FEBRUARY 2021

Gorial Esshaki, Thomas Denha, Karim Sarafa,
Mansouri Denha, Gorgies Savaya,
and Hormuz Denha circa 1956
Hanna Shina leads Khugga Dance at Southfield Manor
Khugga Dance
Southfield Manor Part III – The Story Continues
BY DR. ADHID MIRI
In this piece, the words and names
come alive and speak to us about
the golden days of Southfield
Manor.
Entertainment and weddings
were some of the main purposes to
frequent the club. Group gatherings
are an extraordinary way to bond
with friends over food, beverages,
and card games in the nighttime.
Playing cards at the club was a huge
attraction and an enjoyable social
activity for our members.
The Games and the Gamers
Card games have always been very
popular among Chaldean people.
Any social gathering or family get
together seems incomplete without
them. Since childhood, we were
taught a lot of card games to play
with siblings, cousins and friends; no
doubt to keep us occupied for many
fun-filled hours.
For some card players, rearranging
or shuffling a deck of cards and playing
a couple of rounds of their most
loved amusement is a tried-and-true
method of loosening up toward the
finish of a difficult day. These games
were ideal for boosting memory and
self-control plus improving intelligence
and reasoning abilities. A
route for individuals to take their
brains off different things without
much effort; for some members, an
occasion to unwind and refocus.
Let me paint a picture: as you
entered the building, you were faced
with the two parts of the banquet
facility. The left side was especially
interesting with its mix of ladies
and their husbands engaged in the
pastime games of Kon-Kan, Poker,
Wishlaiany, Dominos, plus the onlookers
watching from the sidelines.
Familiar names and faces would
fill the room and greet you with energy
you as you entered. Najib, Shakir
and Nouri Karmo, Thomas and Mike
Denha, Jameel Yono, Salim Bahoura,
Latif Yaldoo, Faieq Esshaki, Manuel
and Jimmy Jonna, George Askar,
Faraj Dally, Badie Bodiya, Sliwa Pattah,
Gorgies Dakki, Yousif Kammano,
Yousif Mckanni (Abo Tahseen),
Roxi Yaldo, and Sabah and Gabriel
Sinawi were regulars at the club.
A few younger members would
be hanging around too, looking for a
card game. Zuhair Karmo (Rzayjja),
Mukhlus Karmo, Jerry Yaldo, and
Johnny Koza, to name a few. Zuhair
Yaldo was a distinct character with
his multi-color polyester shirts and
matching color slacks, with a large
set of keys hanging on his side leading
you to think he was a prison warden
or high school superintendent.
The Grand Masters of Poker:
I’m All In!
Poker is one of the most universally
known card games in existence. The
game we know as poker is believed
to have ancient roots that go back
nearly 1,000 years, crossing several
continents and cultures. It is a man’s
game. The gentlemen listed below
showcase Southfield Manor’s best
poker talent and players with the
highest level of skills and guts in this
fun game. The idea of listing these
great poker players is simply to bring
to the forefront the lesser known side
of these Grand Masters.
The Hall and Activity Room
Table one was, without a doubt, the
premier champions’ table was dominated
by master players like Bassim
Kassab, Mike Bahoura, Jamal Koza,
Faris Kassab, Nouri Choulagh, Dr.
Hillal Elia, Karim Toma, Phillip
Shamas, Shawkat Fatoohi, Salman
Yaldo, Rufi Ayar, Dawood Boji,
Yousif Qarana, Charli Askar, Zuhair
Jonna, and Fiktor Choulagh, among
others. Ibrahim Choulagh and Amer
Khames were regulars from Windsor,
Canada. Abo Salih (Amin Tobia
Summa) was a standby player and
chips organizer.
This is where the ‘real’ poker
game was happening, which attracted
solid players. The poker chips
were neatly prepared, counted and
readied ahead of the arrival of the
‘champs.’ There was no time to waste
in this high-stakes game. The chips
organizer, Abo Salih, arrived an hour
before the play to insure the availability
of two new decks of cards (the
Axe type) plus poker chips of various
denominations. Dollar chips were
white, five dollars were red, ten were
green, fifty were yellow and one hundred
dollar chips were black. This
group would never accept replacing
the poker chips with jellybeans or
M&M colored candies.
The game was mostly fair; however,
at times with either heavenly
intervention or swift collection by a
nimble hand during the shuffle, a few
high value chips would miraculously
disappear from the pot to the astonishment
of the winner! A cover up
debate would quickly ensue in order
to dismiss any legal claim, as the players
readied for the next round. By the
end of the night some were poorer,
others a lot happier. At times, the
games would continue after closing
to one of the players’ homes, playing
through to the morning when they
got kicked out by the host’s wife!
There were a few other tables
around the poker room. Table two’s
team was Sammi Kassab, Oraha
Shounia, Sabri Denha, Mike Denha,
and Ramzi Giezy. Table three had Salim
Yaldo, Basil Boji, Freddie Najor,
Mike Khami, Khalid Kalasho, Yalda
Atty, George Abbo, and Zuhair Yaldo.
A pre-Grand Masters game was
played during the first five years of
the club at a table near the hall’s
kitchen door. The game was Dealer’s
Choice/ Cincinnati/ High & Low.
The original players were Bassim
Kassab, Zeek Zebari, Sliwa Battah,
Edward Gorieal, Sabah Attisha,
Karim Toma, Rufi Ayar, Sabah Isho
(Abo NuNu), and Ibrahim Choulagh
from Canada.
Samir Ajemy, the manager, was
very supportive of the player’s needs
and stayed with the players as the
game extended to the early hours
of the morning. At times he would
personally deliver carryout to player’s
home to feed a relocated game and
was then frequently invited to join
the ongoing poker game. Samir,
though, was an amateur and no equal
to the poker masters. Almost always,
he would lose all his pocket cash plus
the delivery money he’d received!
KonKan
This is primarily a lady’s game. Konkan
is the most popular Chaldean card
game for all ages and across the globe.
The Indians, Chinese and Spanish
people play a similar variation of this
popular game. History books are written
about Konkan in order to explore
the origin of this amazing game.
Konkan was a very popular game
among the club ladies who occupied
the left side of the hall, where they
enjoyed playing cards as a source of
fun and excitement. Playing cards
was always in fashion as an ideal way
to reconnect with family and friends,
especially with those not seen in a
long time.
Most people play card games for
the entertainment value it provides,
reaping the benefits of bolstering
emotional and mental health. Card
games like KonKan, Wishlaiany, and
Poker keep the mind active, boosts
concentration, and offers a social
outlet - key factors for a happy and
cheerful life.
The Ladies Konkan tables were
usually made of the same five players
and most of them played together
on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays.
The regulars teams were: Virginia
(Nadhir) Denha, Rabab Binno, Ann
Jonna, Virginia Kassab, and Suham
Mackani; Sherina (Nadhir) Kashat,
Bernadette Sarafa, Hayat Sesi, Thuraiya
Kassab, and Georgette Karmo;
Thuraiya Kassab, Asia Shouniya,
Joan Garmo, Linda Zebari, and Ilham
Elia; Ikhlas Qa-Korkies, Ikhlas
Najor, Azhar Koza, Feryal Dano,
and Lulu Koza; Mary Dabbish, Enam
28 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2021