Ampe Tournament Turns Un-expectedly Violent
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ACCRA, Aug 16, 2007 - The world of quasi-professional sports was rocked last night when what started out as a friendly ampe match between Weija Girls’ School and St. Theresa’s was plunged into violence five minutes after the first rhythmic claps sounded to signal the start of the game.
Alice Ofori, playing Mother of Okonto faced off against Nana Serwaa, standing in as Mother of O-Straightee. Both lead players held a contingent of 5 “children” waiting to be “born”. In ampe, it is vital to have as many children born as early as possible to keep control of the game. From the start, Nana displayed dominance. Her claps were thunderous, her cadence clear as she proclaimed: Fehstee baby!! (First baby). Seconds later, second baby Era Esi was delivered to the grunts of “Secondee baby!!“ The O-Straightee team felt their confidence build and cheered their Mother on.
Meanwhile, Okonto children begged, encouraged, and threatened their Mother, hoping their shouts would imbue her with power. Alice watched helplessly as one O-Straightee baby after another was born.
“We shall score you,“ proclaimed O-Straightee supporters. “We shall put pepper in your eyes!“ Their taunts must have been more than the Okonto team could bear.
No one knows who dealt the first blow.
The fighting that ensued could put the worst rugby brawl to shame. Who could have foreseen that twelve year old girls would be willing to spill one anothers blood for the right to shi-ing their losing opponents? By the time game officials stepped, two children had lost several teeth and one stood clutching the remains of her uniform. All ten girls declined to be interviewed for this article.
“It’s just gotten completely out of control”, said Weija’s headmistress. “We’ve heard of ampe games turning violent before, but never seen anything to this magnitude with any of our girls. It’s shocking.“
Schools all over the nation are considering banning the play pf ampe on their campuses, citing the recent spate of violence associated with games, and will attempt to steer young ladies towards gentler sports, such as boxing or Krav Maga; a self defense martial art created by the Israeli military.
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