[2] Pygmies, p. 111.
Chapter V
Amusements
Games
A gambling game was the only thing observed among the Negritos of Zambales which had the slightest resemblance to a game. Even the children, who are playful enough at times, find other means of amusing themselves than by playing a systematic game recognized as such and having a distinct name. However, they take up the business of life, the quest for food, at too early an age to allow time, to hang heavy, and hence never feel the need of games. Probably the fascination of bow and arrow and the desire to kill something furnish diversion enough for the boys, and the girls, so far as I could see, never play at all.
The game of dice, called “sa′-ro,” is universal. Instead of the familiar dots the marks on the small wooden cubes are incised lines made with a knife. These lines follow no set pattern. One pair of dice which I observed were marked as shown in [fig. 2]. The player has five chances, and if he can pair the dice one time out of five he wins, otherwise he loses. Only small objects, such as camotes, rough-made cigars, or tobacco leaves, are so wagered. A peculiar feature of the game is the manner in which the dice are thrown. The movement of the arm is an inward sweep, which is continued after the dice leave the hand, until the hand strikes the breast a resounding whack; at the same time the player utters a sharp cry much after the manner of the familiar negro “crap shooter.” The Negritos do not know where they got the game, but say that it has been handed down by their ancestors. It might be thought that the presence of a negro regiment in the province has had something to do with it, but I was assured by a number of Filipinos who have long been familiar with the customs of the Negritos that they have had this game from the first acquaintance of the Filipinos with them.
FIG. 2.—Marks on dice used by Negritos.