The Nigerian Children's Hand Clap Game "Tinko Tinko" Reminds Me Of The African American Children's Hand Clap Game "Slide Slide Slippery Slide"

Akinlabi Opeyemi, Apr 30, 2023

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about the Yoruba Nigerian children's hand clap game called "Tinko Tinko" and different names in other languages in Nigeria.

This post also showcases several YouTube videos of "Tinko Tinko".

The Addendum of this post showcases two YouTube videos of a very similar African American hand clap game called "Slide" 9also known as "Slide Slide Slippery Slide", "Numbers" and other names). A link to a pancocojams series about the game "Slide" is also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for recreational and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. 

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE NIGERIAN CHILDREN'S GAME "TINKO TINKO"
These explanations are given in no particular order. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

Explanation #1
From https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tinko_tinko_01.jpg
“This is a hand game played on the streets of Nigeria.      

English: This is a game of tinko tinko. It is a common game played in the streets of Nigeria, it is played with the hands by two players. The players will start by touching each other palms saying the words "tinko tinko tinko loco tinko" then they start clapping their hands in a up high and down low position respectively. As they go on, the number of claps would increase numerically ie clap once then twice then three times etc. The child does not get tired first and stop clapping is the winner of the day.

8 February 2019

Source  Own work

Author  Emmanuelokigbo2001” 

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Explanation #2
From https://www.facebook.com/CoachJohnAnene/videos/did-you-play-this-nigeria-game-s%C3%B2r%C3%B2-s%C3%B2kethe-game-is-called-tinko-tinko-it-is-one/1744659612361528/

John Anene,March 8, 2021

"Did you play this Nigeria game? 🤚 Sòrò-Sòke!

The game is called TINKO TINKO. It is one of the special games played by Nigerian child, it is played with the hands by two players. The players will start by touching each other palms saying the words "tinko tinko tinko loco tinko" then they start clapping their hands in a up high and down low position respectively.

As they go on, the number of claps would increase numerically that's clap once then twice then three times etc. Anyone that does not get tired first and continue clapping accordingly is the winner of the game. Now you should guess who the winner 🏆was after watching this short video! 😆

-snip-
Google translate from Yoruba to English

Sòrò-Sòke = Talk up"
-snip-
My guess is that the Yoruba meaning for the words “Talk up” is very similar to the African American Vernacular English saying “Check It Out.” 

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ADDITIONAL VIDEOS OF THE NIGERIAN CHILDREN'S HAND CLAP GAME "TINKO TINKO"
These videos are given in no particular order. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

VIDEO #2 - #TheOhEmGees | Episode 66 - "Tinko Tinko" Game (The UK Version)



TheOhEmGees, Sep 6, 2019

It's Game Friday!!!  Today we're playing another childhood game, called different names but are equally as brutal to the knuckles!

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VIDEO #3 -Squid Game in Nigeria FT Austin Betha  & Nonso Vibez | Tinko Tinko

Tobit Vlogs, Dec 2, 2021  #Nigeria #squidgame #squidgameinreallife

‪@AustinBetha, ‪@HeyNomso , Joy and I met up at University of Lagos (Unilag)  where we played the popular Nigeria kids game Tinko Tinko. This is our fun attempt on the Nigeria version of Squid game in real life 😁
-snip-
Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid_(game) for information about the Korean children's team competitive movement game named "squid"

Also, click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid_Game for the American television series Squid Game". The series revolves around a secret contest where 456 players, all of whom are in deep financial hardship, risk their lives to play a series of deadly children's games for the chance to win a ₩45.6 billion prize. The series' title draws from a similarly named Korean children's game".

From what I've seen and read about the Nigerian children's game Tinko Tinko, I believe its hand clapping pattern is very similar to the American two person hand game "Slide" (also known as "Slide Slide Slippery Slide "and other names. Two YouTube video examples of that game are found in the Addendum to this post.

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VIDEO #4 - Can you play tinko tinko?

Zikokomag, (no publishing date given, I retrieved this from YouTube video short on Sept. 30, 2024)
 
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VIDEO #5 - So Funny: Tinko Tinko Palm Game Have Now Been Upgraded, See The Latest Upgrade (VIDEO)

Mr Update, Apr 7, 2021
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Comments are turned off.

