Traditional Javanese children's games are disappearing as technology replaces physical interaction. Games like Jamuran and Cublak-cublak Suweng once taught kids important life skills through imitation, strengthened physical abilities, and stimulated imagination through conversation and songs. However, mobile phones, TV, and games now keep children indoors and isolated. To preserve valuable lessons on togetherness and cooperation, efforts must be made to continue passing on traditional games to new generations.

1. QUO VADIS?
JAVANESE TRADITIONAL
GAMES
YOSEF BUDI SUSETYA

2. PROBLEM
 Javanese traditional games (dolanan Jawa)
for kids such as Jamuran, Cublak-cublak
Suweng, Blarak-blarak Sempal, Gajah
Telena, Udan Barat, etc will no longer exist in
Java.

3. PROBLEM
 Kids traditional
games (dolanan
Jawa) will only be
an artifact .
 Many people don’t
realize this sad
facts.
 Many of us think
that it is not
important and

4. FACTS
 A very fast technology development
make the kids don’t need to play
with other friends.

5. FACTS
Mobile phone, television and
other electronic gadgets make
almost all kids don’t have
enough chances to play with
others.

6. FACTS
Most modern

technology
can fulfill our
needs to
play with our
imagination.

7. FACTS
 Physical
meeting in
modern era is
no longer
considered
important
because it can
be replaced by
SMS,

8. FACTS
 Many kids are lazy to move and
some of them don’t want to go to
school because they become “game
addict”.

9. TRADITIONAL GAMES IN
HISTORY
 Togetherness
is very
important for
kids in the
past.

10. TRADITIONAL GAMES IN
HISTORY
 For playing and
having fun they
needed other kids
as in life we need
other people.
 Togetherness and
hand in hand to
help are the values
of the traditional
games.

11. TRADITIONAL GAMES IN
HISTORY
 Traditional
games form a
strong bond
of friendship
and
relationship.

12. TRADITIONAL GAMES IN
HISTORY
 Dolanan anak
also need very
intensive
physical
meeting to
others.

13. TRADITIONAL GAMES IN
HISTORY
The existence
of people in a
real life can’t be
replaced merely
by pictures,
sentences or
voices.

14. VALUES OF TRADITIONAL
GAMES
FIRST VALUE
 Games that imitate what their
parents do, such as trading,
marriage, visiting, making house from
stone and sand, making dolls clothes
from fabric and paper, and making
puppet from leaves or grass. It
helped them to experience real life
skills.

15. SECOND VALUE
 Games to enhance
their skills and
physical strengths,
for example tag game,
crawling, wrestling,
engklek (picture), gobak
sodor, gobak bunder,
bengkat, benthik-
uncal, jethungan, etc.

16. THIRD VALUE
 Games to train our
five senses.
In this games, kids

practice to touch
something using hands,
to count, to estimate
the distance, to
sharpen our sight and
listening skills and to

17. For example:
gatheng, dakon (picture),
macanan, sumbar-
suru, sumbar-manuk,
sumbar-dulit, kubuk,
adu-kecik, adu-
kemiri, main
kelereng, jirak,
bengkat, pathon,
dekepan, drawing in
the sand, petak
umpet, bayang-
bayangan, and

18. FOURTH VALUE
 Conversation games to exercise
language and thinking skills.
Kids togetherness is always followed by

conversation to each other about myth or
legend story, experiences story, or riddle that
stimulate their imagination.
 The riddle is not only an ordinary questions,
such as pitik-walik saba kebon and pong-
pong bolong. Sometimes the riddle is created
from their own imagination.


19. FIFTH VALUE
 Games using
songs.
 For example: jamuran,
cublak-cublak suweng
(picture), bibi tumbas timun,
manuk-manuk dipanah,
tokung-tokung, blarak-
blarak sempal, demplo,
bang-bang-tut, pung-
irung, bethu-thonthong,
kidang-talun, and ilir-

20. CONCLUSION
Traditional games
have so many
valuable
substances for
kids’ physical,
social and
emotional
development.
 So, we need to
preserve it well for
our next generation

21. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Hermanu, 2012, Ilir-ilir: Ilustrasi Tembang
Dolanan, Yogyakarta: Bentara Budaya.
 Overbeck., H., 1938, Javaansche
Meissjespelen en Kinderlidjes, Java
Instituut Jogjakarta.