The
island |
Level 2 |
Theme M |
Throughout history all societies have borrowed
and adopted things from each other. When different cultures
meet there are great possibilities for mutual benefit. We
would be able to acknowledge this fact if it were easier
for us to see beyond our prejudice and ethnocentrism. This
is a simulation.
Issues addressed
• Understanding the 'difference'
is a necessary step in order to respect and acknowledge
it.
• The benefits of tolerance and
adaptability.
• The celebration of diversity.
Aims
• To raise awareness of the ways
culture affects our lives and outlook
• To stimulate discussion about
how people from different cultures communicate and interact.
• To explore cultural taboos
and the "limits of tolerance".
• To stimulate discussion about
the possibilities which may be open to us as a result of
intercultural co-operation.
Time:2
hours
Group size:
10 -16
Overview of the game
There is an island where two tribes live.
Tribe Y lives in the upland hilly regions and tribe Z lives
by the coast. They co-exist side by side and rarely have
contact with each other.
The two tribes have different languages
and different cultures, although for both tribes balloons
have a special significance. In tribe Y, people put great
value on the diversity of balloons for religious reasons
and try to collect as many different types, shapes and colours
as possible. In tribe Z people use balloons, particularly
round, red ones for medical purposes.
Recently the people in tribe Z have begun
to suffer from a strange illness for which, according to
legend there is only one cure, a rare type of balloon which
can only be found in an unknown location on the island.
Luckily for them there is a map which has been handed down
over the generations which they are sure will lead them
to the new balloon they need. Unfortunately, many years
ago the map was almost destroyed in a war, tribe Z only
has a part of it. Legend has it that tribe Y has the other
half.
The aim of the game is for tribe Y to protect
their balloons and for tribe Z find the medicine they need.
However, as in real life, the participants may find that
there are other unexpected outcomes.
Preparation
A. For creating group cultures:
• Pencils and paper
• Photocopies of the notes for
tribes
B. For the meeting:
• Drinks, cups and biscuits enough
for everyone
C. For the search:
• Map showing the location of
the hidden balloons cut into four pieces
• 5 round red balloons
• 3 more balloons each of a different
shape and colour e.g. one round yellow, one long green,
one long blue.
• 2 more balloons similar to
each other, but different from any of the others (possibly
condoms) hidden in a secret location.
• String to tie up balloons
• Tape to fix balloons to walls
• A box of 'equipment' including
pins, scissors, a stick of red lipstick, tape.
Instructions
There are three stages to the game: In part
A the two tribes learn their culture; in part B the two
tribes meet and learn to communicate in each other's language
and in part C the tribes search for the balloons.
1. Be sure everything is ready and set up
beforehand.
2. Divide the group into two and read out
the overview of the game.
Part A. The two tribes learn their culture and create
their own language:
3. Send the two groups to opposite ends
of the room (representing the hills and the coast).
4. Hand out the copies of the roles to each
tribe and pens and paper to make notes.
5. Tell the groups that they must decide
on a name for their tribe, learn the rules of their culture
and create a special language.
6. Tell them that they have 20 minutes to
develop and practice their language together and to ensure
everyone in the group is proficient.
Part B. The two tribes meet. This is an opportunity
for them to learn how to communicate and co-operate with
each other through sharing the food and drink:
7. Give tribe A the biscuits and tribe B
the drink and cups.
8. Call the two groups together into the
middle of the room (representing neutral territory).
9. Tell everyone that the simulation starts
now. From now on everyone must be in a role, that is they
must use the language and culture of their tribe.
Part C. The search for the balloons
10. Tell the group that they now have 45
minutes. Tribe Z may start negotiating for the missing half
of the map and try to find the hidden balloons.
Debriefing and evaluation
Start by talking about what happened and
then move on to what people learned and how the simulation
relates to real life.
• Was it hard to use and understand
the languages?
• During the search how did you
communicate? Using only one or both languages? By using
signs? What misunderstandings were there?
• How did you solve the problems
of opening up tribe Y's balloons? Who did it? How did you
feel about breaking the cultural taboos?
• What cultural taboos are there
in our society? What's their function?
• Which things do we use in our
daily life that come originally from other countries or
continents?
• Can we imagine living only
on what comes from our own culture or country? Why is culture
important to us?
• Is your culture important to
you? Why?
• What stops us understanding
other cultures?
• Can you think of any real life
examples in the past or in the present where two cultures
have adapted to each other and gained in the process?
• In the world today there are
lots of examples of conflicts between cultures. Decide on
one example to discuss: What brings the cultures into conflict?
Who gains and who loses from the conflict? What do people
lose in opening up their culture? What have they got to
gain?
Tips for the facilitator
Before you start be sure to read all the
instructions through so that you have a clear picture in
your mind of what the players are meant to do.
This game needs careful preparation:
• We suggest that you use condoms
for the hidden balloons. First because they are of a different
shape from traditional balloons and second because for many
people condoms are still a 'taboo'. Using condoms could
therefore lead to 'test' the limits of tolerance of some
participants. Furthermore, during discussion, the issues
of AIDS and discrimination against people who are HIV positive
could be raised.