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ADDENDUM - TWO EXAMPLES OF THE AMERICAN CHILDREN'S HAND CLAP GAME "SLIDE" ("SLIDE SLIDE SLIPPERY SLIDE")

Video Example #1- SLIDE BABY Hand-clapping Games

ATL Parents Like A Boss, May 31, 2024
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"ATL" is an abbreviation for "Atlanta" (a city in the state of Georgia. USA). "Like a boss" is an African American Vernacular English saying meaning "performed with excellence and authority".
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The comment feature is turned off for this video.

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Example #2-"Slide" Hand Clapping Game Tutorial

 

Phyllis Briscoe, Jan 30, 2024

" "Slide, Slide, Slippery Slide!"

This video is designed as an introductory lesson for Rhythmic Pattern and Body Percussion Units.

 "Slide" is a playground clapping game that involves two players. The object of the game is to perform 10 rounds of a rhythmic pattern with your hands. If a person messes up during the pattern, then they are out and you have to start over."...

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/12/playing-hand-game-slide-part-ii-two.html for a 2018 pancocojams post entitled "Playing The Hand Game "Slide" (Part II- videos & comments)". That post is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on that children's game. The link for part I is given in that post.

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Video & Lyrics For A "Hello" Children's Song And The Words & Instructions For "Green Color Up", A Contemporary Color Recognition Game

Edited by Azizi Powell

Part I of this pancocojams post showcases the song "Hello" that is sung by K-2nd grade students of Syracuse Academy of Science Charter School (New York).

Part II of this pancocojams post showcases the text (words only) to a circle game called "Green Color Up" that I adapted in 1990 from an old African American children's game called "Green Sally Up". Some of the words in those circle game songs are similar to the "if you have on [name a color]" verse in the "Hello" song that is showcased in Part I of this post.

The content of this post is presented for recreational and educational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the students and staff of Syracuse Academy of Science Charter School. Thanks also to the unknown composer/s of the "Green Sally Up" game song and thanks to Moby for helping to revive interest in that song.

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PART I

SHOWCASE VIDEO:
Hello Song by Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade Students



SyracuseAcademy, Published on Sep 23, 2011

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LYRICS TO HELLO SONG
(Syracuse Academy of Science Charter School, New York)

Part I
Hello, hello
How do you do
How do you do
How do you do
Hello, hello
How do you do today.

Part II
slightly slower tempo and different tune
If you're wearing [name a color]
Stand up
If you're wearing [name the same color]
Stand up

Part III
the same tempo almost the same tune as Part II
Pat pat pat your legs
Pat pat pat your legs
Pat pat pat your legs
Pat your legs today

repeat entire song changing the color in Part II and the action word in Part III (for instance, change to "clap clap clap your hands")

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PART II
From http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/09/green-sally-up-various-related-rhymes.html "Two Versions Of "Green Sally Up", A Related Rhyme, & Moby's Tune "Flowers" (information, examples, & commentary)

[Note: "Green Sally Up" is also given as "Bring Sally Up" although I think that title is erroneous.]

Here's the tune and lyrics for the African American circle game "Green Sally Up" as recorded by Moby:

Flowers (with Lyrics) - Moby (Bring Sally Up and Bring Sally Down Song)



All In One, Published on Mar 10, 2017

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GREEN COLOR UP (a contemporary circle game based on the African American children's circle game "Green Sally Up"
(created by Azizi Powell, 1990, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

Performance Directions For "Green Color Up":
1. Players form a large circle.

2. A person is designated as the "Caller". The same person remains the caller throughout the entire rendition of this game.

3. The Caller calls out the color "Green". (If no one in the group has on an outfit with the color "green", the game start with another color).

4. Everyone who has the color "green" on quickly moves to the center of the circle. (People wearing an outfit that has that color can also remain where they are if they so choose.) **

5. Everyone claps their hands and stomp their feet to the beat while singing.

6. The people who have on the color that is called out raise both of their hands in the air and sway back and forth while singing this portion of the song.

6. The people who don't have that color on, strike a pose while folding their arms.

7. The Caller randomly calls out another color. The people in the center of the ring who don't have an outfit on that has that color in it quickly leave the center of the circle. At the same time, people who do have that color on quickly enter the center of the circle.

8. Follow the directions that have already been given, and continue this pattern until all of the colors (for outfits in that people are wearing) are called out.

** I made this rule because I noticed that some children were shy about moving to the center when they were there alone, or even when there were other people in the center.

"GREEN COLOR UP" LYRICS:
Caller - Green!
Caller & Group - Green color up.
Green color down.
Green color all around the town.
If you have on green, just raise your hands.
If you do not, just fold your arms.

