Classic African Board Game Songo a Space for Learning, Collaboration
Classic African Board Game Songo a Space for Learning, Collaboration
Classic African Board Game Songo a Space for Learning, Collaboration
By Allyson Myers
October 18, 2023
Summary
Songo is played using a wooden board with 14 small compartments, or holes, laid out in two rows of seven, with two larger holes in each end, one for each of the two players.
Certain actions allow players to "Capture" seeds, placing them into their end hole, and the first player to reach 40 seeds is declared the winner.
Though Bayeck didn't play Songo herself, as the game is played primarily by men in the culture, she remembered watching the way that players interacted with one another and how spectators collaborated with those playing.
Reconnecting with her childhood curiosity, Bayeck decided to pursue a better understanding of what people are learning and what literacies they are developing when they play Songo.
"It's almost like an erasure of people's culture, design abilities, and how the game is connected to the people's history." Working with three playing groups in different areas in Yaoundé, the capitol city of Cameroon, Bayeck has observed and recorded hours of gameplay and conducted many interviews to learn about Songo, the people who play it, and its role in the community.
Songo has many distinct and complex rules beyond the basic gameplay; as Bayeck learns to play the game herself, she is learning how the deeper culture of the game is influenced by the culture of the communities who created it and continue to play it today.
Following the patterns of values she observes among Songo players, Bayeck envisions classrooms where students do not see themselves as competing with their classmates but rather feel that the more they help their fellow learners, the more proficient they themselves will become.
Reference
Myers, A. (2023, October 18). Classic African board game Songo a space for learning, collaboration. Welcome To Utah State University. https://www.usu.edu/today/story/classic-african-board-game-songo-a-space-for-learning-collaboration