Rooster fight-A children’s competition of various kinds, esp to pull the stems of violets against one another to determine which is stronger.
1978 Smokies Heritage 146 To mountain children the violet was known as “roosters.” A favorite game resulted in “rooster fights,” in which two violets were hooked together in the crooks of their stems and pulled; the winner pulled off the flower of the opposing violet.
—Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English
Wild violets are profusely blooming around my mountain holler. I’m not sure which are the prettiest the deep purple ones, the lavender colored ones, or the white ones with purple veins.
Many folks get aggravated at violets because of their tendency to spread quickly. I love their cheery little faces and their heart shaped leaves so much that I often let them invade my garden beds and then regret it later when I’m weeding them out. They spread quickly.
Violet flowers, leaves, and stems are edible and the blooms make a delicious floral tasting jelly that is very pretty.
Each year when they begin to bloom I’m reminded of the rooster game the dictionary describes.
I can’t remember who showed me how to play, it might have been an older cousin, an uncle, or even mamaw.
I do remember exactly where they showed me. We were on a little bank that ran near the bottom of Pap and Granny’s driveway. The bank isn’t there now it was bulldozed away as driveways were needed for new houses here in the holler.
It only takes two people to fight chickens with violets. Each person picks their rooster (violet). They cross violet blooms and pull!
Which ever rooster keeps it’s head (bloom) during the tug of war wins.
A very simple game, but we played it a lot when I was a girl and I’ve used the game to entertain little cousins in the holler many a time. I aim to teach Woodrow and Ira to play someday.
Last night’s video: Working in the Wind: Putting Beams on the Shed.
Tipper
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Wild violets grow everywhere in the hills and vallies of Western NY state. I loved to pick them when I was a little girl. I had never heard of the ‘rooster fights”, until I read it on your blog in past years
I can’t wait to show the game to my nextdoor neighbors daughter, who is three years old. We’re having heavy rain and thunderstorms today. The leaves are just starting to come out. I am so thankful that spring is finally here! ☮️
do you ever pull the boys in a wagon all around your holler — I know I have entertained many kids their age and older by putting them in a red wagon and walking until I couldnt walk any more–they generally love the scenery (I think it is not just seeing something new but all the colors that God’s creation affords them-they just get mesmerized by the tallness of a tree or the feel of the wind against their face) I learned quite quickly as long as you keep the wagon moving no one tried to climb out but if you stop for even a second you best better be on your guard to keep some lively kiddo from getting a ‘booboo’ from discovering their legs dont reach the ground (those that arent old enough to have learned depth perception and being careful climbing down) watching Mat last night reminded me how I can have something all figured out in my head but if someone or something interrupts my flow then I may end up either forgetting everything or going at it incorrectly for instance doing what I need to do but doing it in the wrong place to the wrong board (or piece of paper)…memory when mixed with growing older does not always stay as sharp as it once was. Too bad the boys are not old enough to have watched learned and helped him–it would have been great learning for the boys and a great time for Mat
Gaylia-that sounds like a lot of fun 🙂
I don’t remember this game, but I do love violets. I love any blooming flower especially this time of the year when Spring reminds us of new life.
Violets are beautiful little flowers. I don’t ever recall playing a game called Rooster Fight, nor used any kind of flower to play any games with. I think if us kids ever did my mom would get a switch (aka hickory or a small new thin green tree branch with all the leaves removed except the one on the end) after us. LOL She loved flowers and us kids better not destroy them in any way.
We’re starting to get violets up here and one or two dandelions have been spied in the sunniest spots. My girls and I like making jelly of them. I put out a call to my women’s group at church that we’d come pick any violets or dandelions they have and make jelly and a bunch of ladies asked me about it, so looks like we’ll be teaching that old skill to some church ladies! The pastor’s wife is going to teach us which mushrooms are edible (she’s been hunting mushrooms for years) and we’ll teach her to make violet jelly. A very fun trade off! I’m like you I love violets so much it’s hard not to let them grow.
I have not heard of the ‘rooster’ game, but do love violets – and any other flowering plant, be they ‘wild’ or ‘tame”- even the ones many call ‘weeds.’
