Tanzanian Bao Game - a popular game played here, especially in the coastal areasEven in this day and age, there are still places in the world (Tanzania being one of them) were many people do not have things like mobile phones, internet access, play stations, ipods, television or even the ability to read and instead they find ways to occupy their spare time and keep themselves entertained the ‘old fashioned’ way.
Church is probably one of the biggest social events of the week for people and many people have told me that the main reason they attend Church on a Sunday is because it is a means of meeting each week with neighbours and people from other villages and a chance to get dressed up in their smart clothes and out of the house and the daily grind of chores (like herding livestock, chopping firewood, collecting water). Market day is another one of these days, and is treated here as a real social event.
Football (soccer) is a great pastime here for the men. Not many people have access to footballs here, so it is common to see children especially kicking homemade balls around which have been made from rolled up bits of newspaper and old plastic bags. Women enjoy sitting for ages under the shade of a tree and braiding each other’s hair and catching up on the local gossip.
In the camps, our staff amused themselves in their off time with card games and draughts – made from a simple piece of old wood (or the side of a cardboard box) with soda bottle tops in 2 different colours as the ‘draughts’. More serious games would entail “betting” with match sticks and the object was to see who had the most matchsticks at the end of the game !
Board games are popular here and the photograph above is of a Tanzanian game known as Bao. It is played all over Africa although I only ever became aware of it when we moved to Tanzania. I have seen it played here mostly in the coastal areas, and it also seems to be quite popular on the island of Zanzibar.
The word “Bao” means “board” in the local Kiswahili language and the game consists of a wooden ‘board’ which has rows of holes carved into it and each player has his own stones (or seeds) which he must “sow” into the holes of 'his' row. (Although I have also seen it being played on the roadside, where the holes are hollowed out of the dry Tanzanian soil under the shade of an old tree, and the stones are just pebbles collected nearby & placed into the dusty hollows).
Bao is based on a Mancala game – the word ‘Mancala’ covering a large range of board games consisting of ‘pit and pebble’ games - or ‘count & capture’ or ‘sowing’ techniques.
The object of the game is basically to empty your opponents row of stones whilst protecting your own.
This Bao board above is one I have had for 10 years now – the stones are kept in a hand made leather bag (sewn with fine wire) with Maasai beadwork on the side. I have it as a decoration in my main lounge - it sits happily on top of an old railway sleeper box and every time I see it, it reminds me of the time I first learnt of the game, and of our camp staff playing games like this by the light of a hurricane lantern late into the night, as the campfire slowly died down and the haunting sound of the hyena echoed across the otherwise still night air …………..
Church is probably one of the biggest social events of the week for people and many people have told me that the main reason they attend Church on a Sunday is because it is a means of meeting each week with neighbours and people from other villages and a chance to get dressed up in their smart clothes and out of the house and the daily grind of chores (like herding livestock, chopping firewood, collecting water). Market day is another one of these days, and is treated here as a real social event.
Football (soccer) is a great pastime here for the men. Not many people have access to footballs here, so it is common to see children especially kicking homemade balls around which have been made from rolled up bits of newspaper and old plastic bags. Women enjoy sitting for ages under the shade of a tree and braiding each other’s hair and catching up on the local gossip.
In the camps, our staff amused themselves in their off time with card games and draughts – made from a simple piece of old wood (or the side of a cardboard box) with soda bottle tops in 2 different colours as the ‘draughts’. More serious games would entail “betting” with match sticks and the object was to see who had the most matchsticks at the end of the game !
Board games are popular here and the photograph above is of a Tanzanian game known as Bao. It is played all over Africa although I only ever became aware of it when we moved to Tanzania. I have seen it played here mostly in the coastal areas, and it also seems to be quite popular on the island of Zanzibar.
The word “Bao” means “board” in the local Kiswahili language and the game consists of a wooden ‘board’ which has rows of holes carved into it and each player has his own stones (or seeds) which he must “sow” into the holes of 'his' row. (Although I have also seen it being played on the roadside, where the holes are hollowed out of the dry Tanzanian soil under the shade of an old tree, and the stones are just pebbles collected nearby & placed into the dusty hollows).
Bao is based on a Mancala game – the word ‘Mancala’ covering a large range of board games consisting of ‘pit and pebble’ games - or ‘count & capture’ or ‘sowing’ techniques.
The object of the game is basically to empty your opponents row of stones whilst protecting your own.
This Bao board above is one I have had for 10 years now – the stones are kept in a hand made leather bag (sewn with fine wire) with Maasai beadwork on the side. I have it as a decoration in my main lounge - it sits happily on top of an old railway sleeper box and every time I see it, it reminds me of the time I first learnt of the game, and of our camp staff playing games like this by the light of a hurricane lantern late into the night, as the campfire slowly died down and the haunting sound of the hyena echoed across the otherwise still night air …………..
