Pilolo

PILOLO

THE GHANAIAN CHILDREN FOLK GAME

Lawrence Tetteh is my name and as the name suggests, I am a Ga. I was born and grew up in Akweteman, a suburb of Accra early in the 1990’s. During the period I was born, there were numerous folk’s games as children we used to play. One of the games I loved and of which I will be talking about in the subsequent paragraphs is Pilolo which means “Time to search”.

Pilolo is a game which is widely played almost in every part of Ghana. Pilolo has the similarity of hide and seek. But in this case, the object hidden is not human beings but inanimate things such as broom sticks, charcoal, palm nut, pieces of sticks or any other small thing that is portable. Pilolo is a game for both genders. To play this game, the participants should be at least three or more. The objects used are equivalent to the number of the participants. It has a leader who sometimes doubles up as the time keeper. It is normally played in the afternoon where the atmosphere is clear because it has to do with one going round looking for something.

The game starts with the whole participants agreeing on a particular object to be used in the game for instance, pieces of sticks. Apart from the leader who is generally in the charge of the whole game, the rest of the participants are confined at one place from the sight of the leader. The leader who then has the objects to be used in the game after making sure that the others are far from his sight, hides all the objects at a particular place that only he knows. The leader after hiding the objects leaves the place where the objects are hidden in other not to give the others any clue of where the objects might have been hidden. 

The leader now makes a call “Pilolo yaafo b3 mlin” which in ga means “There is no crying in Pilolo”. The other participants after hearing the call from the leader comes out from their confined area and starts searching for the objects. The search for the object can last for about five minutes or more which all depends on the capability of the participants to find the hidden object. The objects are hidden at places that one might not even think it could be. In the sand, under stones or cement blocks and every possible place.

The participant who is able to find the objects first, picks up one and sends it to the leader. The one who is able to give the found object to the leader first is the winner of the game. In this game, the one who finds the object first is not necessarily the winner of the game. It is the one who is able to give the object to the leader first that wins. This game is like two people walking together and one sees money on the ground and shouts "I have found money" but the other picks it up. So in as much as the participants want to see the objects first, they also need to give it to the leader first. The participant who sees the hidden the object first doesn’t tell the others he has found it. He picks it up quietly and runs to the leader to give it out as the rest keep on looking for the object until everyone sees and brings it to the leader. This is repeated continuously until they want to end the game. At the end of the game, there is a tally to tell who won in overall.

Importance and benefits of Pilolo

As kids, we didn’t know the benefit of this game. As I grew up, I realized that these petty games we played when we were young played certain roles in our life even as we are grown. Here are few importance and benefits of the game Pilolo.

Pilolo helps to socialize with each other. As kids we socialize and get used to ourselves when we come together to play. When the other participants are kept in that confined place as the leader hides the objects, they are able to tolerate each other because they are all at the same place. They do not fight each other as they stay quietly in their confined area. They smile and laugh to each other as they wait for the call from the leader.

Another benefit of the game Pilolo is that, it makes one pay attention to instructions. As the other participants are waiting anxiously for the call from the leader, they keep calm and listened carefully to make sure they hear the leader as he calls out. This benefit has helped us as young adults now to pay keenly attention when announcements are being made or as the lecturer lecturers in the lecture hall.

Again, the game of Pilolo makes us vigilant and not to take little things for granted. The leader of the game hides the object at various places. Under stones and buckets, in palm trees, etc. It is generally hidden in or under any possible object around. Even at places you least expected it to be. In so doing, one is able to develop some patience when looking for something. Especially, very important documents that have been misplaced somewhere. In looking for our lost items, we sometimes find them at places we least expected to find them. That is what Pilolo does. It makes one not to take little things for granted when one is looking for something very important. One ergo, searches through every possible thing that is capable of having the missing item or document.

 As we play some of our own folk games lets learn the best out of it.

This and many more are the important and benefits of the game Pilolo.