Title: Chocolate
General Information About Item:
- Customary Lore, Children Hand Games
- Language:
- Country of Origin: Chile
- Informant: Catalina Garcia
- Date Collected:
Informant Data:
I am the informant. I am 20 years old and I was 4 years old at the time I learned this hand game. I was born and raised in Santiago, Chile. My family is from Spaniard origin. And I have a younger brother and an older sister.
Text:
NATIVE
Choco choco, la la
Choco choco, te te
Choca la, choco te
Choco la te
PHONETICS
Chokho chokho, lah lah
Chokho chokho te te
Chokho lah, chokho te
Chokho lah te
TRANSLATION (WORD-FOR-WORD)
Choco choco, la la
Choco choco, te te
Choca la, choco te
Choco la te
TRANSLATION
Choco choco, la la
Choco choco, te te
Choca la, choco te
Choco la te
Note: The Native song and the translation are the same because the Spanish and English words for chocolate are identical. The song is simply the word ‘chocolate’ broken apart in various ways.
Contextual Data:
I learned this hand game at school. Trewhela´s school is a private school in Santiago. It was played among kids during recess or when we were supposed to wait or stand in line. All the kids knew it and rarely you would have to teach it to others. Kids played all sorts of hand games in my school but this one was one of the simplest ones that everyone knew. At that age it required some practice to get the coordination in order to play. I would also play this game with my siblings on car rides or at home. The word has 4 syllables (cho-co-la-te) but for playing the game it is chunked into 3 pieces (choco-la-te), which help with the rhythm of the game.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Additional Data:
At the same time I learned this hand game I learned a variation that relies on the same type of structure – chunking words into syllables and adding a hand motion to each syllable – but it used a different word. The word was “mariposa” and this game was slightly less popular than “Chocolate”. “Mariposa” means “butterfly”. The word has four syllables (Ma-ri-po-sa) and just as “chocolate” it is chunked into 3 pieces (mari-po-sa).
Collector’s Name:
Catalina Garcia ’21
Tags/Keywords:
- Customary Folklore
- Children Hand Games
- Chocolate