Among Congo cannibals

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.