71. Adventures of Waburi II: Vanuatu – The following tale from the island of Malekula was told to me by Nathanial Tagar a resident of Motalava island (for which see the Banks & Torres Islands’ entry in the glossary) who served as my host on a brief visit there.

(1)
Why is it that all of us,
With passing time, grow old?
Why do strong limbs weaken
And passion’s flame grow cold?
Why does our smooth skin wrinkle?
Why does one’s beauty fade?
Why can’t one’s life be permanent
And lasting just like jade?

(2)
The reason why we can’t restore
Our youth when we grow old,
In this tale from Malekula,
To you I’ll now unfold.
The reason why we can’t make straight
A back that’s curved with time,
Will be explained to you in full
In this precocious rhyme.

(3)
In the land of Malekula
Was a river near a bay,
Where those wishing to restore their youth
Could change their skins, they say.
By bathing in the Naha,
An old and wrinkled man
Would come out looking like a youth
Young, handsome, strong and tan.

(4)
And thus it was when winter came,
With bathing came the spring;
The flame of youth would upwards soar
Like an eagle on the wing.
In those days when men grew old
They’d go and change their skin.
And death would never come, for they
Got back their youth again.

(5)
But one day when a grandma
Caring for her daughter’s child
Returned with her new skin, the girl,
Became rowdy and wild.
Recognizing not the woman
Who had come back from the stream,
This pampered little darling
Began to yell and scream.

[Illustration: Drawing #3 of
woman shedding her skin]

 (6)
She yelled and cried and bashed her head
Upon the grassy ground.
And said that she’d continue thus
‘Til her grandma could be found.
Grandma was much disheartened
And went back to fetch her skin.
And after she recouped it,
None could turn young again.

(7)
And that is why we all grow old
And after that we die;
Because of that old grandma
And her daughter’s rowdy child.
We are no longer like the moon
That goes and then returns.
An old man can’t be young again
Though for his youth he yearns.

Etc.

72. Umlabalaba: Zulu Chess –  Umlabalaba (labyrinth in Zulu) is an intriguing “mind-building” Zulu board game that is often translated as "Zulu Chess". There are two versions of the game in Zululand involving slight differences in the board layout and the end game. The isisuthuversion has 25 positions (i.e. points on the board where two lines intersect) upon which counters can be placed, whereas the isizulu version has only 24 positions. In both games, however, each player is given 12 counters which are played alternately - one counter at a time - on any of the board positions. After all the counters have been used in this way, the counters can be moved one space at a time to new positions along the lines on the board. If by chance (in isizulu) all 24 counters are placed on the board and no counter has been captured (for which see further), then each player is required to remove one of his counters and “gift” it to his opponent. In this case, the first person to remove the counter is the one who played first.

The object of the game - like tic-tac-toe - is to form a consecutive line of three counters either vertically, or horizontally (as well as diagonally in isisuthu) both during the first phase of the game (placement), and during the second phase (movement). Each time a player forms such a line, he removes one of his opponent's tokens from the board. The winner is the player who succeeds in capturing ten of his adversary's tokens.

A major difference in the end game between these two versions of umlabalaba is that in isizulu whenever a player has only three counters remaining on the board, he is entitled (when it is his turn) to ignore the lines and move any one of his counters to any place on the board he chooses. In isisuthu, however, this provision is non-existent. In summary, the rules of the game for the two versions are as follows:

73. Capoeira in Mozambique: An Introduction -  On a nearly four month visit (roughly May 12 – Sept. 1, 2008) to Mozambique in search of Black Martial Arts traditions, I found no links to the martial traditions I had investigated in the Comoros (mrengé), Madagascar (morengy) and Reunion (moringue). This was indeed disappointing because I was told in Reunion that moringue came from Madagascar; in Madagascar that it came from Comoro; and in Comoros that it came from northern Mozambique.

Although I learned that a similar pugilistic art (musangwe) was (and still is) practiced among the neighboring South African Venda people of the Limpopo area bordering Zimbabwe and Gazaland, no one I met among the Makoa or Makonde peoples of Mozambique had knowledge of such a tradition. Though discouraged by this initial failure, I resolved to visit the region again next year and visit a host of other rural locations where the art may (as in Vendaland) have possibly survived.