Caller- Yellow!
Caller - Green!
Caller & Group - Green color up.
Green color down.
Green color all around the town.
If you have on green, just raise your hands.
If you do not, just fold your arms.
-composed by Azizi Powell, 1999 (c)Azizi Powell, 1999

I created this game in 1990 after unsuccessfully trying to introduce "Green Sally Up" to the children in my Alafia Children's Ensemble game song groups. Unfortunately, I don't have any sound files or videos of this game.

I became aware of the 1950s "Green Sally Up" game after someone gifted me with the multi-CD Sounds Of The South album. Before teaching this game to the group of children and their accompanying adults (who attended these sessions and were always encouraged to join in the play), I explained its background and the meaning of the song's words. However, I gave up after several tries as I could see that the children didn't like the game and particularly had difficulty with the "last one squat gotta tear the ground" line. I think that might have been because "squatting down to the ground" is something that little children might be allowed to do in selected places outside when they have to pee and they aren't near any bathroom.

While playing "Green Color Up" some children would complain that another child or other children shouldn't go into the center of the circle because that child or children only had a little bit of a certain color in their shirt, pants, or hat. I redirected them, advising them to focus on themselves and not on other people. Also, some children wanted to count the color of their underwear. I told them that that doesn't count.

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Children's Game "Mother May I?" (with A "Mother May I?" clip from "The Real" talk show)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides information about the children's game "Mother May I?" and features a YouTube video of an adapted form of that game that was played in a segment of the syndicated American talk show "The Real".

The content of this post is presented for cultural, recreational, and entertainment purposes.

All copyrights remains with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who are featured in this embedded video and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S GAME "MOTHER MAY I?"
These excerpts are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

Excerpt #1:
From ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_May_I%3F
”Mother May I”? is a children's game, also known as " Captain May I? " and "Father May I?".

Objective, Rules, and General Gameplay
One player plays the "mother", "father" or "captain". The other players are the "children" or "crewmembers". To begin the game, the mother or father stands at one end of a room and turns around facing away, while all the children line up at the other end. The children take turns asking "Mother/Father, may I ____?" and makes a movement suggestion. For example, one might ask, "Mother/Father, may I take five steps forward?" The mother/father either replies "Yes, you may" or "No, you may not do that, but you may _____ instead" and inserts his/her own suggestion. The players usually move closer to the mother/father but are sometimes led farther away. Even if the mother/father makes an unfavorable suggestion, the child must still perform it. The first of the children to reach the location of the mother/father wins the game. That child then becomes the mother/father himself, the original mother/father becomes a child, and a new round begins.

Some suggestions that fill in the "Mother/Father/Captain, may I ____?" blank include:
Take (#) steps forward

Take (#) giant steps forward (usually a small number, due to large step size)

Take (#) baby steps forward (usually a large number, due to tiny step size)

Take (#) umbrella steps forward

Hop forward like a frog, (#) times

Run forward for (#) seconds

Crabwalk forward for (#) seconds

Take (#) Cinderella steps - Twirl forward with index finger touching the top of the head

Open-and-shut the book (#) times - jump forwards with feet apart then again bringing the feet together

Lamppost - lie face down and stretch arms forwards, bring your feet to the point reached by the fingertips

If the "children" are reaching the "mother" or "father" too quickly, the "mother"/"father" may reject the child's suggestion by replacing it with "No, you may not do that, but you may ____ instead." They may reduce the child's original suggestion (for example, reducing five giant steps to three giant steps), or make a different suggestion, such as:
Take (#) steps backward

Run backward for (#) seconds

Walk backward until I (mother/father) say "stop"

Return to the starting line (in rare cases)

A common alternative gameplay is for "mother" or "father" (who can be facing the children) to begin each child's turn by issuing the instruction to be carried out. The child must reply, "Mother/Father, may I?" before carrying out the order, to which Mother/Father always consents. However, if the child omits to ask permission he or she is required to go back to the start. Children who have advanced a long way towards the goal are thus brought to ruin; instructions to go backwards must also be asked for lest a worse fate awaits. The art to being a good mother or father is to bring everyone as equally as possible.

Other variations of this kind of crossing-over game are "What's the Time, Mr Wolf?" (sometimes called "Old Mrs. Fox, What Time is It?", although this version is slightly different), "Grandmother's Footsteps" and "Bulldog", played in Britain. In the first of these, gameplay is similar: Mr Wolf faces away from the children (or Mrs. Fox faces the children), the children together chant in a well-known fashion "What's the time, Mr Wolf?" (or "Old Mrs. Fox, what time is it?"), and if he or she replies with 9 o'clock, the children move 9 steps forward. Should anyone reach Mr Wolf, he or she becomes the new Mr Wolf.

