If you had the chance to pass along Sta. Cruz highway going to Digos, Davao del Sur then you must have seen the various woodworking stalls located just beside the road. You may have noticed the intricate furniture being displayed in the bigger stores but what catches the eye, even of a local (much more foreigners) are the various wood works shaped that are left hanging in the stalls just several feet from the highway.
Check it out because most of the woodworks are very practical for home use especially the lechon server (that's the wood shaped like a pig). How many times have you ordered a lechon for a home party and then rushed to the nearby store to buy some boards? With the lechon wood server, you are assured of a regular container for your fare everytime there is a party or a gathering in your home or office where the starring role goes to what else, but a pig.
There are also fish-shaped wood servers which can be used for sinugbang isda and that is a common fare in every Filipino table. The wooden dikdikan or bayuhan is also useful in the kitchen.
However, what got my attention was the sungka. I played sungka as a kid and wondered why kids nowadays prefer the PS2 and other online games that can just turn them into morons and zombies. Sorry for those who play the PS2 and other online games but this is backed by research which shows that children who play computers all the time not only become obese and lazy but also stupid and unable to perform well in school
What is nice about sungka is the fact that it allows you to interact with another person. It can also teach you a thing or two about mathematics. We used shells or stones before but marbles will do. Each hole is filled with stones and the player who gets the most number of stones in his house (that's the bigger holes on both sides) wins.
Sungka, along with patintero, buwan-buwan and step-no and even siyatong are considered traditional Filipino games that every kid should try if only to get a feel of what it was like when there were no PS2, computer games, DVDs and whatever technology you have lording it over your homes right now.
