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“Mosquito One” is a traditional Caribbean game song.
This version of the song is found in several books including a
wonderfully illustrated collection of Caribbean children’s rhymes, games
and songs titled “Down By The River” (compiled by Grace Hallworth,
illustrated by Caroline Binch, William Heinermann,Ltd, London, 1996, pp
12-13).
A “ring game” is a game that is played by
children who form a circle (the “ring”).
The old time definition of “ring” is still used in the terms
“boxing ring” and “wrestling ring”.
In the sports of boxing and wrestling, the focus of the action is in the
center of the roped off area. In
the same way, the focus of the action in ring games is in the center of the
ring. Most traditional ring games (circle games) start with one
player standing inside the center of the circle.
The other children forming the ring are expected to sing and clap their
hands at the same time, but the center player is not expected to sing.
However, at a certain point in the song, the center person is called upon
to perform a dance step or some other “motion”.
In traditional versions of ring games, after performing a “motion”,
the center player selects a partner and dances in the center of the ring with
him or her. If a girl is the center
player, she is expected to select a boy as her partner, and vice versa.
The player who was selected then becomes the new center player and the
former center player rejoins the children forming the ring.
In contemporary versions of circle games in the
United States, the center player doesn’t purposely select a partner and
doesn’t dance in the center of the ring with him or her. After the center player performs his or her “motion, the
rest of the players sing “we can do your motion” and join the center player
in performing the exact same motion while staying on the outside of the ring.
The center players may perform “jumping jacks”, rhythmical leg kicks,
or other non-dance movements when asked to “show me your motion”.
In response to the group singing “Who do you
choose?”, the center player covers his or her eyes with one hand, and turns
around the middle of the circle while pointing to the other players.
The player who is pointed to at the end of the song becomes the new
center player. The former center
player rejoins the rest of the players forming the circle and the game begins
again.
Like other ring games, there are several slightly
different verses of “There’s A Brown Girl In The Ring”.
Some children completely omit the verse “skip
across the ocean” which means to skip or dance across to the other side of the
ring. An alternative verse to
“hug and kiss your partner” is “wheel and turn your partner”. The phrase “wheel and turn” generally means to “dance
with your partner”.
In Alan Lomax, J.D. Elder, and Bess Lomax Hawes ‘s
excellent anthology of song games from the Eastern Caribbean entitled
“There’s A Brown Girl In The Ring”, the authors suggest that “Brown Girl
In The Ring” and other similar ring games were meant to teach skills that
prepare children for adult courtship. In
the Caribbean and elsewhere, girls and boys up to their pre teenaged years
traditionally played ring games.
The authors mention that outside of game playing,
Caribbean adults would disapprove of their children “hugging and kissing” a
person of the opposite sex or doing the “wine” dance step. that is usually
performed when the children sing “let me see your motion” (Alan Lomax et al.
“There’s A Brown Girl In The Ring”, Random House, New York, 1997, pp 6-8.
“The wine” or “wining” is performed by contracting your stomach
muscles in & out and moving your hips to the left & right to the beat of
the music.
The words “There is brown girl
(or brown boy) in the ring ” traditionally refers to the children’s skin
color. Because many people in the
world have been prejudiced against “brown” people, one of the traditional
purposes of the game could have been to promote self-esteem. For that reason, since the 1980s, this game has been
“adopted” by many Afro-centric African Americans who have taught it to their
children.
“There’s A Brown Girl In The
Ring” can also be used to teach color recognition to pre-school children.
The words of the song could be changed depending on what color outfit the
center player is wearing (for example, if a girl is wearing a blue shirt, you
could sing “there’s a blue girl in the ring”, and if a boy is wearing a
green shirt, you could sing “there’s a green boy in the ring”).
What ring games are played in your country?
Send them in to CocoJams’ Worldwide pages!
Do
you agree or disagree with this commentary?
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