Molweni, sanibonani! Ninjani?

We hope you are all well and studiously at work on your programs! As we have all been watching our athletes' attempts at the Olympics we thought we would use this opportunity to tell you about a few traditional (and some not so traditional) Xhosa and Zulu games.

Stick-fighting

Boys begin stick-fighting at the age of five or six, and although it is considered a game (umdlalo) it is also important for herd-boys to be able to defend themselves against wild animals and other young boys who may want to "steal" good grazing areas.

When Xhosa boys go to initiation school they practise their stick-fighting skills and elect a champion who later goes on to fight with other winners and an overall champion is declared.

When a Zulu boy turns 15 the men in his family will take him into the forest to find his own set of sticks.

"Part of the purpose of the trip into the forest is to prepare the boys both mentally and spiritually. The Zulu believe a man must not go into a stick-fight with 'darkness hanging over him': he must have clear, uncluttered concentration to be able to focus and win a battle...

"Strict rules of etiquette govern a sporting contest. It is bad form for a man to rush in with flailing sticks at the start of a fight. The two men must square up against each other. Beating their shields with their sticks, they call out, 'Here is the bull', and then the fight begins. Warrior captains usually control a fight, but spectators will intervene if they think the behaviour of their participants unfair. Should a man lose his stick during a bout, it would be unchivalrous for his opponent to take advantage of his temporary handicap. This would also be taken as a sign that he does not have confidence in his own abilities. The fight stops until both men are re-armed and ready."

(see Zulu by Roger and Pat de la Harpe, Barry Leitch, Sue Derwent, Struik 1998: 80-83)

Umphuco
(from the Xhosa word ukuphuca "to play at chuckies" - a game of pitch and toss)

In this game 12 or more stones (oonophuce) are placed in a small hole. The player has to throw (ukujula) a heavier, bigger stone (at least three times the size of the smaller stones) and catch (ukuganga) it while removing the stones from the hole (the sequence is throw, remove, catch). The game is then to get all the stones back into the hole, first in ones, then twos, then threes etc.

Iitoti
(tins)

In this game there will be two teams. One team will get a chance to build (ukwakha) the tins, which vary in size from big to small, into a pyramid. Each team member of the "building side" gets a chance to build while each team member of the opposing side gets a chance to distract the builder by throwing a ball at him/her. If the builder is hit by the ball, she or he has to stop building and another team member will continue. The other team has to retrieve their ball and then try to hit the next builder.

The bird game

"Two players sit together. The first player has a small pile of mealie grains or pebbles. She hands over a piece of grain to the other player and in a sing-song manner says: "Qobongo ntakani le?" (What bird is this?) The second player takes up the refrain and sings "Sisakwatsha" (It is a partridge) or "Ngunomyayi" (It is a black crow) or "Nguthekwane" (It is a hammerhead), or any other bird's name. As soon as the second player cannot name a bird when given a piece of grain, all the grain is given to him. He then becomes the questioner and his friend must try her skill at answering."

(In Xhosa: a cultural grammar for beginners by Patricia Schonstein Pinnock, African Sun Press, 1994:58)

DLALANI NATHI! PLAY WITH US!

Xhosa Names For Sports

rugby	umbhoxo or iraghbi
cricket	umdlalo weqakamba or ikrikethi
tennis	intenetya
netball	ibhola yomnyazi/inethibholi
swimming	ukuqubha/ukudada
hockey	ihoki
soccer	isoka/ibhola

Zulu Names For Sports

rugby	raghbi
cricket	ikrikithi
tennis	ithenisi
netball	inethibholi
swimming	ukubhukuda
hockey	ihoki
soccer	ibhola

Gambling

UKUNGCAKAZA NGEMALI (XHOSA) UKUDLALA NGEMALI (ZULU)

Fafi

Fafi is not really a game, but a betting/gambling activity. It is played mainly by women in Soweto, where it was brought by the Chinese. The game is based on the translation of dreams into numbers which are then bet upon. Anything dreamed of will have an associated number. For example if you dream of crooks (izigebengu/amasela) you will bet on a 7. If you dream of a white person (umLungu) you will bet on number 3, while if you dreamed of the sea you could bet on both 18 for a ship (inqanawe) and 26, which is the corresponding number for water (amanzi). The game requires a "runner" (isikhwama - bag) who carries the bag of bets (with the names of the betters and their money) to the Chinese person who will visit the "station" (house) of the runner who holds the betting session. The Chinese person will pull up outside the house in a car and take the bag from the runner and then whisper the winning number to her. The runner will then indicate symbolically with her hands to the betters to indicate which number has won, and the person will be paid out.

Games played by children

Rope skipping:	Ugqaphu
Hide and Seek:	U-ndize (Children call out "Ndize?" Can I come?)
French skipping/ Goomy:	Umgusha (Two children stand opposite each other with elastic or old stocking caught by their legs, forming a frame into which a third can jump).

Sporting Commands!

	Xhosa	Zulu
Run!	Baleka!	Gijima!
Jump!	Gxuma!	Gxuma!
Kick!	Khaba!	Khahlela!
Hit!	Betha!	Shaya!
Win!	Wina!/Phumelela!	Wina!
Pass!	Gqithisa!	Pasa!
Catch!	Bamba!/Ganga!	Bamba!
Throw!	Jula!	Phonsa/Phosa!
Here!	Ngapha!	Ngapha!

Children's Songs

Xhosa

Sowuthuma bani na? (Who shall we send?)
(sung to the tune of: "Here we go round the mulberry bush!)

Sothuma bani na (Who shall we send)
amphuthume? (x 3) (to fetch him/her?)
Sothuma bani na (Who shall we send)
amphuthume? (to fetch him/her?)
ngenyanga kaCanzibe (In the month of May)

Sifuna uThemba* (We want Themba)
abe yimfe (x3) (to be the sweet cane)
Sifuna uThemba* abe yimfe, (We want Themba to be the sweet cane)
ngenyanga kaCanzibe (In the month of May)

*Use any name in place of Themba.

Zulu

Bheka Phezulu (Look up)

1. Bheka phezulu, nantsi elopleni (x 2)
   (Look up, there is an aeroplane)
2. Owayemngaka wabuya esemngaka (x 2)
   (S/he who was like this - indicating small/short with hand - returned like this - indicating big/tall)

(in Songs Sung by South African Children, Grassroots Educare Trust, 1992: 37)

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