Surprisingly, however, I discovered that Capoeira (a relatively recent importation from Brazil) was alive and well and that there were over nine active groups (academies) in Maputo (the capital of Mozambique) alone. Moreover, I discovered Capoeira groups in nearly every city I visited on a two week tour of central and northern Mozambique (i.e. Chimoio, Quelimane, Nampula, and Garué).

Having received a capoeira diploma from Mestre Pastinha in 1967 and having opened my own academy in the US in 1972, I was of course very much interested in what the Mozambican variety was like so I consequently visited several of the academies and interviewed their “monitors” (person responsible for giving instruction). I also conducted a two hour workshop dealing with the “aú” for the Ginga de Maputo, attended a Batizado of the Angola Palmares group, observed the F.I.C.A. workshop, and paid a visit to a practice session of the Mar Azul group session.

What follows is a series of photos and a brief description of my exposure to Capoeira in Mozambique. With the existence of a number of Capoeira academies in neighboring South Africa as well, one can truly say that Capoeira (originally of Bantu origin) has returned to its source and has been enthusiastically welcomed by the descendants of its original  creators.

74. Cosmic Combat Yoga: The Sixth Face of Hanuman – We have seen in Section # 9 how the path of the cosmic combat warrior (described in Section # 10) has lead all of its adherents not only to good health, peace of mind, and visions of longevity, but has also infused them with the burning desire to help their fellow man. Should you accept our invitation to become a cosmic combat warrior, the following procedure is recommended: a) declare yourself an aspirant to warrior-hood; b) change your bad habits for good ones by observing yama and niyama; c) take care as to what you consume and drink; d) get proper sleep; e) take proper care of your eyes; f) read appropriate books; g) learn and practice the yogasanas (postures) as your body permits; h) learn and practice pranayama breath control exercises; i) learn and practice concentration and meditation; j) strive for self-realization; and k) after attaining complete understanding, help others realize their full potential as you have. These are not only my recommendations but also [23:25] “guidelines given by the great Siddhars and Rishis … to attain self-realization and best serve god and humanity as well.

75. At the Feet of the Ancestors: Besouro Preto –

He was born in Santo Amaro
Where he lived, and taught
The Art of Capoeira
Which from Africa was brought,

To Brazil’s bright shining sands
By warriors enslaved,
To defend themselves and friends
From slave masters depraved.

His teacher was Alipio,
An African endeared,
And those who learned Alipio’s art
From injury were spared.

He got the name “Besouro”,
For his skin was black as night
And like that beetle people thought
He had the gift of flight.

Ten soldiers once attacked him,
And he battled with them there;
But when they tried to trap him,
He leaped into the air.

They looked in all directions;
But he wasn’t found that day.
Their Captain asked how he escaped,
They said, “He flew away.”

76. Communicate in Portuguese

77. Adventures of Dan Aiki Books 1-5 (Color) –

78. Graphic Novel Adventures of Dan Aiki Book 1

79. Graphic Novel Adventures of Dan Aiki Book 6

80. Communicate in Castellano - This book was conceived with the idea of introducing interested persons to the study of Spanish, a language spoken by nearly four hundred million people throughout the world. It has twenty chapters, each of which begins with a question and is organized as follows:

1. Lesson Objective;
2. New Vocabulary
3. Examples using the question and possible answers;
4. Grammatical explanations  and/or  cultural aspects; and  
5. Excercises.

After every three chapters dealing with grammatical structures, there is a review in the form of a dialog that combines previously dealt with structures.

Upon finishing this book it is hoped that you, the reader, will be able to ask any question you may wish, as well as easily understand the response because you will have a sound grammatical base and an adequate vocabulary sufficient to satisfy your immediate physical and linguistic needs. It is also hoped that the knowledge acquired in this course will serve as a base for a deeper study of Spanish, the official language of 19 countries located in Europe, North America, Central America,  South America, the Caribbean and Africa [See section #36 for a detailed listing].