NATIVE GAMES AND PASTIMES
Dolls—Make-believe games—Mimic war—Model of steamers—Game of
hand-thrusting—Hockey—Wheel game—Flipping arrows—Lip-sucking
game—Ball game—“Tip-it”—Game with palm nuts—African
backgammon—Gambling game—Teetotums—Hoop game—Cat’s cradle—Water
games—Spear-throwing—Bull-roarers—Imitating movements of animals.
There are not many games, but such as there are train the eye in
quickness, the hand in precision, and the body in agility.
Some little girls take pieces of stick or cassava roots to represent
dolls, or, as they call them, _bana_ = babies, and tying them on their
backs with an old rag they play with them as such. An English doll is
too uncanny, too much like a human, for them to play with; they do not
understand it, and put it away, or their elders take it away and sell it
as a powerful fetish. Parents fond of their children make small paddles,
baskets, and hoes in imitation of their own, and the youngsters play
with them when they accompany their mothers to the farms, or their
fathers in the canoes. Toy hoes and baskets are given to girls only, toy
fish-traps to boys; but toy paddles to both boys and girls.
The boys of the village plait basket-work shields about 3 feet long and
8 inches wide, and with stout water-grass and young plantain stalks as
spears and clubs, and imitation wooden knives in their belts, they take
sides in a great sham fight, and amid much laughter and good humour a
mimic battle is waged until one side is driven from the field—the
village street. Such “fights” are interesting to watch, for the
movements of the more than half-naked bodies are swift, precise, and
graceful, and undoubtedly help to keep them in good form; and the
accuracy with which they hurl their imitation spears is a fine display
of dexterity.
[Illustration:
_Photo by_: _Rev. C. J. Dodds_
NATIVE CARPENTER AND HIS WORKSHOP
This young man is only one of several expert carpenters trained on our
Monsembe stations.
]
Besides mimic war, the youngsters have their make-believe games of
marketing, cooking, feasting, and housekeeping. The more expert among
the lads make toy steamers in imitation of those running on the river;
and it is interesting to see two lads approaching from opposite
directions pulling their “steamers” behind them. As they pass each other
they whistle three times as a salute to one another, then comes a long
whistle as a sign to stop, and the “steamers” are supposed to stop at a
beach, and the two boys, who are acting as captains and wearing any old
hat they can find for the occasion, approach each other, raise their
hats, bow, shake hands, and then jabber for a few moments in bits of
French and any of their own syllables that sound to them like French;
then come the ceremonies of parting, and the whistling of a pretended
farewell from the “steamers,” and the _shu! shu! shu!_ of the working
engines. The lad pulling the steamer is engine, whistle, pilot,
steersman, and captain all combined, and seems to enjoy it. The best
model has the largest crowd of followers after it. These boys are
splendid actors, and the whole scene just enacted is a fine, humorous
imitation of the actions of State steamers and captains meeting on our
beach. A hat is as necessary almost as the “steamer,” for it has to be
taken off when the bow is made, and if a boy does not possess a hat, or
cannot borrow one, he will make a good imitation of a helmet or a straw
hat out of papyrus pith and plantain leaves.
The following is a list of the games[17] played among the Boloki boys
and girls:
Footnote 17:
For Lower Congo games I would refer the reader to _Folk Lore_, Vol.
XX, 1909, p. 457, where the writer has given a full description of
them.
1. _Ndangu_, hand-matching game. (Lower Congo _ta mbele_ is slightly
different.) The players form two lines (_mabenge_) facing each other.
The first player A faces the first of the opposition line B; A throws up
both hands and brings them down with a clap (_esaku_), and then darts
out one hand. B does the same—claps his answers (_tambola_), and if B’s
hand meets A’s hand, A is wounded (_ajwe mpota_), and if A receives
three wounds (_mpota iatu_) he dies (_awe_). That is to say that if B is
quick enough, or lucky enough, to throw out a hand to meet A’s thrust,
then instead of being wounded he wounds A, and three wounds count a
death—A goes to the bottom of his own line. If, however, the hands do
not meet, then B is wounded and A passes on to the next, and the next,
until he wounds all in B’s line or is himself killed; if he is killed,
then the next boy to A tries until he is either “killed” or has been
down B’s line. Those who are “dead” stand at the bottom of their line.
