There is a wide variety of traditional games in Africa. They include variations of foot-racing, jumping, stick-fighting, dancing, moonlight and ritual plays, swimming, horse racing, and wrestling, as well as board games and gambling games.
Background and types In the precolonial period, participants in physical sports could gain status, identity, and power. Some types include foot-racing, jumping, stick-fighting, dancing, moonlight and ritual plays, swimming, horse-racing, and wrestling. In the latter, participants would often represent their village or region, training from a young age for the big community events. Physical skill has traditionally been associated with hunting, pastoral work, food gathering, and warriors. In some parts of the continent sport was taken very seriously, in others less so, for instance in Setswana the closest match means "play that is not serious". Canoe racing was common along the Ubangi River in Central Africa, and warriors engaged in archery, spear throwing, and cattle racing. Sport was traditionally masculine, and largely excluded women, except in dance, and in some cases wrestling. However many traditional games have been poorly documented and lost.
Gambling was widespread and often played at high stakes, where games were interpreted within the relevant cosmologies. Regions where it was especially popular were the Guinea coast and Central Africa, however it was usually stigmatised.
Colonial governments viewed the expansion of European sports as key to their "civilising mission", and many traditional games died out. Colonial education systems formalised the teaching of Western sports, thought to instil "moral character", while traditional sports were viewed as "primitive, immoral, and anti-Christian". In some cases, mission schools promoted traditional games that had close European counterparts. The Tutsi high-jumping contest gusimbuka was revered by colonists. Gambling games such as abbia in Cameroon were suppressed.
In the postcolonial period, Western sports have been heavily prioritised over traditional sports. Physical education in the present-day remains largely based on the colonial/Western model, and traditional sports aren't usually included in the curriculum. There are also no traditional sports in the African Games. The African Traditional Sports and Games Confederation (ATSGC), a branch of the International Council of Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG), seeks to protect Africa's traditional games, and the first African Traditional Sports and Games is scheduled to be held in Swakopmund, Namibia for June 2026.
Physical games
North Africa Name Type Group (country) Sources Hyena chase Foot-racing North Africa TahtibStick-fightingEgypt
West Africa Name Type Group (country) SourcesAmpeRhythmic game (girls only)Nigeria and GhanaGidigboWrestlingYoruba people (Nigeria)Agbārin ( Ārin) Yoruba people (Nigeria)DambeWrestlingHausa people (Nigeria)Ata soChildren's gameNigeriaLucha canariaWrestlingGuanches and Canarians (Canary Islands, Spain)Asafo atweleMartial artGa people (Ghana)PiloloChildren's gameGhanaSenegalese wrestlingWrestlingSenegalAbaogoRacket gameCôte d'IvoireEgedeRacket gameNigerAfrican ball toss ( "coconut golf")Ball gameWest Africa (especially Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea)
Central Africa Name Type Group (country) SourcesCapoeira AngolaAngolaKandekaMartial artAngolaN'golo Martial artAngolaThe documentary Jogo de Corpo. Capoeira e Ancestralidade (2013) by Matthias Assunção and Mestre Cobra Mansa provides insights into this development. BulunduBall gameLuba people (DR Congo)Camel racingChad among othersKuliBall gameTio people (Republic of Congo)
East Africa Name Type Group (country) SourcesGusimbukaHigh jumpingTutsi (Rwanda and Burundi)Camel racingKenya among othersMoraingyMartial artMadagascarNuba wrestlingWrestlingNuba people (Sudan)ChandimuBall game (similar to association football)TanzaniaFire on the Mountain Children's game Tanzania DongaStick fightingSurma people (Ethiopia)KigumiStick fightingMeru people (Kenya)IstunkaCeremonial martial artSomaliaSavikaZebu-wrestlingBetsileo people (Madagscar)
Southern Africa Name Type Group (country) SourcesNguni stick-fightingStick fightingNguni peoples (South Africa)Tshikanganga and TshigombelaTeam dancesVenda people (South Africa)MusangweFist-fightingVenda people (South Africa)JukskeiAfrikaners (South Africa)Pétanque SA - Jukskei
Non-physical games
Mancala has been played across the continent, and has many different names and versions, such that it has been called "the national game of Africa".
North Africa Name Type Group (country) Sources Hounds and jackals Ancient Egypt Felli Morocco Fetaix Morocco KharbagaAbstract strategy gameNorth AfricaMehenBoard gameAncient EgyptSenetBoard gameAncient EgyptTâbRunning-fight gameNorth Africa
West Africa Name Type Group (country) Sources Achi Abstract strategy game Ghana Choko Mandinka and Fula peoples (The Gambia) Dara Various peoples and countries in West Africa WaliBoard gameWest AfricaYotéBoard gameWest AfricaZammaAbstract strategy gameMauritania
Central Africa Name Type Group (country) Sources Abbia Gambling game Beti people (Cameroon)
East Africa Name Type Group (country) Sources Fanorona Madagascar CarambollaGambling gameEthiopiaMakonnAbstract strategy gameSeychellesShisimaAbstract strategy gameKenyaTurupCard gameSomalia
Southern Africa Name Type Group (country) SourcesMorabaraba Strategy board gameSouth Africa and BotswanaFahfeeGambling gameSouth AfricaTsoro yematatuAbstract strategy gameZimbabwe
See also
Sport in Africa
Traditional games of Nigeria Traditional games of South Africa
References