• Find a suitable location to
hide the special balloons (condoms) but don't inflate them.
• Draw a map to identify this
location but make sure that the place can not be identified
from only half or three quarter of the map.
• Then cut up the map into four
pieces. Two pieces you will give to tribe Z. Fold up the
other two pieces and put one piece in each of two of the
balloons which you will give to tribe Y.
• Blow up the 8 coloured the
balloons and tie them with string so that they may be undone
and deflated without damaging them.
• Tape the four round red balloons
on the wall at one end of the hall (the coast where tribe
Z live) and tape the other four balloons on the wall at
the other end of the hall (the hills where tribe Y live).
Leave the two quarters of the map for tribe Z in an envelope
at their end of the room.
• Place the box of equipment
in the middle of the room. Do not specify what the items
could be used for. They may or may not be needed in the
game, it should be decided by the participants as they invent
their cultures and rules. Add other items if you think they
may be useful e.g. a magnifying glass if the map is very
small, a torch if the map is hidden in a dark place, a key
to unlock a box holding the map etc.
Helping the tribes learn a language
and develop their culture:
• This is an opportunity for
the players to be creative
• If a group finds this difficult
suggest that they substitute all consonants with a single
letter e.g. in English 'l' or 'r' work well. Other suggestions
include saying words backwards or starting each word with
a certain letter.
• Make sure that all members
are fluent in the language before proceeding and that the
groups know their culture.
The meeting:
By giving one tribe the biscuits and the
other the drink you will be creating an opportunity for
the players to learn each others' language. Players will
have to communicate if they are to solve the problem in
a mutually satisfactory way.
The search:
There are many possible outcomes depending
on the negotiating skills, temperament and the importance
of cultural values to the participants.
If the game gets stuck you may like to intervene
with one or more prompts. The scenario may proceed as follows:
• Players need to spot the pieces
of paper in Y's balloons.
• They then need to work out
that it is possible to retrieve the pieces of the map and
still respect Y's balloons.
• Careful observation will reveal
that the balloons could be untied, deflated and reinflated.
However, members of tribe B will need to negotiate carefully
to persuade Y to allow this to happen; someone will have
to break the cultural taboo about touching balloons and
tribe Y may demand that whoever does it wears a red nose
and has to be qualified to 'walk the circle'. This will
be another taboo to overcome.
• Initially there doesn't seem
to be any advantage for tribe Y if they help tribe Z because
tribe Z only has red balloons and tribe Y already has one
of them. However, it will turn out in the end that tribe
Y can gain because there are two new balloons hidden and
Z may share them.
Suggestions for follow up
Learning and growing are part of the continuous
process of intercultural education. But the process won't
happen and we won't reap the rewards unless we work at it.
Something you could do is to organise an intercultural festival
in your group or organisation and invite people from across
the local community to come and share food, drink, music,
dance, crafts and games etc.
It's not always as easy as we would wish
to feel comfortable with, or to accept, the ways of people
who are different. If you would like to explore how you
would feel about sharing a long train journey with people
who have habits and customs, which are different from yours,
then go to 'Euro-Rail "a la carte"'.
'The island' raised issues about
respect for people with different cultural values. Respect
and equality are fundamental to the concept of human rights.
If you are interested in pursuing these ideas further, then
the group may like to do the activity, 'Path
to Equality-land' in Compass. It focuses on gender
equality, but the method can easily be adapted to other
aspects of equality.
ROLE CARDS (to be copied
for participants)
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Role card for Tribe Y
You live on an island which is also inhabited by
another tribe. Your two tribes co-exist but you have
different languages and different cultures and rarely
meet each other.
Your language:
You must invent a special simple language to use
throughout the game. Make sure everyone in the group
can use it proficiently.
Your culture:
You put great value on the diversity of balloons
for religious reasons and try to collect as many different
types, shapes and colours as possible. The balloons
are considered sacred and no one is allowed to touch
them, if they do they face punishment. The only people
who may touch the balloons are those who have been
trained to perform the ritual of walking the circle.
In this rite the chosen person has to wear a red nose
and balance a balloon on their nose while walking
round the circle.
You need to invent some other aspects of your culture
including a name for your tribe, a way of greeting
and rules about your social organisation for example
who makes decisions and who speaks for the group.
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Role card for Tribe
Z
You live on an island which is also inhabited by
another tribe. Your two tribes co-exist but you have
different languages and different cultures and rarely
meet each other.
Your language
You must invent a special language to use throughout
the game. Make sure everyone in the group can use
if proficiently.
Your culture
You are a peaceful and sociable people. When you
greet each other you do so by rubbing noses. For this
reason it is considered very anti-social not to have
a very clean nose at all times. You put great value
on round red balloons which you use for medicine.
Red balloons are very scarce.
You need to invent some other aspects of your culture
including a name for your tribe and rules about your
social organisation for example who makes decisions
and who speaks for the group.
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