After all the “men” in A’s line have played, B’s line starts, and should
he lose any “men” they are redeemed in the following way: A’s line lost,
say, five, and B’s line lost, say, four, A counts four of his five as
redeemed, and B counts his four as redeemed, thus over the first bout B
has lost none, and A has lost one “man.” The game proceeds until all on
one side are killed. The sharpest players stand at the top of the line,
and are much admired for their prowess.
[Illustration:
_Photo by_: _Rev. C. J. Dodds_
MODEL OF A STATE STEAMER
The lads holding the model made it out of bamboo, papyrus pith, and
the potato-like substance of the plantain root. The lads delight to
pull these toy steamers through the villages and imitate the white
captains, with their make-believe salutes, etc.
]
2. _Ta mbali_, or hockey (Lower Congo _ta mbadi_), is probably a recent
introduction by steamer lads from the Lower Congo, as the Monsembe boys
had no open spaces for such a game until they played on the cleared
opening in front of our station. I found hockey played most vigorously
at San Salvador du Congo when I arrived there in the early part of 1882.
3. _Nkeka_, or wheel. The potato-like substance of the plantain root is
cut into a wheel, and the players arm themselves with long, sharpened
splinters (_mbenge_) of bamboos; they divide themselves into two
parties, which place themselves at about 30 or 40 yards from each other.
Party A throws the wheel (_kula nkeka_) along the ground towards party B
at the other end (_nsuku_), and as the wheel rolls towards them the boys
of B throw their splinters at it, and if all miss, side A chants: “Thud,
thud, thud, bad marksmen, die like a gazelle” (_Ju, ju, ju, bamai babi,
bawa na npambi_); if some miss and some hit, those who hit sing: “We
have hit the wheel right through the rim”—the most fatal part (_Yeke,
yeke, nakeke na ndende na mimpesa_); if two hit they say, “Brothers
truly” (_Jimi be_); if they all hit they sing, “It is absolutely lost
and done for,” i.e. It is no good looking for slaves from this side
(_Mampasa malambasana_). To win: Should B party hit the wheel with three
splinters, then three of A party become slaves, i.e. they stand out of
the game until they are redeemed; but if on the return of the wheel to A
party that party hits it with four splinters, they thereby redeem their
three slaves and place one of the other side in slavery. This continues
until one side is in total slavery. The game excites great enthusiasm,
and encourages precision in throwing.
4. _Ngenza._ A game in which small bamboo arrows are flipped at the
fleshy mid-rib of the plantain leaf. Sides are taken, and the side with
the best marksmen wins.
5. _Epapunga._ They make a sucking noise with the lower lip inside the
upper, and the one not able to do it in unison with the others
(_lembwaka lokela_) is “killed,” i.e. drops out until all are killed
except the last, who becomes the winner.
6. _Ntamba._ A kind of ball game. A ball (_lingendu_) of leaves is made
and thrown up, and is kept in the air by beating it with the palms of
the hands.
7. _Nkulu-nkulu._ Two lines of boys sit on the ground opposite each
other; the first lad of each line is called _moloi_ (husband), the rest
are called _bali_ (wives). Each wife on the playing side interlaces her
fingers, thus forming a hollow with the palms of her hands. The
“husband” takes a small article and, passing his hand rapidly up and
down the line of hands, he drops the article into one of the arched
hands. The opposition has now to discover who has the article, and the
following conversation takes place.
Opposition says:
“_Baninga-baninga_” (You players).
Players: “_Eh!_”
Opp.: “_Bankutu bengi_” (name of some leaves).
Pls.: “_Eh!_”
Opp.: “_Ba nyango ya bilulu_” (They are bitter leaves).
Pls.: “_Eh!_”
Opp.: “_Obe na nkulu, abete mungita_” (He who has the article make the
sound of thunder).
