Guli

Marbles or “Guli Batu” or “Kelereng”, is one of the many Malaysian traditional games. 

I remember playing them at school during my primary school days. Its origin eludes me but it was a simple, cheap, easy, no frills and provided hours of fun type game.

We would play it still dressed in our school uniform after school or during recess. I would be in my white short sleeve shirt and navy blue shorts with white shoes and socks.

My son nowadays sticks to his PSP and Ipad and I dread to think what he is missing. It is not only playing traditional games but missing out on friendship that he would be making along the way and oh yes, the laughter. I remember the laughter and “cheatings” involved. You know kids, they will try to outdo one another. It was good fun never the less. 

We played it in shaded area, but not always. Even if it was hot, it was still game on.

Back in those days, the sun was not this hot and furthermore; we had tons of energy and stamina.  

We played on a wide open area with sandy flat surface. The rules of the game were simple. 

A round circle about 1 meter was drawn on the ground.  We had to throw the marble to hit its target.  A maximum of 5 players at any time were the norm.  A hole measuring 10 cm wide and 7 cm deep was dug in the middle of the circle.

A long straight line about 3 meters from the circle is drawn.  That is the starting line.

Each player will have a main marble and a few betting marbles. The main marble is usually colored using a color pencil or engraved in pencil the name of the player. This is to differentiate the main marble from betting marbles. I remember coloring mine using a Staedtler Noris 2B black pencil in the hopeless attempt to get a black silver metallic finish. Hey! It was cool for me in those days to have a mat black silver finishing.  

The betting marbles are kept in the circle. 

The players will need to throw their main marble at the betting marbles in the circle.  The betting marbles that comes out from the circle becomes the property of the new owner. The main marble cannot be touched or taken.

If the main marble is stuck in the circle, the player has lost the game.

The one who comes out on the top with the most numbers of marble is the winner.

Another improvised and simpler way of playing the game involving no betting marbles is to dig a hole and stand about 2 meters away from the hole measuring 5 cm wide. The player who reaches the hole first is the winner.

I was informed that back in the days of the prewar era, pieces of woods as bid as a hens egg, were rounded to form a marble. Subsequently, after the war, marbles as big as your toe were made from chalk mixed with cement. Marbles now come in various shapes, sizes and materials.

I managed to find the same type of white cement marbles in Pekan, Medan Selera Pekan, near the taxi terminal.