Ramadan as a holy month was and still is characterized by many different features that distinguish it from other months. For example, we recognize this great month with different dishes of foods such as shafoot, muhalabiah, samosa salad and shurba. However, in the past what really characterized Ramadan were the traditional games. One of these games was Al-Messa, which children played after sunset prayer.
Five boys or more would visit each house in a village while singing simple tunes and reciting praise poems. After knocking on each door, these boys would praise the owner of the house and all the members of the family and pray for their well-being, and to be blessed with good characteristics, like generosity. The husband or wife of the household would respond to these praises by giving the boys some bread, cookies, sweets and sometimes a little money.
The boys would then collect these gifts in a tied-up bundle and would compete for the gifts by chasing after each other. Once the boy who carried the bundle of gifts was caught, the boys would then divide the gifts equally among themselves.
In their joyful gathering of sharing gifts, they would also share Messmats, which are tales from the past that are often magical and unreal. While one of the boys tells a Messmah, the others would listen carefully and in awe without rejecting any event as illogical or impossible. This acceptance of magical tales makes sense because this game was common before the revolution when many people were still illiterate.
Today, many Yemenis still remember these magical Ramadan nights of the past. But sadly, such games have declined in practice and in most parts of Yemen, have vanished completely because of T.V satellites and the other facilities. I wonder if our future generations will remember these traditions or create their own.
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