Cublak-Cublak Suweng, Guess the Right Person or Run around the Hall

If American people have truth or dare, Javanese people have cublak-cublak suweng. Both games require the participants to do something if they fail to execute an obligatory task. Cublak-cublak suweng, however, involves more people so that it is more exciting. Light tease and burst of laughter make the atmosphere vivid.

How is it to play this game? YogYES will explain it for those who might forget it and those who want to learn to play it. First, invite as many friends as possible. To make it exciting, there must be five people at least. Then, prepare something, usually a pebble, as something that later will be hidden by one of the participants of the game.

Afterwards, the participants will do hom pim pa or ping sut to determine the person who has to guess the holder of the pebble. The person is the one who loose in the ping sut and he or she has to sit on the legs with head kissing the floor and eyes being occluded with hands. Meanwhile, other players open their palms on the back of the person who has to guess. One of them will hold the pebble or other thing to be hidden.

The game starts by touching the pebble on the palms of other participants. While doing this, the participants sing a traditional Javanese song entitled cublak-cublak suweng. The verses say, "cublak-cublak suweng, suwenge teng-gelenter, mambu ketundung gudel, pa empo lera lere, sopo ngguyu ndeliake" that more or less means that the person who is hiding the pebble is supposed to be the one who is laughing. When the song almost ends, the pebble is kept by someone whose palm touches the pebble the last time.

After the pebble is kept tightly in one hand, the person who has to guess the holder gets up and sits on the legs. Meanwhile, other participants sing another traditional song with the verses saying, "sir, sir pong ndelik gopong" as often as possible until the person guesses the person possibly holding the pebble. While singing, they move their fore fingers pointed to the person who is trying to guess. He or she only has one opportunity. If he or she fails, he or she has to become the person with the same task for the next round.

If you become the person who has to guess correctly, you must have been very careful in order not to fail the second time. Otherwise, you will have to run around the field or the hall of the games squatted. Or else, the participants will ask him or her to do weird things. This is unpleasant, isn't it? Thus, you have to have special tricks in order to guess correctly.

Fair methods can be relied on as the weapon to guess correctly. If you are sensitive enough, for example, you can read their body language and expressions. The face of the participant hiding the pebble may look different. You can also observe carefully their hands to help you guess correctly. Besides, you can also memorize the seating of the participants before you occlude your eyes and then feel the cycle of the pebble that touches each palm of the participants.

If you want to play a little bit foul, there is certain trick. You can tilt your head a little to the right or left. Then, open your eyes a little like the lazy eyes of a sleeping cock. Hence, you will notice who keeps the pebble. Make sure that participants do not notice what you are doing. Otherwise, they will impose heavier punishment to you.

Winning or loosing the game or whatever trick to win this game is not too important. What is more important is happiness in your leisure time after the tour from some tourism objects in Yogyakarta. The happiness we are feeling while playing cublak-cublak suweng game is quite rare, isn't it? (taken from yogyes.com)