I remember playing that little game seventy or more years ago. Maybe we called it rooster fighting or not maybe not. I can’t remember that part. Seventy years is a long time to remember anything.
Violets are all over my neighborhood.
I saw some wild violets in the yard of my childhood home over the weekend. I know or don’t think wild violets and African violets are the the same, my mother had a yard full of flowers and her home full of African violets. She loved walking her lady visitors/friends around in her yard and showing them her flowers. Her and Tipper would of hit it right off with one another and their love of flowers. Working with her flowers was one her joys of life.
African violets are not real violets. At one time I have a whole houseful of them too. They are hard to grow but I didn’t know that, so I grew a whole bunch of them from one mother plant.
Randy- My mama also always loved her flower gardens too. She lives in an apartment now, and misses working in her flowers and getting her hands in the dirt. I have mentioned it before, but my Mama hopes and prays that when she goes home to be with the Lord someday, he will let her tend the flower gardens up there. It gives her joy thinking about it.
Rooster fights entertained us kids for hours back in the hills of KY when toys were scarce. I learned how to make violet and dandelion jelly here on the Blind Pig years ago. My grandsons thought it was the coolest thing to turn weeds into something delicious. Everything seems to be blooming earlier this year including the wild violets. Folks are already posting pictures of ramps on Facebook two to three weeks earlier than usual. If we get anywhere close to the predicted 20 inches of rain during the next four days, I’m afraid all the ramps will flood in my bottom field by the creek.
I love violets, and have enjoyed the spring daffodils blooming now. My bleeding hearts have pushed up at least 6 inches and will be blooming soon here in south central PA. My dear mother-in-law gave me a piece of her bleeding hearts back in northern Ill and I have them all over our place here from 45 years ago. They keep multiplying.
Matt is shur nough a worker bee:) God bless you both as you work so well together.
shore nuff!
We were visiting a park when I was a kid and my mom up-rooted a violet, brought it home and planted it. That was at least 50 years ago and the violets grow there still. They have become part the lawn.
shore nuff!
My reply was for Dee. I think it slud down the page from where it was intended.
I’m partial to violets to. We have some deep purple ones in the garden. I keep all I can and if I have to dig them up I usually find another place for them. And I delay mowing until the violets have stopped blooming. I have transplanted hundreds of them only to discover they fade out if kept in shade. They can stand some but I’m not sure how much. Your picture of the yellow violet some days ago was of the halberd-leaved yellow violet. They are blooming in the woods now as is also the “common blue” violet. My favorite though is the two-toned bird foot violet with 3_lavender petals and 2 dark red-purple velvety ones. But the all-lavender form is most common. A final note, I had to smile at your “aim to” show Ira and Woody about rooster fight. I love to hear or read Appalachianisms, especially when I am not in Appalachia.
Tipper, I remember playing this when I was a child with my cousins in Southeastern Kentucky. I definitely will be teaching my grandson and my granddaughter how to play when they get older. Thank you for bringing it back to my memory.
I do not remember this game. I do not have any specific memories of violets growing in my Grandma’s farm house yard but I bet they did have those around or maybe in one of their fields. Just last week I found a violet in my backyard. I dug it up and put it in a pot. I think there are more because I can see more heart shaped leaves around just no little violet flowers yet. A neighbor way up the road from us has a bunch of them in their yard.
Violets are pretty little flower. But then I’m partial to anything purple.
Violets are my favorite. Lots in bloom in Chapel Hill right now. I have never heard of that game!
I love violets and dandelions and happily let them spread wherever they want in our yards and empty lot. We also have bunches of little grape hyacinths growing all over the place, descendants of the ones my mother planted decades ago. We’re yard folks, not lawn people and we wait as long as possible before getting the grass mowed the first time each spring. I want the dandelions to go to seed and “invade” as much as possible and I don’t like the cheery little grape hyacinths being cut down by a mower or weed eater.
I commented a while back about how especially beautiful the forsythia is this year. I’m adding wisteria to that, as well. It seems more vibrant colored with so many more clusters of blooms than usual. I wonder if anyone else is noticing this?
I’ve never heard of that game before. I don’t remember seeing them growing when I was a kid.
I love violets. They can roam wherever they want to in our yard. They remind me of picking huge bunches to give to my mother for Mother’s Day.