Functions of Children’s Games and Game Songs: A Case Study of the amaNdebele in Mpumalanga Province

Abstract

Children’s games and game songs are part of the traditional literature that was handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. However, on a more subtle level, game songs can also be performed by children to vent secret feelings or experiences that they dare not express openly. The question to be asked is, how do children vent their emotions through games and game songs? The aim of this article is to show how children’s games and game songs could function to assist children with challenges. The current research was mainly initiated by the performance of the monologue game songs played by some children in primary schools. Children in Grade R to Grade 6 often aired experiences that they could not easily share. Similar research has been conducted by scholars who emphasise the importance of using games and play in the education of Shona children. They conclude that Shona traditional children’s games and play songs help children to learn. In this article, the qualitative method was used to collect data through interviews, questionnaires, observations and related books and documents. Interviews were conducted in Mpumalanga province, in the Dr JS Moroka Local Municipality, at the University of Mpumalanga. Different coding schemes were used to collect and interpret the data. This article argues that games and game songs help children to vent and to internalise individual challenges. Games and game songs also help children to learn in different ways.