Play

Boys in Congo like to play soccer. They don't always have soccer balls, so they use anything that's big and round. Sometimes they even use a large round fruit, like a grapefruit! (Don't try that at home!) They're good at making model trucks and planes out of balsa wood and clay, and even the young ones learn to roll hoops, like old bicycle wheels, with sticks.

Boys love to just run around together in the tall grasses, and climb trees, and play tag. They go down to the nearest river to swim and play. They like to go hunting together, and they use spears (carefully! After they've learned from their fathers how to do it safely).

Girls don't get to play as much as boys because they start helping their mothers when they're about 5 years old. But they still get some time to play. They jump rope, they talk, they dress up and fix each other's hair. (Does that sound familiar?) They love to dance and to sing -- in choirs or just by themselves.

Girls have a favorite game they play that tests their coordination. It's called Tobeta Maboko, and it can be played by two girls or three or more. Two at a time (usually) face each other and they jump and clap together to a certain rhythm. Whoever has her feet in the right places on the last beat is the winner. (You can find directions for playing Tobeta Maboko in the Group Stuff section.)  

If you'd like to see a list of other things that kids in Congo do, click on this link.