MYINDA
MYINDA (
μυΐνδα) was a game in
which one was blindfold, or was obliged to keep his eyes shut (
μύειν). As may be seen from the description in
Pollux, there were other varieties of the game besides our
“blind-man's buff” included under this name. Pollux (9.113)
says, “Either one who is blinded (
καταμύων) cries
φυλάττου
and compels any one whom he catches to be blinded in his place, or
searches for the others, who hid themselves while he had his eyes
covered (
μύσαντος κρνφθέντας), till he
finds them; or lastly, still blindfold, when any one touches him, or if
any one gives a sign (
προσδείξῃ),
guesses who it is until he gives a right name.” There seems no
need for any alteration in the last clause such as Grasberger's
μύσας τοὺς κρυφθέντας (where the force of the
concise genitive absolute appears to be misunderstood), or
προσθρέξῃ for
προσδείξῃ, which means, probably, giving some clue to
identity by laughing or speaking. Clearly the second variety is our
“hide and seek” (much the same as
ἀποδιδρασκίνδα); the first and third are two forms of
blind-man's buff, differing in the point that the third requires the
“blind-man” to guess the name of any one who touches him or
speaks. (Becq de Fouquières seems to change the nominatives
τις into the objective case.) The
guessing by the blindfold occurs also in the game which Pollux calls
κολλαβισμός (i. e. buffeting =
κολαφισμός), to which, rather than to
μυΐνδα, we must refer Luke 22.64. It is a more
difficult question to decide the origin of the name
χαλκῆ μνῖα for another kind of blindman's buff (Poll.
9.123; Eustath.
ad Il. 21.394). We are told that the players
blindfolded one of their number (
ταινίᾳ τῳ
ὀφθαλμὼ προσφίγξαντες), who cried
χαλκῆν μυῖαν θηράσω, to which the others answered
θηράσεις ἀλλ᾽ οὐ λήψει, and struck him with
whips of papyrus till he caught one of them. It is clear that the warning
cry before the pursuit is like the
φυλάττου
in
μνΐνδα, and also that the pursued are
the “bronze flies.” From Eustathius we gather that the
χαλκῆ μυῖα was a sort of bronzecoloured
cockchafer, which boys let go in the dark after they had tied a small
lighted wax taper to it (compare the
μηλολόνθη attached to a thread, Poll. 9.124; and Schol.
ad
Aristoph. Wasps 1322). It is said that
the same, not very creditable, amusement is known to Cretan boys of the
present day, and Grasberger (p. 75) adopts this explanation of the difficult
passage in
Aristoph. Ach. 920-
924,
τίφη
being an insect treated in this manner. It is possible that we may also find
in this practice the explanation of the name
χαλκῆ
μυῖα in the above game, as derived from the general idea of
chasing something in the dark. (Becq de Fouquières,
Jeux
des Anciens, p. 84; Grasberger,
Erziehung, pp. 42
ff.)
[
G.E.M]
