The origin of flying kites!

 

👑😊✨ Vivat Jesus!

The word buradol (also spelled bolador) is a regional Bicolano and Philippine term for a kite (known widely in Tagalog as a saranggola), derived from the Spanish word volador, which means "flier" or "flying one".

Origin and Etymology

Spanish Root: It comes from the Spanish volador (flier), adapted into local Philippine languages like Central Bicolano as buradol or bolador.

Historical Spread of Kites: Kites themselves originated in ancient China (dating back to around 200 B.C.), initially used for signaling and measuring distances before spreading across Asia and eventually to the Western world and the Philippines.

Local Tradition: In Bicol and other parts of the Philippines, buradol refers to traditional handcrafted kites—historically given distinct regional names based on their shape or design, such as binandera, sinayapan, sinapisapi, and tinipig. They are popularly flown as a recreational pastime or used in traditional kite-fighting.

How kite fighting (buradol or bulador competitions) is traditionally played

Kite fighting, traditionally known in the Philippines as kolyahan ng saranggola or using terms like burador/bulador and gorion, is an intense aerial battle where the main objective is to cut the opponent's line or damage their kite until it crashes to the ground.

Traditionally played on open beaches, empty fields, or harvested farmlands during the dry amihan (northeast monsoon) season, the competition balances creative craftsmanship, strategic physics, and swift hand maneuvering.

1. Preparation of the Kites & Lines

Before the battle even begins in the air, preparation takes place on the ground:

The Kites: Traditional bulador kites are built by hand using lightweight bamboo sticks (buto) for the skeleton and vibrant sheets of rice paper (papel de hapon) or plastic for the sail (balat). Depending on the region, competitors use smaller, highly agile fighter kites or massive, heavy-duty kites called guryon.

The "Glass" Line: The weapon of the game is the string. Standard cotton or nylon sewing thread is transformed into a razor-sharp abrasive line by coating it in a mixture of finely crushed glass or light light bulbs, cooked starch (or cow-hide glue), and water. Once dried across wooden posts, the line acts like a flying saw.

2. Basic Gameplay & Mechanics

Two or more players launch their kites into the same pocket of wind, letting out enough slack so the kites can reach matching altitudes.

The Stance: Players steer the kites by standing a safe distance apart. Because tension deforms the kite's shape to stabilize it, flyers deliberately create slack or tug sharply to make the kite rock, dive, spin, or violently dart toward an opponent.

The Interlock: Players aggressively maneuver their kites close to each other, aiming to cross their glass-coated lines over the opponent's thread. [1, 2]

3. The Two Cutting Methods

Once the lines cross and make contact in the air, a player wins using one of two traditional styles:

Pull Cutting (Ekwasan / Higitan): The flyer rapidly and forcefully pulls their line in, dragging the glass teeth across the opponent's static line to saw it in half. This requires great speed and physical coordination.

Release Cutting: Both players simultaneously pay out (release) line rapidly from their spools. The line that moves faster and smoother across the friction point eventually burns or slices through the other.

4. Winning and "Kite Chasing"

A player is instantly eliminated when their line is severed or if the frame of their kite is physically pierced or torn by an opponent's frame, forcing it to plummet (lagpak). In multi-kite matches, the last kite left flying wins.

Traditionally, a severed kite is fair game. Neighborhood children and spectators will watch where the wind carries the defeated bulador, chasing it across fields to claim it as a trophy.

Saranggola Kite (saranggola) flying and kite fighting also used to be a favorite among the youth. Kite fighting or “kolyahan ng saranggola” is considered one of the oldest games in the Philippines, according to anthropologist Artemio C. Barbosa via the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in 2003. In this particular game, players would attempt to inflict damage on their opponents’ kites by coating their kites’ strings with finely pounded powdered glass. A player loses if his or her kite gets damaged and falls to the ground

 n the other hand, Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez are two small towns just outside Antigua. And every November 1st and 2nd, they become the most extraordinary place in Guatemala.

The Giant Kite Festival, or Barriletes Gigantes, is a 3,000-year-old Maya Kaqchikel tradition and these two communities are the only places in the entire world where it has been kept alive. Enormous handmade kites, some stretching over 20 meters across, are raised above the cemeteries as a symbolic connection between the living and those who have passed. 

Recognized as part of Guatemala's national cultural heritage, this is one of the most moving cultural events in Central America.

Pabatid: Para sa salin sa Wikang Filipino, maaaring pong buksan itong link.

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