One! Two!... WHAT?

"Koooooom-Choom!"

That's the sound we make in Hakka when we were young playing rock-paper-scissors. The long drawn out "Kooooom" is like the pace of counting "1, 2", and a fast expelled "Choom!" will seal the game at "3" to show either a rock, a paper or a pair of scissors with the shape of the hand.

It's also used when trying to decide something without using the flip of a coin. And you know what, there are even competitions for this rock-paper-scissors thingy, and it is interesting to find out the history regarding this game. Can read more about it here.

Since I have been in West Malaysia for so long, I have heard various versions of the counting, most notably, "1, 2, Jus!". And the first time I had to "play" this game to decide on something, it went like this:

Me: Ok, ready yet?! (Me just about to go "koooom...")
Friend: Ok. ONE.... TWO....
Me: Wait! Wait! Ok, ONE... TWO.... and I kept silent, whilst my friend went...
Friend: JUS!!!

Thinking to myself "so different wan!", I showed PAPER, whilst my friend showed something peculiar. I was like... errr... something like this picture, but with the thumb pressed towards the fingers like the shape of a bird's head, without the painted bits of course.

Friend: I won!
Me: HUH?? What's THAT!
Friend: Bird'lah! Bird to TIOK your paper!
Me: NO SUCH THING!!!
Friend: GOT!
Me: It's either rock, paper or scissors! Where got bird wan!!!
Friend: GOT!
Me: All the while growing up in Sarawak, I have never come across BIRD!
Friend: Of course got BIRD!

Wah! Show me "bird" somemore by my friend who was female! Lucky not the middle finger type of bird! I was like, "Ciss!". West Malaysians ah, trying to con East Malaysians!

Me: Where got like that wan! Cheat!
Friend: You come from ulu-ulu, don't know anything!

Tsk! Tsk! What prompted this post? Well, I have been meaning to post this for a while, but kept forgetting. Suddenly, as I was waiting for my car to be serviced this morning, two young chinese kids, but conversing in English (about 6 and 5 I reckon) were seated next to me and they were playing "1, 2, JUS!". When I glanced over, one of the kid had his hand with the "BIRD" shape! "What the *&&*^*!". I wanted to correct them but held my tongue!

So, hence this post, and you know what? since coming back, I googled for "rock paper scissors", I managed lots of findings, but for "rock paper bird!"??? Nothing!! Now, thinking objectively, maybe the kids in west malaysia were corrupted by someone somewhere who thought it was difficult for kids to do the scissors shape and thought it easier for the bird shape to be made. And somehow, that variation came about through cultural distortion. Well, I will give them that at least, but for my HOKKIEN west malaysian friends who kept insisting it is "BIRD", I still think it is SCISSORS, not bird! The powers of brain washing whilst young...

Then again, researching rock-paper-scissors online, I understand that this game was originally invented by the Chinese! With my HOKKIEN chinese friends insisting they are right, perhaps I need to reconsider which culture has made the distortion. But hang on! I am also chinese what! But HAKKA instead. And all my HAKKA friends play the rock-paper-scissors version, never bird!

How ah??!