Hol' Me Tight

This book is a celebration of the rich traditions of games played in St. Lucia. Although played more widely in the past, many of them continue to be enjoyed in some rural communities. Like tropical plants that bear in season, at some unseen signal, various types of games are played at different times of the year. Through those games St. Lucian children enjoyed seemingly endless hours of fun and laughter while unintentionally learning many of the attitudes and qualities required for...
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This book is a celebration of the rich traditions of games played in St. Lucia. Although played more widely in the past, many of them continue to be enjoyed in some rural communities. Like tropical plants that bear in season, at some unseen signal, various types of games are played at different times of the year. Through those games St. Lucian children enjoyed seemingly endless hours of fun and laughter while unintentionally learning many of the attitudes and qualities required for successful communities: cooperation, tolerance, fairness, justice, dealing with failures and successes, being resourceful, and championing the more vulnerable. The games promoted camaraderie. Those games are a language of enthusiasm, one that everyone understands even when the words of the songs are not fully understood.This book is a record of the traditional games played and songs sung, many of which are rapidly fading from memory as television and computers compete for the attention of children. It is also a practical how-to guide, divided into ring games, line games, sitting games, running and catch games, games with a ball, jumping games, clapping games, marble games, games with handmade toys. The games are described, and lyrics and the english translation to the songs sung in kwéyòl and instructions for play are also included. Some of the games are illustrated with line drawings to help explain body positions.