Vitilla and Tuloo

I thought it was really interesting how the kids in the Dominican Republic played vitilla. I don’t think I could hit a bottle cap with a broomstick. I can’t even hit a baseball with a bat. No wonder recruits from the Dominican Republic are such great baseball players. At first glance the game looks quite boring with only a pitcher and a batter, but once you realize that the battle is between them you begin to understand the intensity of the game.

In the Hmong culture there’s a game called Tuloo which involves a thin but sturdy stick with a long string attached and a big plastic top the size of a baseball. The object of the game is to hit another person’s top with your top without your top falling over. The top still needs to be spinning after it has knocked out the other top though. It’s a game of great precision and strength. You have to use enough force to keep your top spinning yet have enough precision to knock the other top over without stopping your top’s spin.

Although the objectives of the game are quite different, there is a similarity: Hmong children played Tuloo in the streets like the children in the Dominican Republic. I also find children’s creativity fascinating because they are able to come up with these games using everyday objects.