Who is afraid of the black man?
Who is afraid of the black man? or who is afraid of the black man? is a running game for several players, which is played especially in physical education classes in elementary schools as well as in youth camps.
Rules of the game
The game is intended for more than about eight players. There are almost no upper limits. The playing field is the largest possible, level area in the open air with a border for the playing field.
The catcher is the "black man" and is usually about fifteen meters away from the others on the opposite side of a square or room. If he calls out “Who is afraid of the black man?”, The answer is “Nobody!”, Then “And if he (but) comes?” With “Then we run (away)!” Or “Then we tear (all ) off! ”or“ Then he'll stop ”. The two parties now run in opposite directions to the other side to the saving wall or boundary. The catcher tries to catch as many as possible by tapping them.
Anyone caught by the black man helps him catch in the next run. The last one left wins and is usually the catcher in the next game.
history
The children's game can be traced back to the child horror figure of the black man , who is known throughout the German-speaking area. Depending on the region and time, it was understood to mean different beings: a dark, shadowy figure or a man with black clothing. Other claims that the game originated from bunker work from 1939 on the Schwarzen Mann , a mountain in the Eifel , are completely unfounded, as the game is much older.
The song researcher Franz Magnus Böhme , however , described in 1897 that the term can be traced back to the " Black Death " (the plague around 1348). That would also explain the principle of the game logically: Everyone who is attacked by the plague (in the game: is tapped) is himself a carrier of the “black death” and belongs to the army of the “black man” that spreads the disease.
In order to avoid a racist connotation through the association of "black" with "evil", the game is also called differently, e.g. B. “Who's Afraid of the Bad / Wild / Stupid Man?” Or “Who's Afraid of the Great White Shark ?” .
Individual evidence
- ↑ The black man. In: Alban von Hahn (ed.): Book of games. Encyclopedia of all known games and forms of entertainment for all circles. Board and joke games of all kinds, oracle games, ball and tire games, sports games, bowling games, dance games, dominoes and lotto, board and position games, chess, billiards, dice and card games, patience and card tricks, etc. Fourth edition, published by Otto Spamer , Leipzig [1905?]; P. 64. ( digitized version )
- ↑ see also chapter 15 with the game explanation
- ^ Richard Beitl, Thomas K. Schippers: Investigations on the mythology of the child , Waxmann Verlag, 2007, ISBN 3830918097 , page 11 ( preview in Google Book Search).
- ↑ Christiane Dierks: Be recognizable better: You are unique, show it! , Gabal Verlag, 2009, ISBN 3897499207 , page 62
- ↑ Peter Ullrich: Between Cross and Hell , 2009, ISBN 3837069869 , page 14 ( preview in Google book search).
- ^ Who is afraid of the black man , volksliederarchiv.de, accessed on October 21, 2011
- ↑ Lisa-Marie pipe Dantz: Weis (s) units in postcolonial Germany. The concept of critical whiteness using the example of how people of African origin and white Germans perceive themselves and others in Germany. (= Africa and Europe. Volume 7), Peter Lang, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, Frankfurt am Main / New York 2009, ISBN 978-3-6315-9304-2 , p. 61.
- ↑ Dileta Fernandes Sequeira: Trapped in society - everyday racism in Germany: Racism Critical thinking and acting in psychology. Tectum, Marburg 2015, ISBN 978-3-8288-3537-5 .
- ↑ Nicole Gebhardt, German Turner Youth (ed.): Stop the thief! Meyer & Meyer, Aachen 2015, ISBN 978-3-8989-9905-2 .