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The Numbers Gang (or the Numbers Gangs and associated with different numbers in different prisons) is a prison gang with one of the most fearsome reputations in South Africa.〔http://www.2oceansvibe.com/simon/whores.htm〕 They are known to operate primarily in the Western Cape prison of Pollsmoor, however it is thought that they control most of the South African prisons.〔http://www.issafrica.org/Pubs/Monographs/No64/Chap2.html〕 ==Origin== Although the origins of the gang remain sketchy at best the story of Nongoloza and Ngeleketshane is the story that has been consistently passed over the years.〔("Prison Mythology" ), servamus.co.za, 22 December 2009.〕 A man named Po,〔Po is the name the 27s have given this character while the 28s refer to him as Nguluguthu〕 who was said to embody the interests of all black people. Po noticed that young men left their homelands and went to the mines, never to return. He then wondered why this was the case, and ventured off to the mines to find out why. When he saw how they lived and how they were treated, Po became upset. He went off to his cave near Pietermaritzburg and pondered, finally coming to the decision that deliverance of these young men was necessary. One day Po spotted a young Zulu man who identified himself as Nongoloza who said he was on his way to the mines to look for work. Po then warns the young man of the conditions in the mines, telling him they will ultimately lead to his demise. Po then persuades Nongoloza to join him in his crusade against white oppression. Nongoloza agrees to this and joins the wise man in his cave. The next day another young man approaches. Po greets the young man who introduces himself as Ngeleketshane, a member of the Pondo tribe. He too agrees to join Po. Po eventually recruits 15 young men. He teaches them a secret language and advances their skills in the art of highway robbery. The men succeed in robbing travellers and colonial outposts of their goods. The gang chooses to change their habits to avoid being caught. They move from cave to cave and split themselves into two groups: Ngeleketshane with his seven men who rob by the day, and Nongoloza and his six men who rob by night. Po orders the two men to carve their daily outlaw activities on a nearby rock which is to serve as a diary. Po then orders the two men to visit a farm, owned by a Mr. Rabie, and to buy one of his bulls called Rooiland (Red Earth). Mr. Rabie is suspicious, and he refuses to sell the two men the bull. The two youths refuse to leave without carrying out their order, and proceed to stab the farmer with bayonets and then steal the bull. A huge feast takes place at the cave between the gangsters and Po carefully oversees the slaughter and dismembering of the bull. Po tells his two apprentices to fill one of the bull's horns with its blood and gall and to each take a drink of it. Ngeleketshane sips the mixture and immediately spits it out saying that it will poison him. Nongoloza drinks from the horn without flinching. According to Nongoloza's supporters this proves Ngeleketshane's cowardice, while according to Ngeleketshane's supporters this proves that Nongoloza is an evil muti man (''evil potion man''). Po then orders the men to take the hide of the bull and press it onto the diary rock until the words have been transferred from the rock to the hide. With two copies of the gang's way, Po explains the bandits must follow the rules as they have been set out from the beginning. The two items are divided between the two men. Nongoloza receives the hide and Ngeleketshane receives the rock. The two are instructed to carry them wherever they go. The rock, however, proves to be too awkward to carry and one day it is accidentally dropped down a hill. It splits into two pieces, one of which falls into a river. This leaves Ngeleketshane's gang with only half of the gang's laws. The first conflict of the two gangs takes place because of this incident. The two gangs decide to embark on a joint expedition. Nongoloza says he is sick and decides to stay behind. He asks one of Ngeleketshane's soldiers, Magubane, to stay behind. Upon returning Ngeleketshane finds Nongoloza engaged in homosexual acts with Magubane. Enraged, Kilkijan challenges Nongoloza to a fight. Nongoloza replies that according to the hide sex between bandits is allowed as to avoid contact with women.〔This was to prevent venereal disease which weakened the gang.〕 Kilkijan retaliates by saying that he does not trust Nongoloza, believing he added this law to the hide after half his rock went missing. The two men commence fighting until they are both drenched in blood, and Po arrives to intervene. Po listens to both men's sides of the story. He then tells Kilkijan to travel to the mines to see if men were engaging in sex with one another. Kilkijan finds that this does indeed take place, but opinions remained divided as to whether this justified Nongoloza's act. This was to become the pivotal disagreement between the two gangs that persist to this day. Po had informed the men that at the entrance of his cave was an old assegai, and if the two men found the tip of the assegai rusted, it would mean that Po had died. Due to the death of Po, a final decision on whether sexual intercourse between men was allowed never came to pass. This prediction had come true and the two gangs decided to go their separate ways: Nongoloza's gang with its now eight men (which included Magubane, who he decided to take with him) and Kilkijan's gang with its seven. It is said that this is where the numbers "27" and "28" originated, with the number "2" symbolising the two leaders. The gangs agree that the day would still be divided between them as it had always been. Kilkijan said: "''You will recognize me by two rays of dawn sunlight: one over my right shoulder, the other in front of me''". The gangs continued to roam the countryside until they both ended up in Point Prison in Durban. It was at Point Prison that they encountered a group of six men, led by a man named Grey, who were franse (non-gangsters). The six men would sit in a circle and flip a single silver coin between them. Nongoloza demanded that the men hand over their possessions to him; he is refused. Later he is told by Kilkijan that these men were skilled smugglers and gamblers who had helped him in his early days in prison.〔Van Onselen, New Babylon, New Nineveh, 368–397.〕 Nongoloza decides to name the coin a "''Spyker''" (nail) while Kilkijan insists that they should call it a "''Kroon''" (crown). A fight broke out between Nongoloza and Kilkijan about the future of the gamblers. Kilkijan defended the gamblers against the 28's sexual appetites, which is what Nongoloza wanted them for. After many disagreements it was finally decided by Nongoloza that the new group would be called the "26s". This name was chosen because they had six men but also because Nongoloza wanted to indicate their inferior status. Nongoloza informed Kilkijan that he and his men would have to answer for the actions of the 26s. It was said that Nongoloza said to Kilkijan "When they commit a wrong, I will not go to them, I will come to you". Kilkijan replied "That is all well and good, but when you wrong them I will come to you". Finally the three camps were formed. The 26s were responsible for gambling, smuggling and accruing wealth in general. The 28s were the warriors and responsible for fighting on behalf of all three groups, and the 27s were the guardians of gang law and the peace keepers between all the gangs. New rules and a strict code of conduct were drawn up. It was decided that when a gangster broke a rule, the blood of a warder or frans (non-gangster) must be spilled to set things right. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Numbers Gang」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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