey
for Leapfrog is Uzun Eşek, meaning "long
donkey." Not only in some parts of England
is it Donkey, Jump the Long Horse, or
Jump the Long Mare, but in other countries
it has similar names too: in Germany Das
lange Ross, in Italy II cavallo lungo, both
meaning "long horse," in Belgium it is Le plus
fort cheval, "the strongest horse.”
Another game which has many counterparts in
Turkey is the one called in English, "Mother, the
Cakes are Burning." The mother trusts her children
to the charge of a maid, unaware of the danger that a
kidnapper is scheming to abduct all the children, who
are then transformed into edibles, or sometimes
colored birds, and the mother has to identify them. In
Germany this is known as De Brei kakt aver and
Moder o Moder wo ist Kindken bliewen? and in
Sicily Mamma caduta dal monte. There are many
similar games in Turkey, one of them from Kütahya
is called Dünür Dünür (dünür means an in-law, so
the name of the game can be translated as "Motherin-law, Mother-in-law").
In games where the players do not know whether
they are runners or chasers, this is decided by
spinning a flat token or stone, one side white and the
other black. The side whose color comes uppermost
chases the other team. Since the ancient Greeks
this has been called Day and Night, in Germany
Tag und Nacht and in Italy Giorno e notte, or
Black and White as in Austria Schwarz-Weiss.
Among other names in Turkey it is called KırmızıBeyaz, meaning "Red and White," in Kayseri and
Istanbul.
IP ATLAMA
JUMP & ROPE
This is played on the streets by girls.
There are three ways to play: Alone,
turning the rope alone. One girl
jumping a rope twirled by two girls.
More than one jumping in a rope
twirled by two girls.
The rope should be long enough to
touch the ground and allow for the
heights of the girls jumping. When
more than one play, one player must
jump as many times as another. There
are various ways to jump:
Çat arası: Catching the rope between the
legs at the end of the jumping.
Kurbagalama: Catching the rope between
the hands and legs at the end of the jumping.
Tek ayak üstünde atlama: Jumping on one
foot.
“No break” jumping. Played together, with no
break. Whoever fails to jump or to do the
right action at the end of the jumping is out,
and takes the place of one of the girls turning
the rope. Whoever makes it through without
a mistake wins the game. -Bartın
SEK SEK
HOP SCOTCH
This is played by two or more boys or girls. The
children draw the pattern shown below and then
shuffle stones over it with their feet. The object is
to move the rock through the pattern without it
touching the lines. Of course the players must also
not step on the lines. Each child must shuffle the
stone through the squares hopping on one foot.
The game is starting by throwing the stone onto
square 1.
The player then hops on one foot and with his foot, kicks
the stone onto the second square. They throw the stones
on the first, then second and third squares and hop through
them. The player hops to the stone in the right square and
then knocks the stone out of it with his foot. If the stone
lands on the line, the player steps on a line, or steps with
both feet where he is not allowed to do so, then he loses his
turn and the second player begins. When each player’s
turn comes, they pick up where they left off. When a player
reaches square 5, he/she may step with both feet.
AÇ KAPIYI BEZIRGAN BASI
OPEN THE DOOR HEAD MERCHANT
Two of the children hold their
hands together like a bridge, and
the others go under in single file.
During the game, they sing this
song:
- Open the gate, head merchant.
- I’ll open it, but what will you give
me?
- Take the scoundrel behind me.
- One rat, two rats, three rats.
Whoever is under the bridge when
they come to the end of the rhyme
is caught by the children making
the bridge.
MENDIL KAPMACA
GRAB THE KERCHIEF
The children divide into two equal
teams. Each player has a number. The
“judge,” sitting in the middle of a circle
holding a handkecrcief, calls the players
by numbers. One of the most common
bluffs used in the game is to make as if
one will grab the handkerchief, and allow
the opponent to catch the handkerchief
and catch him. Whichever team succeeds
in grabbing the handkerchief the most
times, wins the game. The losing team is
“punished” by being made to carry the
other children on their backs, sing a
song, or forced to do some ridiculous
act. Sometimes the winning team gets a
prize put in the center.
YAG SATARIM
I SELL BUTTER
I Sell Butter
First someone as chosen to be “it.”
Then the players sit in a circle on the
floor facing each other. The player who
is “it” takes a handkerchief, ties a knot in
one corner, and sings the song that gives
the game its name:
I sell butter, I sell honey
My master has died, and I sell it
My master’s fir is yellow
If I sell it, it’s 15 liras
Zam-bak Zum-bak
Turn and take a good look behind you.
As the child who is “it” walks around,
he/she places the handkerchief behind
one of the players without him seeing it.
As soon as the player notices the
handkerchief, he grabs it and starts
chasing the “it.” If the “it” manages to sit
in his place without being caught, the
one who got the handkerchief then
becomes “it.” If he is not caught then he
continues as “it.” In another version, the
player who chases the “it” hits him with
the knotted end of the handkerchief
until he manages to sit in his place. Then
the child with the handkerchief continues
as “it” in the next round.
YAKAR TOP
BURNING BALL
The players divide into two equal teams, which
stand facing each other a certain distance apart.
The area where the teams are is called the kale
(fortress). The teams each send two people,
called “ambassadors,” to the opposite team.
One of the teams throws a ball into the air
towards the opposite team. As soon as they do,
one of the “ambassadors” on the opposite team
runs quickly towards the team that threw the ball.
One player on the opposite team then catches
the ball and throws it at the fleeing
“ambassador.” If he hits him, the ambassador
“dies” and is out of the game. Then the second
team throws the ball and the other team throws it
at their ambassador. The game continues with
new ambassadors. The team that loses all its
ambassadors loses the game.