Item HT 41268 Document - J. Lummis, to Dorothy Howard, Description of Chasing Game 'Tiggy Tiggy Touch Wood', 25 Mar 1955

Summary

Game name (and type): 'Tiggy Tiggy Touch Wood' (chasing game)
Alternative types: running games

Handwritten description of the chasing game 'Tiggy Tiggy Touch Wood' written for Dr Dorothy Howard by J. Lummis, a student at Double View Government Primary School, presumably on 25 March 1955. To play 'Tiggy Tiggy Touch Wood', Lummis writes that a large area, preferably outdoors, featuring plenty of wood is required. A player is elected 'he' to chase the children as they run. Lummis notes that players can only be captured if they are not touching wood. If caught, a child must assume the role of 'he'.

One of a collection of letters describing a children's games written to children's Folklorist Dorothy Howard between 1954 and 1955. Dr Howard came to Australia in 1954-55 as an American Fulbright scholar to study Australian children's folklore. She travelled across Australia for 10 months collecting children's playground rhymes, games, play artefacts, etc. This letter, together with the other original fieldwork collected by Dr Howard during this period, is preserved in the Dorothy Howard Collection manuscript files, part of the Australian Children's Folklore Collection (ACFC), Archive Series 3. The ACFC is an extensive collection documenting children's folklore and related research.

Physical Description

Handwritten game description in pencil on lined paper. Features borders ruled in red pencil; text printed on one side only.