Down By The Bank

Instructions (see video)

I hosted a Hand-Clapping Meet Up to create a sample video of this game. I have also attempted some instructions below: 

  • Everyone is seated in a circle 

  • With their palm facing up, they place their right hand on top of the left hand of the person to their right

  • They place their left hand under the right hand of the person to their left

  • Once the song begins, the facilitator will use their right hand to slap the right hand of the person to their left (that person’s right hand should be in the facilitator’s left hand)

  • The tagged person will mimic the action

  • The movement continues cyclically through the circle

  • The song reaches a crescendo when the countdown begins

  • If your hand is slapped when the countdown reaches zero, then you are out

    • In each round, the person who has potential to be the last tagged can swipe their hand away in order to avoid the last tag

  • The song and game repeats until there are only two people left

    • The two remaining participants face each other, and do the same hand motions back and forth until the final tag

Modifications:

I have chosen not to share the lyrics because there are countless variations of this song. Chances are, if you pose the invitation to the room of participants (e.g. “Hey, who knows how to play ‘Down By the Bank’?”), someone will respond with an affirmative and offer to facilitate. 

Praxis (why + theory):

On a basic level, the sensorial experience of this game is significant–the touch of your hand in the hand of a friend’s, the adrenaline pumping through you as you anticipate where you’ll fall in the final countdown, the sound of folks’ synchronized chanting and clapping, and the searing pain that remains when your friend slaps your hand with all the strength in their body. I enjoy this game most when standing because that allows for the jitters to work their way down into my feet. 

This game, along with the other two in this section, are part of a long, intergenerational tradition of rhythmic games. Acknowledging this, I often try to take a moment to ask participants who taught them these games, where did they learn these games, and what those memories do for them. Many fondly recall schoolyard friendships, their favorite cousins, and parental figures–then, they recount the urgency and necessity of knowing the rules of these games in order to develop some social capital amongst their peers. These games foster recognition, especially amongst Black people, as we witness the ways culture intersects through our bodies when a collective childhood memory is unearthed. Hand clapping games are a form of cooperative care.

In the documentary film, “Let’s Get the Rhythm,” produced by Irene Chagall, scholars comment on the interdependence of hand clapping games. They explain how participants must face inward or partners must face each other in order to ensure coordinated movements. Each movement is coordinated and dependent on the cooperation of your fellow participants. In order to proceed, you have to either trust that your partner(s) know what they are doing, or practice until they definitely do.