2013

:
| 2.30pm 3.30pm Big Steps, School of Information Systems, SMU

Ti Oh Oh (Grey Grey sky)

Sky is grey, rain is coming
Grandpa brings along a hoe to dig yam Dig and Dig He dug up a loach (a kind of fish) My oh my, really amusing Grandpa wants it salty Grandma wants it bland The two of them start fighting and break the pot They break the pot Aiya yiya long dong qi dong qiang

Eh-Lo-Eh
Eh-Lo-Eh Grinding millet, grinding rice, to feed the chickens Rear a chicken, it announces the time Rear a dog, it barks at night (to alert you to danger) Rear a son, he looks after you in old age Rear a daughter, She belongs to someone else when she grows up (and gets married)

Growing by an inch night by night

Rock oh Rock Rock oh Rock

Sleeping in the cradle

Sitting in the mini sedan-chair Smooched by grandpa Kissed by grandma Like a drop of dew on yam leaf

Rock oh Rock
Sleep oh sleep My son grows by an inch night by night Rock oh rock Kisses upon kisses My son grows by an inch night by night

Bald-Headed Maiden
Bald-Headed maiden People come a-knocking her head Just 12 years old, she is already someones Ah Mah Ah Mah, Ah Mah, people keep calling her Ah Mah ate a piece of Ang Ku Kueh in secret If the Ang Ku Kueh is steaming hot,

she will strike 4-D (win lottery)

If the Ang Ku Kueh is stony cold, she will tumble in life (like a somersault)

Ah Mah: It refers to paternal grandmother in Hokkien 4-D: The D stands for digit, it is a type of lottery in Singapore and Malaysia.

Herding Chicken and Duck (Sand Bag Tossing Game)

Tossing sand bags (tiny triangular cloth bags normally filled with sand, rice or beans)

Learning a new song I start off You carry on. One, herd the chickens (the hand gesture of throwing the feed to the chickens, where the player throws down a sand bag)

Two, herd the ducks (the hand gesture of throwing the feed to the ducks, where the player throws down a second sand bag)

Three, separate (the sand bags)

Four, gather (the sand bags)

Herding Chicken and Duck (Sand Bag Tossing Game)

Five, tap your chest Six, rub your hands together Seven, tap a ball (the player imitates tapping an imaginary ball with his hand) Eight, touch your nose Nine, pull your ear Ten, slap your leg Eleven, clean the floor (the player gathers all the sand bag, the action of which seems like cleaning the floor)

Twelve, grab all of the sand bags up

This nursery rhyme is recited with each hand movement made by a player during the countdown while tossing the sand bags up in the air and later catching hold of them. The game is similar to the traditional game of five stones that children used to play in the past, in Singapore.


This Cantonese nursery rhyme uses metaphors in its writing, as used in the Book of Songs. In nursery rhymes, words expressing images and meaning are placed side by side casually, they are usually not related to each other. The first four phrases (compressed into three phrases in its English translation) are used to express images of roundness, the remaining phrases tell a story. The story is told in the first person. This person says that he did not waste time having fun, instead he works hard and he gets rewarded for it. At the same time, he did not forget to fulfil his filial duty.

Round and round, merry go round Chrysanthemums are round, Fried rice biscuits are round Sticky rice balls are round Mother sends me to watch dragon boat race I do not want to watch dragon boat race I watch the chicks instead When chicks turn into chickens I catch and sell them How much did I get from selling them ? I got 360 copper coins from selling them Golden Belt, Silver Belt I bought all of them for Grandma to wear

Little Sparrow
Little sparrow With twig in beak Goes to the river and sees a woman A woman with her hair in a butterfly (ling long) bun With two red flowers around it

In the nursery rhyme, the sparrow is attracted to the river by some music which accompanied a recently married woman returning by dragon boat, to visit her parents.

The nursery rhyme The Bright Moon Shines on the Ground is a patriotic nursery rhyme written by people in Canton during the Opium War as they detested foreigners for persecuting the Chinese. In the past, the Chinese called people from overseas, foreign people. Thus, foreigners refer to the westerners who started the opium war. In fact, children will learn from the nursery rhyme, that betel nut is a type of plant, it needs to be pluck from trees and it is also quite fragrant; young ginger is spicy, bitter gourd is bitter, pig stomach is fatty, cow skin is thin etc. etc. etc.

The Bright Moon shines on the ground

The bright moon shines on the ground New Years Eve Pluck Betel Nuts Betel Nuts are fragrant Gather young gingers Young gingers are spicy Buy bitter gourds Bitter gourds are bitter Buy pig stomach Pig stomach is fatty Buy cow skin

The Bright Moon shines on the ground

Cow skin is thin Buy buffalo nuts Buffalo nuts are sharp Buy a horse whip Horse whip is long Build a beam

Beam is high
Buy a knife

Knife cut veggie

Buy a basket cover Basket cover is round Buy a boat Boat sinks to the bottom Scaring two foreigners to death One floats and one sinks

Little Rooster
Little Rooster Curly Tail It is not easy being a daughter-in-law Though I wake up very early they still said that I wake up late My tears are barely dry but I got to get to work in the kitchen There is a winter melon in the kitchen So I asked my parents-in-law if they like it boiled or steamed? My father-in-law wants it boiled My mother-in-law wants it steamed Whether it is boiled or steamed, they do not like it They banged the table and scolded me for days Three rods got broken beating me up in a day Nine skirts got torn making me kneel for three days