Kpelle Children at Play

Document Type

Contribution to Book

Editor

Jaipaul L. Roopnarine, Michael M. Patte, James E. Johnson and David Kuschner

Publisher

Open University Press

Publication Date

1-1-2015

First Page

1

Last Page

11

Abstract

Although children’s play has been a relatively popular subject for anthropologists who study childhood, comprehensive studies of the entire play repertoire in a society are rare. One such study was carried out among the Kpelle people in the remote Liberian village of Gbarngasuakwelle four decades ago. A summary of that study reveals that Kpelle children have access to a rich store of traditional play-forms including make-believe, board-type games, active play, contests and folklore. A major finding affirmed that play, far from being the antithesis of work or a reversal of cultural ideals, fundamentally supports and affirms the child’s acquisition of her culture, especially adult subsistence skills.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS