Play time: 07:54 minutes. Recorded in Mudete, Kenya, March 4, 2014.

Vukinu Vwa Vana Mihiga Javita

Grace Otieno

Vukinu vwa vana mihiga jinu vuveye lugano muno kuvita mihiga javita. Mihiga javita avana kutula mihiga 5 kuduka mihiga 18 vali no vwiyangu vunyikhi vwokukola vukinu vwavo lugano lugano amadiku yago lisoma siliali ho dave. Avivuli vali nu vulindi vudididi ku vana vavo.

Avana avanyingi vatumikira tsisaa tsiavo mu vukinu kuli yivu, inguyu, idwalo, tsisimbi, muswerereko, kulomba tsingida na malungu no kwerema mu matsi.

Yiyi yali kuli egoofu ikinangwa na vasungu. Inguyu yakubangwa na vandu vaviri. Tsimbimbu yitsi kuduka tsive nitsiringa luvega lulala lwo kukuya inguyu. Inguyu yalombangwa kuvisala vitanyala kwadika mu inzira endoto dave. Vyakalangwa ahimbi tsingisi tsivaga tsya kirala. Nivenya kutanga kukuba vafuulanga inguyu mu vulimu hasi. Vatanga kuduya tsimbimbu hasi na vaduyanyia. Vakola ndiyo hali kavaga avatanga kukuya na kukuba inguyu. Mundu ugenyoye makuye ihale ahitanyala kunyoleka dave niye uguti.

IDWALO

Idwalo yalombangwa kutula ku kisala chali chamanyikana ne kidinyu kitanyala kwadika. Idwalo yalombangwa lugano lwe igunusu. Vanyoola migoye ja amakambi vavoha ku kisala. Vatanga kukuba nevodangana hasi muluguki. Yali inyala kukubwa na vandu vaviri naho mulala.

TSISIMBI

Tsisimbi tsiakubangwa hali kanyingi na vandu vahindira na vana vatalange ne miima milahi dave. Tsisimbi tsiakubirwanga amabesa naho vindi vindu. Tsisimbi tsigitsanga avana kuva avivi na avebali.

MISWEREREKO

Yivu nu vukinu vwakolangwa hali kanyingi na vana vayayi. Avana vatemanga mikovolo ja magomia mavatsia a he chaningiru keveye. Vavaka vodohi kutula igulu kutsia kuduka mmatsi. Mwana yaginganga mukovolo gwigwe ahira he kegomogomo chatangila ayikala ku mugonogomo gwigwe atanga kuswerereka kutsia kuduka mumatsi. Vwali vukinu vunene vwa avana vamadiku yago.

KWEREMA

Vukinu vwari vwa vana no kwerema. Avana vali vayanza mu kivanda no kwerema no kwidumbula. Hali kanyingi avana vagoeranga mu liedumbula ne tsing'ombe tsiavali nivayanga tsitsia kwiva vyokulia vya vandu mu murimi. Yivu nu vukinu vulala vuveye ho kuduka mihiga jinu.

VIKOLWA

Avana kandi vakolanga miyinzi ja makono. Valombanga vindu vyavakinala ku. Valomba vindu kuli tsingida kutula ku visala na malungu. Vweve yivu vwalange vukinu vulahi vwavambalalitsanga tsinganakani tsia vana.

Mihiga jinu sunyala kunyoola ligali avana ne vindu vyandali higulu yaha dave. Vwiyangu vwa avana amadiku ganu vwavugulwa na masomo. Avana vatula mugamba tsuli ma virana ha mugolova. Vwiyangu vwavetsa navwo ni muliengesa no mwisita. Kali ndiyo vaveye ne mikinu jindi na sukulu kuli mpira. Tsikalata, tsidurafuti ne mikinu jindi minyingi nitali sigiveye je kimwamu dave.

Bwakaveye vulahi niiva mikinu je kimwamu jinyala kutangitswa mu tsisukulu. Vukinu kuli sigudi, inguyu, volombi vwa amalungu ne tsingida no vukinu vwe tsidwalo.

Games for children long time ago

These days children's games are different from the long time. Long time ago children from 5 to 18 years had their different kinds of games. There was no education. Parents offered little care to their children.

Many children used to spend their time in such games, inguyi, idwalo, tsisimbi, muswerereko and making tsingida and malungu and swimming.

It was like golf played by white men. It was played by two people.it involved two sides. It was made out of sticks that cannot break easily. They were cut short three inches from one another. When they started playing they kept inguyu in grass. They start to hit the tsimbimbu down. They did that three times then they start playing the inguyu. One who hit it to the furthest place where it could not be found is the one who won.

IDWALO

It was made out of a stick that was known that it cannot break easily. It was made separately from the igunusu. They found ropes and then they tied it on a stick. Then they start to hit as it rotates on the ground. It could be played by two or one person.

TSISIMBI

It was played most of the time by grownups or children who do not have good behaviors. They were played using money or other things. This game used to teach children to become thieves.

MISWEREREKO

This is a game that was played mostly by boys. Children used to cut banana stems and moves to a sloppy place. They applied mud from the top down to the water. A child used to cut his banana stem and moves to a sloppy place, then he sits on that stem and slides down to the water. It was a great game for the children of those days.

SWIMMING

The game for the children was swimming. Children used to like swimming at the river. Most of the time children used to concentrate on swimming and forget the cows that they were looking after. The cows used to get into people's farm and eat what they had planted. This is one of the games that is played in the present days.

VIKOLWA

Children used to do handy work. They used to make toys. They used to make things like bicycle from sticks. This game was nice it used to broaden the mind of children.

These days you cannot find children with the things that I have mentioned above. Most of their time has been taken by education. They go out very early in the morning and return in the evening. The time that they have is muliengesa or mwisita. Although they have other games at school like football, cards, draft and other games that are not African games.

It would be good if African games can be started in schools. Games like playing drums, inguyu, making toys like bicycle or tsidwalo.