Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Tuesday's Folklore Photo - Playing Tiddly

photo courtesy of Margaret Ayad

Recently the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador has begun to do research into different traditional games in Newfoundland and Labrador, and one very popular game we've come across is Tiddly. Also called Tiddly Stick, Piddly/Pidley or Scat, this game has been played for years here in the province. The equipment was simple: all you needed to play was two rocks or bricks, a short stick and a longer stick. 

The rules vary from community to community, but typically consist of hitting the short stick off of the rocks or bricks with the long stick. If the other team catches the short stick, you were out. If they didn't catch it, you were awarded points based on the distance it travelled.

The photo above comes from Margaret Ayad, and was taken at the Carbonear 2012 World Cup of Tiddly. Since 2008 Carbonear has hosted a Tiddly World Cup, which has grown in popularity and size each year since. The tournament was meant to bring back a game that was popular up until the mid 1960s in the province. 

If you have any memories of playing Tiddly, or any other traditional games in Newfoundland, we would love to hear them! I am actively looking for people who played Tiddly, variations on the rules, and different names, as well as any stories about any other traditional children's games!

Feel free to call me at 739-1892 ext. 5, or email me at sarah@heritagefoundation.ca












1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Also known as snig :)