Alternatively, however, should Mr Wolf reply to the question by saying "Dinner Time!" (or in the Mrs. Fox version, "Midnight!") he turns and chases the children back towards the start. If he catches one before he or she reaches safety, that child is the new Mr Wolf.”…
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/03/connections-between-british-caribbean.html for a pancocojams post on "What Time Is It Mr. Wolf" and some other similarly played children's games.

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Excerpt #2
From lhttp://www.gameskidsplay.net/games/mental_games/mother_may_i.html Mother May I A.K.A. Captain May I
"One game I remember is Mother May I. One person (it could be Mom) stands facing away from a line of kids. She then chooses a child (at random, or in order), and announces a direction. These follow a pattern, such as, "Brian, you may take' x' giant/regular/baby steps forward/backward." The child responds with "Mother may I?" Mom then states "Yes" or "No", depending on her whim, and the child complies. If the child forgets to ask "Mother may I?" he/she goes back to the starting line. First one to touch Mother wins.
-Contributed by: Gary Swanson

OR

In one variation I learned, each child takes turns asking, "Mother may I take . . . steps?" And the child who is mother replies yes or no. In addition to baby, regular, and giant steps, we had ballet steps which were kind of like fake ballet turns.
Another way we played the mother would say, "Take __ ____________ steps [always] forward." And each child in turn would reply, "Mother, may I?" Then, Mother tell each child whether they could or couldn't.

Contributed by Erika Salomon

Other steps:

Scissors step- jump while crossing your feet, then jump while uncrossing them was one step

Banana step-laying down with feet at current spot, marking where the top of your head was, and getting up there for new spot.

Bunny step - a hop
-Contributed by: Dea"
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I remember playing "Mother May I?" in the 1950s in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In my neighborhood, we (girls and boys ages around 5-12 years) only played "take steps", "take giant steps", and "take baby steps". I also remember that I didn't like playing "Mother May I?" because I didn't think those games were fair because the caller could so easily make the winner be whoever he or she wanted it to be. I preferred the similar game "Red Light Green Light" because there was much less chance in that game for the caller to predetermine who would win.

Here's a description of the game "Red Light Green Light" from http://www.gameskidsplay.net/games/sensing_games/rl_gl.htm
"In this game, one person plays the "stop light" and the rest try to touch him/her.

At the start, all the children form a line about 15 feet away from the stop light.

The stop light faces away from the line of kids and says "green light". At this point the kids are allowed to move towards the stoplight.

At any point, the stop light may say "red light!" and turn around. If any of the kids are caught moving after this has occurred, they are out.

Play resumes when the stop light turns back around and says "green light".

The stop light wins if all the kids are out before anyone is able to touch him/her.

Otherwise, the first player to touch the stop light wins the game and earns the right to be "stop light" for the next game.

OR

[This is one basically the same except that IT is always facing the players]


We had another way of playing "red light/ green light".

Find a large field, or yard, about the size of a tennis court to a football field.

All the kids line up on one side. the person who is "it" stays in the middle of the field. When "it" says green light, all the kids run as fast as they can. When "it" says red light, everyone stops. whoever doesn't stop is out. "it" keeps saying red light or green light until all the kids are out or has gone from one end of the field back to where they started from.

Remember, don't run too fast or when "it" says red light, you won't be able to stop.
The rule we used is you have two seconds to come to a complete stop or hit the ground.
Another hint is to always wear pants. you can kneel or flop down on red light to stop yourself. Just be careful.
The last person to make it back to the starting line is "it".
Contributed by Nicole - Thank you!

Related to: What's the Time Mr. Wolf"

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Let’s Play ‘Mother, May I?’



The Real Daytime Published on May 8, 2015

Since it’s a Mother’s Day celebration, the hosts and special guest Patti LaBelle play a REAL version of “Mother, May I?”
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Instead of taking "giant steps", "baby steps" or other movements, the talk show hosts and guest star R&B * Gospel singer Patti LaBelle compete in a version of "Mother May I?" that features performing "old school" dances such as "The Funky Chicken", "The Mashed Potato", and "The Twist" along with the contemporary dance "The Nay Nay" and skipping.
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Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Real_(TV_series) for information about "The Real" syndicated American talk show.

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