īy 1945, three dentists were assigned to Valley Forge after the Surgeon General discovered that their independent work had developed a new type of artificial eye which was described as "superior in every way to the current glass eyes." After perfecting their production techniques and teaching the staff at Valley Forge how to fabricate the eyes, the three dentists, Captain Stanley F.
In addition to physical treatment, the centers also focused on "social rehabilitation," helping the patients to adjust to their new condition before handing them over to the Veterans' Administration for further care-holding them past the point of "maximum medical benefit," in other words, in order to complete their social training. The Army's goal was to get newly identified cases of blindness to one of those hospitals as soon as possible, and if the patient could not be moved, to send a representative from the hospital to the patient's location to begin coordinating care as soon as possible. īy early 1944, Valley Forge General Hospital had been identified as one of two general hospitals-the other being Letterman General Hospital at the Presidio of San Francisco-which specialized in the treatment of patients who had suffered blinding eye injuries. The architecture was designed by Matthew Bookler. There were very long ramps leading from one floor to the other, to facilitate movement of wheelchairs and gurneys. One feature of the hospital was its design of primarily two story buildings, interconnected by corridors. Eventually, the hospital had well over 3,000 patients and over 100 separate buildings. It became the largest military hospital in the United States. The nighttime spirits of the ancestors would participate in this “electoral combat”, influencing their preferred candidate to win, giving their seal of approval to the new chief through the result of one or several games.The hospital was built in 1942, and opened on Washington's Birthday in 1943 to care for the wounded of World War II. The Alladian and Baule peoples of Ivory Coast also used this game at night and behind closed doors to determine who would be the next chief. The players only play to entice and distract the soul of the deceased and any other lurking spirits. However, sometimes, people will take this risk for ritual purposes.ĭuring funerary wakes, mancala is played at night in Dahomey, for example. It is believed that an individual’s soul could be stolen, they could be cursed with sickness, their mother could die, if they were to play during the time the spirits are active. Anyone playing at night takes extreme risks in attracting malicious spirits and offending them with mortal play. At night mancala players leave their game boards and pieces outside for the spirits’ entertainment. When a Fon girl of Dahomey has her first menstrual cycle, she will seclude herself in her home for seven days as part of her initiation, which includes playing mancala. Women who want to give birth to twins will play against pairs of girls or boys. Playing with a girl will increase the odds of the baby being born female, playing against a boy will inversely make it more likely their baby will be male. It’s thought to have an influence on the sex of unborn children, so the Baule women of Ivory Coast play a special variant of the mancala game in hopes of influencing their child’s development. Mancala can also take on a more serious aspect. The Dogon of Mali do not encourage children to play mancala for fear that it will bring misfortune to the village, but adults playing the game seemingly don’t carry the same risk. For example, The Wolof of Senegal traditionally forbid non-initiated boys from playing. In certain areas, it is seen as a man’s game, and in others areas, men don’t play, making it a female game.Īlthough mancala games have educational value in teaching arithmetic skills, some places forbid boys or girls from playing. The rules of who is allowed to play vary from place to place. The word Mancala is derived from the Arabic word Naqala (na-ka-la), which means “to move” or “to transfer” It is widely believed that Arab traders brought the game with them when traveling and it quickly spread all over Africa and the world, but it is uncertain to know where the game first originated. The board was carved out of limestone bearing a striking resemblance to modern-day Mancala boards. However, the oldest Mancala boards were found in An Ghazal, Jordan in the floor of a Neolithic dwelling. Ancient Mancala boards were found in Aksumite settlements in Matara, Eritrea, and Yeha, Ethiopia. There is archeological and historical evidence that dates Mancala back to the year 700 AD in East Africa. Mancala is one of the oldest known two-player board games in the world, believed to have been created in ancient times.