MindzleThe "Boga" Bang
Filipinos welcome the New Year with a Loud Bang. Different noisemakers, usually in the form of pyrotechnics, assured that local manufacturers made a killing during this period. However, the sluggish economy, high cost and the government crackdown has affected the industry dramatically.
With firecrackers becoming more expensive, it is not surprising that one of the hottest alternative noisemaker this season is the “Boga.” A Filipino slang for cannon, it is based on the traditional bamboo cannon. The Boga was first made by an enterprising Filipino in the province of Cavite last year. It is an ordinary PVC tube with one end, squirted with denatured alcohol and then ignited with a lighter or stove igniter. The latest incarnation of the device employs a triggering mechanism made out of toy guns.
Because of its’ simplicity, copycat devices mushroomed almost overnight. There are reports of some devices exploding, backfiring because of poor quality and workmanship. This has alarmed that government that it has ordered a ban of it’s use.
With firecrackers becoming more expensive, it is not surprising that one of the hottest alternative noisemaker this season is the “Boga.” A Filipino slang for cannon, it is based on the traditional bamboo cannon. The Boga was first made by an enterprising Filipino in the province of Cavite last year. It is an ordinary PVC tube with one end, squirted with denatured alcohol and then ignited with a lighter or stove igniter. The latest incarnation of the device employs a triggering mechanism made out of toy guns.
Because of its’ simplicity, copycat devices mushroomed almost overnight. There are reports of some devices exploding, backfiring because of poor quality and workmanship. This has alarmed that government that it has ordered a ban of it’s use.
