Palo-sebo (from the Spanish stick/poase) is a traditional Filipino game. A local variant of the greasy pole, it is likely derived from the Spanish '' cucaña''.

Description

This game is usually played by boys during a town

fiesta ''Fiesta'' (Spanish for "religious feast", "festival", or "party") may refer to: Events *Fiesta San Antonio, a 10-day event held every April in San Antonio, Texas *St. Peter's Fiesta, a five-day festival in Gloucester, Massachusetts *Fiestas d ...

or on special occasions in the various

Provinces of the Philippines In the Philippines, provinces ( fil, lalawigan) are one of its primary political and administrative divisions. There are 82 provinces at present, which are further subdivided into component cities and municipalities. The local government unit ...

. Long and straight

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

poles are polished and greased, after which a small bag containing the prize is tied to the top. The bag usually contains money, sweets, or toys. Sometimes a small flag is used instead of the actual prize, which is given to the winner afterwards.

Play

Contestants try to climb the pole in turns to secure the prize, and anyone who fails to reach the top is disqualified. The winner is the one who succeeds in reaching and untying the prize or retrieving the flag.Palo Sebo, Greased Bamboo Climbing
SeaSite.niu.edu (undated)Barbosa, Artemio C. Palosebo,12 Philippine Games, Traditional Games in the Philippines, Infocus, About Culture an Arts, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, August 15, 2003
, NCCA.gov.ph

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

Marsha's Encounter with the Little Prince
- a children's story that defines the palosebo game, EduProjects.net
Barbosa, Artemio C. Palosebo,12 Philippine Games, Traditional Games in the Philippines, Infocus, About Culture an Arts, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, August 15, 2003
NCCA.gov.ph
Palosebo, Palaro (Game), Festival Components and Events, First National Komedya Festival
{dead link, date=March 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes , NCCA.gov.ph

External links

Images

Picture depicting the palosebo, Caminawit Photo Center
at Bravenet.com
Picture depicting the palosebo
at

Flickr.com Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...

Picture depicting the palosebo, ''Kids play the ‘palo sebo’'', Pinoy Outlook/Sun+Stars e-magazine
at Sunstar.com and

Short films

Playing the palosebo
at

YouTube.com YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most vis ...

Playing the palosebo also
at