Wikimanqala:Featured article/ week 49
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The game of ||hūs is played by the Damara (Berg-Dama), Namaqua, Herero, Kanyama, Ndonga, Kwangari, Mbukushu and Hei||om in Namibia.
The game was first described by the Lutheran missionary Krönlein in 1855. The game plays an important role in the myth of the first man |Gurihoeseb. He won so many games that he eventually destroyed the paradisiac unity between nature and humanity. The game might also be associated with rain-making as it is said that the game was played with copper pearls and the thunder storm being ǂEixa|kha|nabiseb is mentioned in the same myth. Copper symbolizes lightning. It is even claimed that the name of the game is not derived from the Nama word meaning "hole", but from a today obsolete expression for "cloud".
The first ||hūs tournaments were organized in 2002 by the Pan African Centre of Namibia (PACON). The National Museum of Namibia, the former Landesmuseum, has a permanent ||hūs exhibition, where visitors can play against experienced players. A strong programme was developped by Victor Hamutenya and Michael Mikka, computer scientists at the University of Namibia in Windhoek. [ + ]
