Where have our traditional games gone? :: Mmegi Online

Life in the olden days was golden, affordable and enjoyable. Unlike today’s generation, children used to make their own dolls out of tattered cloths and wood, and wool was used to play malepa and so many other games. Games and fun were free. Of recent these games are forgotten while a few that remain seem to be in the line of extinction.

Due to new technologies, change of lifestyle and transformation, traditional games adopted from earlier generations have disappeared as their progeny spend most of their time watching television sets, playing with factory-line dolls, video games, computer games and the internet.

During an interview with Arts & Culture, 18-year-old Mpho Bulala (student) said, “I know traditional games and I have played them since I was young. Growing up at Moshupa, together with my friends I played koi (skipping rope) diketo, mantlwane (where children would mimic real family life and emulate individuals in the family). The last time I played these games was in 2011 when I then decided to focus on my studies. However, my siblings are still playing them.”

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