Panulaan ng Diwa # 6 - Palo Sebo (Larong Pilipino)

This poetry is part of a series to immortalize my fond memories of Filipino games of my younger years. The games I feature in this series are hardly being played by today's Filipino youth, as most of them are more inclined towards playing computer games. Palo Sebo is believed to be a game inspired by the Spanish cucaña. It is our local version of greasy pole.                                                                                                                 The game was usually played in the many festivals in the Philippines. The game play involves climbing a polished and greased long bamboo pole with the goal of getting a prize in a bag or in form of a small flag the fastest. Because of the physical and rather tiring nature of the game, the participants were usually young energetic boys. Like shown in the photo below, they take usually take out their shirts and use it to wipe some of the grease out of the bamboo to avoid sliding back down.