Trihvaa, uka-uka ja teised peitmismängud Eestis 20. sajandil
Authors:   Estonian Folklore Archives, Estonian Literary Museum, Tartu, Estonia, Tuisk Astrid 
Published: August 2024

Even though Estonia underwent significant societal changes in the 20th century, Estonian children played exciting running and hiding games both at the beginning and end of the century. The game repertoire evolved throughout these hundred years, with some running and hiding games being introduced, and others forgotten. My article focuses on the points of contact between Estonian games and those of neighbouring peoples, their distribution in Estonia, and the changes the games underwent, along with the reasons behind these changes. The article explores various Estonian running and hiding games, such as peitus or hide-and-seek, ukraadina (cf. Russian ukradina ‘lost’ or ‘stolen’) also known as uka-uka (Block, Forty-Forty, cf. also Russian tuki-tuki), the wall tag game trihvaa/trihvaater (cf. German Trivater, Verstecken mit Anschlagen), the hiding game kopupeit, involving knocking, the game of casting a stick called paalka viskamine, and the game of 12 (10) sticks. As to my sources, I have extensively used descriptions of games archived and held in the Estonian Folklore Archives at the Estonian Literary Museum. Nationwide competitions for collecting games were conducted in the years 1934–1935 and again in 1992 but recording and transcribing of the games continued throughout the intervening years. The games discussed here fall between the categories of running and hiding games. For the sake of clarity and based on one of the primary activities of these games, I will refer to them as hiding games. In all these games, there is one caller (or occasionally two) and several players (“hiders”), and the tagging is done in a specific manner at a designated spot. The players use either one stick or several, touching the spot with one’s hand or knocking, while reciting specific words. Only the game of hide-and-seek does not necessarily involve tagging or running to a specific spot before time runs out, as the caller simply has to find all the hiding players. Typically, the first player found becomes the caller in the next round of the game. Hiding games are known internationally. Located in Eastern Europe, Estonia has been influenced by the Eastern Slavic, Germanic, and Scandinavian cultural spheres, and close contacts with other nations are reflected also in the spread of the game repertoire. The name for the game trihvaa was most likely adopted by Estonian children by mediation of Baltic Germans from the (Low) German language, while other names (ukraadina, uka-uka, and tuki-tuki) suggest the Russian origin of the games. Children’s folklore preserves the old, but it is also receptive to the new. Thus, in the 20th century, the tradition of hiding games reveals the preservation of the older tradition but also the changing of the games and the rapid adoption of newer developments. The games have reached us by different routes and at different times, and this is reflected in their names and distribution. The changes took place fairly rapidly; for example, the little-known ukraadina evolved into the highly popular uka-uka in the northern part of Estonia in just 25 years. At the same time, a similar game, trihvaa, has retained its original name and localisation in South Estonia. Another game with similar rules is called tuki-tuki, a name that emerged in the second half of the 20th century. The game has the same name in the Russian language and among Russian-speaking Estonian children. Its sporadic spread in Estonia (e.g., in Pärnu and Viru counties) suggests that the game was introduced in Estonia by the Russian-speaking population. By the end of the 20th century, all the mentioned games had begun to resemble each other. Several tag games involving knocking with a stick, such as kopupeit and paalka viskamine, the latter being of religious origin from the Seto region, were no longer part of children’s game repertoire by the end of the century. Also, tagging or knocking with a stick disappeared from the games of ukraadina and trihvaa, possibly due to a trend towards simplification in the games or influenced by the same shift in the respective Russian tradition. After the Second World War, most likely in the 1950s–1960s, the game of 12 (10) sticks appeared in the game tradition. A similar game is also known in Finland, Russia, and elsewhere in Eastern Europe. The appeal of novelty and the close interaction between children of different ethnic backgrounds are factors contributing to the renewal of these games, yet so is also the diminishing interaction between local generations of children, playing in joint playgroups. As a result, a game (e.g., trihvaa) could take on a new name (e.g., tuki-tuki in Pärnu), while the gameplay remained the same. At the same time, the adaptation of the names of the games (e.g., the origin of the name uka-uka, and its colloquial designations triff, trihvakas, ukakas) indicates that games are not merely adopted but also modified to suit one’s language and mindset. Despite the disruptions of the Second World War (1939–1945) and the ensuing Soviet occupation (1944–1991) on the settlement structure and population composition in Estonia, different periods of the 20th century were rather favourable for the adaptation of games. Games played previously mainly in agrarian settings were adapted to different circumstances in the increasingly urbanised environment and to changes in children’s lifestyle. The tradition of children’s outdoor games continued in a lively and active lore group. The changes in the game tradition related to technological advancements and the advent of online gaming, however, fall outside the scope of this study.