Childhood Days Long Walk Original Manuscript (Image #14)

after tease or bully him along the way. Thinti was the most popular boys' game in our area. We would divide ourselves into two equal sides. Two Thinti was the most popular boys' game in our area. We would divide ourselves into two equal sides. Two sticks would be driven firmly into the ground in an upright position and at some reasonable distance apart. They served as targets. The game would begin when one side started throwing sticks with the object of striking down the opposite target. If they missed a target the opponents would then collect all the sticks and, in turn, begin throwing against the opposite target. If a side struck down the target and the last stick had been thrown over, they tried to retrieve the sticks with the opposite side defending. Many times we organised faction fights against boys from the other villages and those who distinguished themselves in this field were highly regarded amongst us. Finally we used to sing and dance and fully enjoyed the perfect freedom we seemed to have far away from the old people. After supper we would listen enthralled to my mother and sometimes my aunt telling us stories, legends, myths and fables which have come down from countless generations, and all of which tended to stimulate the imagination and contained some valuable moral lesson. As I look back to those days I am inclined to believe that the type of life I led at my home, my experiences in the veld where we worked and played together in groups, introduced me at an early age to the ideas of collective effort. The little progress I made in this regard was later undermined by the type of formal education I received which tended to stress individual more than collective values. Nevertheless, in the mid 1940s when I was drawn into the political struggle, I could adjust myself to discipline without difficulty, perhaps because of my early upbringing. On the death of my father, the regent became my guardian and Mqhekezweni my other home. They had two children Justice, who