Games Children Play in Uganda

The Republic of Uganda is a country in East Africa, bordered by Kenya, Sudan, the Congo and Tanzania. It is home to many different ethnic groups; close to 40 different languages are spoken in the country, including English, Luganda and Swahili. But children are the same no matter where they live—they all love to play games and have fun. There are a variety of games played in Uganda which are similar to many popular children's games in the United States.

All the children sit in a circle, and one child is the leader. All the kids sing the song "Nyaga Nyaga Nya" as the leader walks around the circle. When the song is over, the child who is in front of where the leader is standing must get up and dance until he falls down. That child is now the leader; the song begins again.

One child is chosen to be the dog, and another is the hyena. Children line up behind each leader and hold each other in a straight line behind the leader as they dance back and forth, singing a song of their choice and trying to grab the children that are lined up behind each other. The team that grabs the most children from the other side is the winner.

To play this game, all children sit in a line with their legs extended in front of them while singing the song "Kakopi." One child is chosen to be the leader, and while everyone is singing the leader walks around and taps each child's legs. Whichever leg the leader is touching when the song ends must be tucked back behind the child. When both legs are tucked back, that child is out. The last one to have a leg extended is the winner, called "the night dancer."