Pls.: “_Kililī!_” (imitation of rolling thunder).
Opp.: “_Bakunguika_” (Make it again).
Pls.: “_Kililī!_”
Opp.: “_Motu yona_” (That person).
If the person thus pointed out is the hider of the article, he shows it,
and his side loses, and the opposition side takes its turn; if, however,
he has not the article, then the one who has it says, “_Eh! nabuti
mwana_” (Oh! I have given birth to a child), and shows the article. It
then counts one game to them, and is called _mwana wawi_ = one child.
8. _Liba._ A game with palm nuts (and this very often precedes _peke_,
or backgammon). In _liba_ they throw up a palm nut, and then before it
falls they swoop up with the right hand as many palm nuts as they can,
and put them down to catch the descending nut before it touches the
ground. The one who picks up most in an agreed number of throws wins the
game.
9. _Peke_ (kind of _mancala_, or African backgammon). A number of holes
are made in a circle on the ground, and the players either take as many
palm nuts as they can in so many handfuls, or procure them as in _liba_
(see game 8); then they put one nut into each hole, and the one whose
nuts pass the holes of the other’s, wins; if his nuts fall short of the
other’s, he loses. The game is very complicated, and its rules little
understood by any European.
10. _Lobesi_, or the game of pitch-and-toss with six counters. The
counters are called _mbesi_; the light side of the counter is _nke_, the
dark side is _mpili_. The stakes (_libeta_) are taken up when the
counters in three throws either fall dark side up (_mpili_), or light
side up (_nke_), or three of each (_miu matu_ = three eyes). The person
putting down the stakes is _mobeti wa libeta_, the place of playing is
_ekali_, and the turn to play is _ngala_, and _pula_ is to demand a
second set of throws with the _mbesi_. In this game there is always a
large amount of gambling for brass rods and anything else of value, in
fact, slaves are sometimes staked on the throw. I never knew it to be
played except for gambling purposes.
11. _Nsoko._ In this game it is necessary to make a table (_juku_) of
four lengths of plantain stalks, two 3 feet long, and two 2 feet long,
and these are so placed as to make an oblong, and the space is filled
with earth or sand in a concave shape, and on this concave bed some
pieces of plantain leaves are smoothly spread. The teetotums are made
from the large Calabar (_nsoko_, hence the name of the game) beans. A
hole is bored through the middle of each bean, and through the hole is
pushed a splinter of wood to form a peg ¾ in. long on the under side,
and about 3½ inches on the upper. This is called the _mundindi_. The
_juku_ and the _nsoko_ being prepared, the players, as many as can sit
at the table, take their places, and one having taken the _mundindi_
between the extended palms of his hands, he rubs it to and fro to give
it momentum, and then he drops the teetotum on the table, where it spins
rapidly. In the meantime another has done the same, and on the two
revolving tops colliding, one is knocked out and becomes the property of
the one whose teetotum is left on the “board.” If both are knocked out
they begin again. If one teetotum holds the “board” for a round, the
owner of it is _monzo_ (the best spinner). He who procures the most tops
belonging to the others is the winner.
12. _Molangu_ (hoop). The lads take sides, each side having a town
(_mboka_) about 30 yards apart; and each lad has a piece of string from
6 to 8 feet long weighted at the ends. All being ready the hoop is
rolled along from town A towards town B, and as it approaches a lad
steps out and throws one end of his string at the hoop, and lets the
string run freely from his hand. His object is to entangle his string
about the hoop. When the hoop stops and falls, he goes and picks up one
end of his string and swings the hoop round his head as he takes it back
to the throwing side A. If he succeeds he has repulsed the enemy, and it
counts as one game to his side. If he misses the hoop, then the enemy
has entered his town, and it is reckoned as one game to the town A, and
the town B has to roll the hoop towards their opponents. If the hoop
happens to come off the string while being twirled, then the side of the
twirler loses, and he has to take the hoop back to his own town and
throw it to the town of the enemy. Each lad steps out in turn for a
throw of the hoop, and for a throw at the hoop.
