Читать книгу Great Zimbabwe, Mashonaland, Rhodesia. An account of two years' examination work in 1902-4 on behalf of the government of Rhodesia онлайн

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Tjiya! (cease work!) is sounded, and the boys take up the cry, and spring like chased buck helter-skelter through the western entrance into the hot, sultry atmosphere, singing, laughing, yelling, and caterwauling, just like boys let out of school. The relentlessly broiling heat and glare of noontide make one long for the beautifully cool shade of the huts.

Arrived at the camp, some of the boys lie at full length on the hot boulders and so take sun-baths, others resume their own carving or other work, some make music, or play with dollasses, or fence, while the majority gather round the various sets of game-holes and play isafuba, but there is a camp rule, found by experience to be necessary, that isafuba cannot be played until the cooks state that the pots have commenced to boil. So fascinating is this game that formerly we found the cooking operations often became neglected.

Isafuba is one of a group of games, the origin of which is explained on pages 79, 80 of The Ancient Ruins of Rhodesia. In our camp are several sets of game-holes; one set has four rows of sixteen holes each, and another two rows of twelve holes. This last is generally patronised by the picaninnies. Some of the isafuba games have different moves, numbers of holes and counters, and the games vary slightly in different districts.