Children in Weltevreden Valley Hall in Cape Town play iintonga. Iintonga is a stick fighting game made popular by boys herding livestock. It is played by two people armed with two long sticks, one for attack and one for defence. The players hit each other with the sticks until one surrenders. This game is still used to settle disputes and grudges between two men or boys. Photos: Qaqamba Falithenjwa
Indigenous games like morabaraba “remind children who they are”, says coach
Cape Town, South Africa (27 September 2023) – About 100 children from Samora Machel, Philippi, in Cape Town gathered over the Heritage Day weekend to play traditional games such as morabaraba, iintonga, ncuva and dibeke.
Coach Neo Mbongo said the indigenous games reminded children of their culture “and who they are”. He said often when children went from Cape Town to the Eastern Cape and were given iintonga (sticks) to play with, “they wouldn’t even know what to do with them”.
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Tyler Leigh Vivier is a writer for Good Things Guy.
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