Inaas Yassin

7 Stones, a traditional Palestinian game of rebuilding under attack

Inass Yassin organised a tournament of the game 7 Stones during her stay in La Pigna:

In this game Team A will try to rebuild the 7 stones pile under the attack of team B who will keep trying to hunt A members. It is dual game of rebuild and attack.

It is a game to be played in public space, by adults or children.

(photo by Inaas Yassin)

The game was announced by spreading posters in the city of Sanremo and In La Pigna in Italian, English and Arabic, the game was organized at Piazzea  Santa Brigida  and  2 match were held. It was fun!

(photo by Inaas Yassin)

Background information:

Despite the fact that this game might be played in other countries in the region,  it has been particularly appropriated by people of Palestine because of the similarity that Palestinians live in their life under occupation.

Palestine is rich with stones and rocks as natural resources. It has been the main supply for the building of houses and the land boundaries.  It has also played a main role in the struggle against the occupation, stones were the only tool that children used to confront the Israeli occupation in the first Intifada which erupted in 1987-1993 against the Israeli military. Therefore has become a national symbol in Palestinian history, and this is why the Palestinian children are called Stones Children. In another citing for the game, the Palestinian artist Vladimire Tamari who is living in Japan wrote” The game in a certain way is symbolic of Palestine’s history. The Palestinians are always trying to build their country while under attack by invading armies.  Ur-Salam the Canaanite city (Jerusalem) has been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt from time immemorial. Suffering invasion or occupation by ancient Israelites, Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, British and Zionists among others suffering various sorts of damage or drastic change, and being remade each time.  The only times Jerusalem did not suffer any destruction by an occupying army were perhaps when the Byzantines and then the Moslems ruled it.”

Inass Yassin. August 2010

for more about Inass, please look for her on our residents page