In the Caribbean, it's called 'Warri'; In Kenya, 'Bao' or 'Bawo.' In South Africa, it's 'Moruba'; and in many Black communities, like the US, the popular board game is 'Mancala.' It's a count-and-capture game, similar to checkers, played using a wooden board and seeds, shells, or stones.
It's one of the diaspora's favorite pastimes.
Mancala is a mind sport that requires strategy and intention. In many parts of the world, it's common for spectators to gather and watch a match. Although it's usually played autonomously, some game variations require teams – a nod to our ancestral communal ways and a reminder that working together is always a win-win.
In Kenya and South Africa, there have been intentional efforts to preserve and return to indigenous game-playing to reclaim what colonialism tried to steal from us. Mancala is more than just a game.
Its fantasy allows us to imagine the real-world ways we must reconfigure our concepts of exchange, community, power, and autonomy for the betterment of Black folks everywhere.
Mancala is one of the many small ties that keep the African diaspora connected. We can continue imagining, building, and growing together when we recognize these threads as symbols of our unity.
We can find ways to reconnect and build a new world where all our people can thrive – and that's nothing to play about.