Games We Played When We Were Children (Part Four):Spider Kids

Not all of our games were about things we created or bought from the the store. We also had live insects and animals for our playthings. Salagubang (beetle) was one of them. After the rain, we will hunt for them in trees. Then we would choose which we thought was the best one. We would race them against each otheror put gum on their backs, or pair them by pasting them back to back and lay them on the ground sideways. The beetle which can lift the other would win. The owner of the beetle will get the beaten beetle as a price.

But spiders were more exciting. We classified them as gagambang-bahay (house spiders) and the gagambang totoo (warrior spiders). The gagambang-totoo was usually better than the gagambang-bahay. In fact, the gagambang-bahay was offered to the gagambang-totoo as prey and food. 

The gagambang-totoo weas not easy to find. You have to look for it in the field or in places where there were a lot of bushes. As children, we learned the art of tracking and finding where they were. I was poor at it. I can not remember a time when I had found one. But my playmates were good at it. They would even find three or four gagambang-totoo in a day. The spiders were of different colors and sizes. They were even offered for sale for those who could not find the kind. I never bought one. I was already contented with the gagambang-bahay or watch my playmates pit their spiders against each other.

The spiders received good treatments (at least before their fight!). Matchboxes adorned with aromatic leaves were the home for the spiders. Time and again, some gagambang-bahay will be put in the box to be food for the gagambang-totoo. Handling spiders needed a tender hand. Because they were very vulnerable and maybe crushed with the application of an accidental light pressure, we had to be careful in not mishandling them and at the same time not to let them go away. They can be very quick at times and could hide in places where they could not be recovered anymore.

The arena for the fights between spiders was a foot long broom or bamboo stick. The best handler of spider among us would manage the fight. The manager should have the ability to direct spiders that were already at the tip of the stick or bring  back to the stick those who were hanging by their silk by pulling them up via their own silk . The winner spider would be the one to silk-wrap the other after killing it.

This "game" might not be in good taste to some, but as children, it was available and enjoyable to us. I guess, during those times, the environment was not that critical yet! In any case, we learned how to take care of delicate things, creatively search for them, improve our skills and agility in managing their fights, and learn more about spiders.