Contribution to Book
Kpelle Children at Play
Work in Progress
(2015)
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.
Keywords
- Children's Play,
- Culture,
- Kpelle,
- variability
Disciplines
Publication Date
2015
Citation Information
David F. Lancy. "Kpelle Children at Play" Work in Progress (2015) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/david_lancy/117/