CREATIVE MOVEMENT
Turkish Traditional Children Games
MİRAY ÇİRKİN
05.05.2008

Bezirgan Başı” ( Chief of Greedy Merchant) : It is a game which can be played with minimum 10 children. Players elect two children among them. One of them takes the name of “golden watch”, and the other “golden bracelet”. And then both stands face to face, hand in hand, they raise their hands. Other children pass through them by singing the following jingle:

Open the door Chief of Greedy Merchant
Chief of Greedy Merchant…
What do you give for your right on the door?
What do you give?
Let the person behind myself be souvenir

Let him be souvenir

Aç kapıyı bezirgan başı
Bezirgan başı....
Kapı hakkın ne verirsin?
Ne verirsin?Ne alırsın?
Bir sıçan iki sıçan üçüncüsü dolaba kaçan

The last player in the line is caught, and asked to his ear “do want golden watch or golden bracelet?”. According to the answer the player stands behind one of those who asked question.

This operation lasts until that all children are divided in two groups. Then children of both groups firmly hold waists of each other. Groups which are placed at two sides of line drawn on the ground pull each other and show their strength. The group which passes the line is the losing party; this group is defeated.

The game goes on in this way until the children fed up with playing..

Bezirgan Başı” ( Chief of Greedy Merchant) :

Bezirgan Başı” ( Chief of Greedy Merchant) :

Körebe

The Turkish name for this game is Korebe It was a very popular game among 4- to 8-year old children. The game is played by about 5 to 10 children. At the beginning of the game, one person is chosen to be 'it' , and then the eyes of that kid are covered with a kind of blindfold. When the game starts, the person who is 'it' —the blindfolded person—tries to catch the other kids. If someone is caught, that child becomes the new 'it' , and the game starts over. Every child in Turkey knows this game!

Körebe

Leap-Frog “Birdir Bir” (Uzuneşek): This game is played with at least 4 players. First of all two persons among players are elected as “it”. Those elected players stand back to back, hold their knees bending, placing their buttocks one another. Other players jump with parted legs over them one by one. If they fell at the time of jumping they become “it”.

While children jump they say “it is one one, two two , three three, four four..” and continue to jump. The last one however takes his place beside the “it” players after jumping, and then he bents.

While jumping over the “it” sometimes joking actions are made in counting some numbers. For example the seventh player says “my seven is seven, what I eat is kick”, and the “it” is kicked by other players. While the eighth player jumps he says “my eight is hop”, and stands on one foot. Players who will jump after him have to stand on their one foot. The eighth player has the right to cause others who jump after him walk as he wishes. While the ninth player jumps he says “my nine is stop” and immediately after uttering this phrase the other hopping players must stop without moving wherever they are. When the tenth player jumps he says “ my ten is sickle, guns of Fatih”, and then starts blowing “its” backs with his fist.

The game goes on similarly after determining a new “it”.

Leap-Frog “Birdir Bir” (Uzuneşek):

Yağ satarım bal satarım

Players sit around a circle.Someone among them is chosen as midwife.At the hands of the midwife,there is a handkerchief which is knotty around its tips.Hiding handkerchief at his hand,it wanders around the players.Sometimes it stops as if it leaves the handkerchief to the back of the players.With these kind of behaviours,it tries to surprise the players.Sitters dont look their back.But they only try to grasp what is there on the floor.While it turnes around the players,it says a tongue twister.

Yağ satarım bal satarım

Ustam ölmüş ben satrım

Ustamın kürkü sarıdır

Satsam onbeş liradır

Zam-bak zumbak dön arkana iyi bak

After telling this a few times,it leaves this handkerchief to the back of the player.The player who realizes this comes up and tries to chase it.İf it catches up without sitting,till he sits,the player hit the back of the midwife with handkerchief.If players dont realize the handkerchief,the midwife takes the handkerchief and hits with it.This time,the player who doesnt realize handkerchief become midwife.Play goes on like that.

Yağ satarım bal satarım

Games of Marbles

In these games, players shoot their marbles—small, colored glass balls—at their opponents' marbles. It they hit the other marbles, they win them

Before beginning the game, players drew a triangle. The size depended on the number of marbles children had.

After putting all marbles into the triangle, they shot their favorite marble at the others so that they could win some marbles by throwing the others out of the triangle.

The game continued until all the marbles were gone.

The important thing is to have as many marbles as they could. There is quite a competition to win the most marbles The one who won the most marbles was the leader of the group, and everyone tried to be the leader

Games of Marbles

Games of Marbles