Toys and Games from Africa
People have played games in Africa since the beginning
of time and some games have not unchanged over the
years
Over the years, children in Africa played with rocks,
sticks, stones, leaves, bones etc and creatively turned
these into ‘make-believe’ toys representative of real-life
items/objects
Games have been passed down from generation to
generation:
o
o
o
o
o
Races
Hide and seek
Leap frog
Skipping
Cultural dance
Sack races
Hopscotch
Jump rope
Marbles (made from clay)
Singing and clapping
Africa has its own Olympic Games, the “All Africa Games”
and the first was held in Madagascar in 1960
African Board Games
Board games date back to 600AD and the majority of them still
are popular today
Mancala played throughout Africa and one of the oldest
indigenous games which integrates all 6 ELDA’s from NCF
Ampe - Ghana
This is an active group game that involves lots of clapping,
singing and jumping and has been passed done from
generations
Morabaraba, South Africa / Shax, Somalia
Played in both South Africa and Somalia and used to teach herd boys tactical
thinking skills when dealing with cattle, it is also known as cows
Rules differ from region to region. There are 2 players each with 12 cows of
different colours. They place the cows on the board aiming to get 3 cows of the
same colours lined up.
Zamma Dhamet, North Africa
The game dates back to 1400BC and is similar to checkers and is still a very
popular game today. The black pieces are called men and white are called
women. The black pieces make the first move.
Butterfly, Mozambique
Although the board is shaped differently, this game of skill that is similar to
checkers and is still played today. Each player had 9 pieces which they place on
each side of the board. They capture their opponents by hopping over them into
available empty spaces.
Tsoro Yematatu, Zimbabwe
A game played by 2 players and each gets 3 pieces each. There are 7 points
wehre the pieces can be placed and the aim is to creat a row of 3 with their colour.
They can hop over their opponent into an empty space
Dara/Derrah/Doki, Nigeria
This game is similar to noughts and crosses and has been played for hundreds of
years. Each player has 12 stones which they drop alternatively into the empty
squares. When a player has 3 in a row, they can take out an enemy piece
Nyama-Nyama-Nyama, Kenya
Nyama means ‘meat’ in Swahili and this game is still played across East Afica
among children of all ages. A leader stands in the middle of a circle, the group
jumps up each time an animal is named and they shout Nyama when leader
mentions an animal you can eat.
Nchuba, Zambia
This is a game played by school children, traditionally girls. The game begins
by digging a small hole about 25cm wide and 10 small rocks are placed around
the perimeter. The girls sit aournd the hole and take turns tossing a larger rock
into the air and using the same hand to move one of the perimeter rocks into
the hole
South African Toys
Typical cultural home-made toys that have been passed down over generations and are
still popular today:
Vuvuzela:
Wire beaded animals:
Catty:
Ball:
South African Toys
Wire push cars and trucks
Bicycles and go cars
South African Toys
Dolls
Xhosa dolls
Zulu dolls
SA Ndebele “Barbie” doll
South African Toys
Dolls made from mango pips,
cashew seeds and material
Ntomb’entle Dolls are dressed in a variety of
traditional outfits
Musical Instruments
Tic Toc Drums
Bean rattle string
Drums
Rain sticks
Balafon (African Marimba)
Maracus