Tshikako

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a) What is needed to play (i.e. materials), 

A ball and an open small field/court of a quadrilateral shape (dimensions/size of which depends on the intensity/competitiveness), several cans/tins of varying sizes, two teams of at least 2 members each.

b)  How game is played

One team is fielding, and the other plays

The fielding team fields members on either ends of the field. Within the field, the playing team tries to stack the tins/cans into a stable tower while defending/dodging attacks from the fielding team throwing the ball at them and/or the tower they are trying to build from stacking the tins. If a playing member is hit with the ball, they are eliminated. If the tower is struck down, the playing team continues to rebuild their tower until all their members are eliminated or they progress to the next stage of the game.  The next stage of the game starts once the tower is stacked, the playing team goes behind the field lines and each member gets three/five shots to completely bring down the tower of cans/tins by throwing the ball at the tower. 

ii) How the game starts and ends.  iii) How one wins or loses?

If any member of the playing team manages to bring down their own tower, they would have won the game, or re-spawn the members of their team who were eliminated and restart the game for a new innings. In which case, the game can continue for the best out of three innings. 

 iv) Rules  

The fielding team strictly fields from behind the fielding lines on either end the field directing opposite each other on the long sides.

At stage two the playing team can only throw the ball from behind the fielding lines on either end the field directing opposite each other on the long sides.

c) i) Boys and girls play,  ii) it is played on any flat open surface typically outdoors, but can be played indoors with high roofs and large open space.


Comments

  1. BenadetteDecember 15, 2023 at 9:14 AM

    I played this game in Uganda, and we called it Kwepena. I played this game with three versions. 1) similar to the one described above. 2) One with no stacking of bricks but just dodging the ball. 3)Kwepena, starting with 'Kirindi'- Instead of one player in the middle, you start off with all the players of the one side trying to dodge the ball until all but one are eliminated. The one who is not eliminated starts stacking the bricks while dodging the ball until all the bricks have been stacked without collapsing. After all the bricks have been stacked, the player has to collapse the tower of bricks in order to win. The other side only gets a turn if the playing side loses, otherwise they continue playing and the other side throwing the ball. Afrocentric philosophy: collaboration; decision making.

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  2. Sella (Kenya)December 16, 2023 at 10:15 AM

    This game is also played in Kenya. It involves stacking bricks and it teaches collaboration , quick thinking, agility in dodging the ball,

    ReplyDelete
  3. ProscoviaDecember 16, 2023 at 10:49 AM

    Dear Benadette, you have described very well the various versions we played that game in Uganda. We could play 'kwepena' until the lights died out, especially over the weekends when there was no school. We stacked our dresses into our inner panties to allow us dodge the ball properly. If the ball hit any part of your body, including your cloth, you lost. Dodging the ball involved a lot of creativity, including falling down, jumping high, raising one of your legs, etc. Hitting the player with the ball also involved tact. There was what we called "kalisoliso' or ''kiso' where one hit the ball with a closed eye. It was not allowed in the game, because one could hit another in a sensitive part. However, we often broke the rule. Sometimes, the ball hit a player so hard, that they were hurt. Sometimes, when this happened, unfortunately the game ended. One of the unwritten rules was to avoid targeting the upper part of the body because it had sensitive parts. Therefore, the quality of the ball (made from banana fibers) had to be soft. The game taught us team work, negotiation, conflict management, arbitration, communication skills, emotional and intelligence, assertiveness, among others.

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