[Illustration:
By permission of - Prof. F. STARR.
This Design is called Sanduku, or Box.
]
13. _Nka_, or cat’s cradle, is well known to the lads and lasses, and
many an hour is spent in working out the different designs on their
fingers and toes. The following are the names of a few patterns: (1)
_Moleki na nkusu_, snare for a parrot, because of its similarity to a
snare; (2) _Mwana muntaka_, girl, because of its large, oval shape; (3)
_Mwana lele_, boy, because it has a small waist; (4) _Julututu_, spider;
(5) _Nkungu_, a triangular pattern. There is a very large number of
designs, but some children are more expert than others in forming them
accurately and easily.
[Illustration:
By permission of - Prof. F. STARR.
This Design is named Ndako, or House. If the picture is turned upside
down the Pitch of the Roof will be clearly seen, the Ridge-pole and
Wall-plates.
]
[Illustration:
By permission of Prof. F. STARR.
Called by the Natives: Narrow Roads through the Farms.
]
14. _Nsau ya mai_, or water games, of which the following three are
specimens: (1) _Nkoli_ (crocodile). An active boy represents a
crocodile, and diving beneath the water tries to catch the feet of his
comrades, and others try to capture him. If they succeed in so doing
they thereupon pretend to kill him and cut him up; but if he catches a
playmate they exchange places. (2) _Tasana_ (to find one another). One
dives and remains quiet under the water, while another searches for him.
(3) _Munteko_ (game of touch in the water). If one lad fails to catch or
touch another, the others sing, “_Otenda tendaka yau nzala ya nkabu_”
(You will not grow, you eat greedily, but are always hungry). The boy
becomes angry at this taunt, and renews his efforts to catch one of
them. The Boloki are good swimmers, great divers, and can remain under
the water for a long time; and undoubtedly these water games help them
to become so much at home in the river.
[Illustration:
_Photo by_: _Rev. R. H. Kirkland_
GROUP OF LIBINZA FOLK
These men are having a small drinking-bout and a little music. The
band consists of one drum, one trumpet, and one iron gong played by
the man at the end of the row.
]
The elder lads often brought out their thin, well-balanced fighting
spears, and having selected a growing plantain with a stalk about 5
inches in diameter, they would stand from 60 to 80 feet away and launch
their spears in turn at the stalk. I have seen them pierce the stalk
right through again and again. I have tried spear-throwing, and it is
not so easy as it looks. There is a knack in holding the spear-haft well
down across the palm of the hand, so that the whole force of the arm is
conveyed to the spear. The lads, when they saw my poor attempts at
spear-throwing, used to say laughingly to me, “Ah, white man, if you
would fight us with spears, and not with guns, we would soon wipe you
out.”
_Bull-roarers_ are known and made; but the elders do not like the lads
to play with them, and give as their reason: “You are calling the
leopards.” This is because the whirl of the bamboo makes a sound like
the growling of a leopard.
The young girls have an interesting little dance in which they form a
circle around one of their number, who is on all fours in the centre. As
the girls in the ring sing about the different animals, as the leopard,
the hippopotamus, the crocodile, the elephant, etc., the girl in the
middle imitates the movements of the animal, and she receives praise or
ridicule according to her ability to imitate the movements accurately.
The men and women take very little part in any of these games (except
the men at _lobesi_), but they monopolize a large share in all the
dances, and in most of the dances the sexes are mixed. Wrestling of a
rough-and-ready kind is indulged in by the lads; and round the fires of
an evening stories are told with dramatic power, and conundrums are
propounded and answered. Although Congo is practically a toyless land,
and so far as the adults are concerned the children are not catered for,
yet from their loud laughter the young folk seem to extract a great
amount of pleasure out of life. The boys delight in talking a slang
language of their own manufacture, which is called _jimu_. They select a
syllable, say “_sa_,” and insert it between the syllables of the words
they use, so _mboka_ = village becomes _mbo-sa-ka_ = _vil-sa-lage_. They
acquire great glibness in this kind of talk, and enjoy the fun that it
brings in mystifying others.
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