Children's Games: What Was Played, Where and How

A survey of traditional Yorùbá children's games, examining the performance rules, songs, spatial arrangements, and social functions of outdoor recreational play.

introhigh15 min

Yorùbá children's games constitute an organized oral and physical tradition through which youth acquire spatial agility, linguistic fluency, social ethics, and communal solidarity. Performed outdoors in compound courtyards, open streets, and under the light of the moon, these pastimes combine physical movement, call-and-response vocalizations, rhythmic coordination, and roleplay. This overview examines the principal game forms documented across southwestern Nigeria, detailing their performance rules, linguistic structures, and socio-developmental functions.

Children's Games: What Was Played, Where and How

A survey of traditional Yorùbá children's games, examining the performance rules, songs, spatial arrangements, and social functions of outdoor recreational play.

introhigh15 min

Yorùbá children's games constitute an organized oral and physical tradition through which youth acquire spatial agility, linguistic fluency, social ethics, and communal solidarity. Performed outdoors in compound courtyards, open streets, and under the light of the moon, these pastimes combine physical movement, call-and-response vocalizations, rhythmic coordination, and roleplay. This overview examines the principal game forms documented across southwestern Nigeria, detailing their performance rules, linguistic structures, and socio-developmental functions.