Games played by Africans

Press, 11 April 1978, Page 18

Games played by Africans

Antelope Children from the Luba Kasai tribe in the Congo play this game on a large rectangular area, about the size of a tennis court. Play begins by casting lots to decide who will be the antelope. Now the antelope must run and try to catch the others. The first player he catches has to call out “Antelope.” and become an antelope also. The two antelopes have to capture the rest of the children, and at each capture "Antelope” is shouted out. The game continues until everyone has been taken. The winner is the last child left.

All players must stay inside the chosen rectangular area and, if anyone disobeys, he is considered captured.

Poison This Rhodesian game requires eight or more children and may be played outside or indoors. Players form a circle around one player called the guardian who stands in the centre. The guardian has to look after the poison, which is a piece of knotted cloth and lies in the middle beside him. One of the children in the circle must try to snatch the cloth of poison and rush back to his position without being touched by the guardian. This is fun as a player from the circle can try all sorts of strategies in his efforts to gain the poison, and similarly the guardian can counter-attack them.

Should a player gain the

“poison” and return to his place without being touched, the guardian must continue in his job. However, if a player is touched before he returns to his place, it becomes his turn to'guard the “poison.” When the guardian is successful in retrieving the cloth from the one who is trying to snatch if, and also manages to fill the snatcher’s vacant place in the circle, he chooses someone else to take over his job. Snakes

Children from the Bemba tribe of Zambia and the Southern Congo enjoy this game. Play it on thick grass, on sand, or a parquet floor. You need two or more groups of children. .Each group should have no fewer than six players and no more than 20. Choose starting and finishing lines. Children sit one behind the other on the ground behind the starting line to form snakes. They stretch their legs straight out, and each player holds the one in front of home around the waist, or else places hh hands on the other’s shoulders.

Snakes wait in parallel rows and on the word “Go” move forwards to the finishing line. The first team to reach it wins, but the parts of each snake must keep together, with hands and legs in correct position. The game is played to the sound of bright music and snakes sway backwards and forwards, trying to go faster and faster.