Baby Lawyer Muslim Church

Beach bumming has become an extremely popular weekend activity. And while I am always an advocate for more adventurous weekends, I also enjoy the relaxing tranquility of the Ghanaian beaches.

So it was no surprise that when Friday sunset rolled around, we found ourselves with toes in the sand, sipping on rum and cokes while discussing the state of the world. Somewhere between the waves, we struck up conversation with a local schoolgirl. And in an effort to exchange a little culture, she introduced us to an exciting game that she learned and played in school.

The game was called Baby Lawyer Muslim Church. The rules were these. Each player selects one of the key words (Baby, Lawyer, Muslim, or Church). Then, on the moderator’s count, participants throw down any number of fingers. The moderator proceeds to acknowledge each finger on the table with the next key word in the sequence. So the first finger is declared Baby, the second Lawyer, and so forth until all fingers have been exhausted. The last finger and kindred keyword determine the winner. Whoever selected this keyword before the finger throw-down is declared victor, and participants proceed to play again.

I was amazed by the game’s simplicity, incredulous with the game’s ability to entertain, and bewildered by the seemingly random word selection. Jiminy Cricket! But having had a minute to make meaning of my scattered thoughts, I realized this school game highlighted an important cultural difference. In the United States, we call Baby Lawyers anti-abortionists and Muslim Churches mosques, and neither is taught in the classroom.