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Using play to decode the children's inside.

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Using play to decode the children's inside.

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Eickelkamp, U. (2014). Dingo, Monster, Rabbit,“I” Personal and Cultural Meanings in Sand Stories by a Young Girl, Central Australia. American Imago, 71(2), 99-129.

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Eickelkamp, U. (2014). Dingo, Monster, Rabbit,“I” Personal and Cultural Meanings in Sand Stories by a Young Girl, Central Australia. American Imago, 71(2), 99-129.

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This essay departs significantly from other anthropological interpretations of play as Eickelkamp (2014) explores the ways in which play explains the interior world of children. Eickelkamp (2014) observes the experiences of an Anangu girl living in the Western Australian desert who uses the sand to tell her own stories. This is in contrast to the essay explored earlier, the one about Eskimo girls and storyknifing. Storyknifing is a form with historical values and its primary use is for the girls to learn about ancient Eskimo civilisation. However, Eickelkamp(2014) focuses on only one girl and her sand stories. As her sand play depicts her own experiences, stories and insights into life. After seven months of fieldwork, Eickelkamp(2014) has documented in detail how the girl lives and learns about culture, and understands life through storytelling. In these stories, Dingo, Monsterand Rabbit symbolised how she internally understood the world, also allowed the author to gain insight into the girl's true thoughts. This essay is therefore unique in that it dissects the emotional and inner world of the child as reflected by the game through an anthropological lens instead of the educational psychology angle.

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Watson‐Gegeo, K. A. (2001). Fantasy and reality: The dialectic of work and play in Kwara'ae children's lives. Ethos, 29(2), 138-158.

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Watson‐Gegeo, K. A. (2001). Fantasy and reality: The dialectic of work and play in Kwara'ae children's lives. Ethos, 29(2), 138-158.

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In the Solomon Islands, Watson-Gegeo (2001) used an ethnographic approach to study the transition between adult and child patterns in Kwara'ae children during play and work. Based on what they learn from play, children imagine and enact the laws of how the adult world works and engage in simulated play. The study is unique in that it describes how Kwara'ae children gradually simulate the work and life of adults through their imagination. And, in shifting between adult and childhood modes, the authors found that the children were able to become very immersed in their roles. This leads to a quicker and deeper recognition of the world, which they are able to achieve through this play. Watson-Gegeo (2001) also found that children's attitudes towards play modified depending on who was present. Without an adult, children were clearly aware that this is an imaginary setting; conversely, when a parent or teacher was present, children treated play more seriously. The tendency, for example, to communicate rather than fight when faced with conflict supports such conclusion. Watson-Gegeo (2001) provides a new perspective on the anthropological meaning of play, establishing that children are capable of differentiating between what is authentic and what is fantasy.

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Based on the given prompt, I plan to focus on how the theme of 'learning through play' manifests itself in different cultural contexts. What can be seen is that despite the geographical and cultural differences that lead to different forms and tools of play, the articles all express a similar view that children's play is seen as both a guide and a site of transformation, priming children's cognitive framework of the world and themselves. 

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Based on the given prompt, I plan to focus on how the theme of 'learning through play' manifests itself in different cultural contexts. What can be seen is that despite the geographical and cultural differences that lead to different forms and tools of play, the articles all express a similar view that children's play is seen as both a guide and a site of transformation, priming children's cognitive framework of the world and themselves. 

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Traditional 'storyknifing' has become a play tool to tell the story of the traditions.

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Traditional 'storyknifing' has become a play tool to tell the story of the traditions.

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Jirata, T. J. (2012). Learning through play: An ethnographic study of children's riddling in Ethiopia. Africa, 82(2), 272-286.

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Jirata, T. J. (2012). Learning through play: An ethnographic study of children's riddling in Ethiopia. Africa, 82(2), 272-286.

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Jirata (2012) interprets the 'informal learning' implications of play, giving an ethnographic explanation of play via illustration of Ethiopian children playing with riddles. In the essay, Jirata (2012) contrasts the cultural exchange of adults (fairy tales and novels) with children's playful communication (riddles), emphasising the role of word play that serves to form children's awareness and comprehension of their surroundings. Jirata (2012) concludes that riddling, a game that requires children to use their intellect to discover the answers, not only improve children's awareness of the outside world, but also enlarge their knowledge and improve their logical thinking skills. The essay also points out that as riddles are preserved or updated as times change, they become the main source of historical and modern knowledge for most local children. In addition, children are primed to construct peer bonding during play as they need to collaborate to work out the riddles. These findings are consistent with Bowen's (2015) observation that play possesses qualities that promote children's ongoing thinking because of the irreducible contingency of play, which is further evidence of learning through play. The essay stands out as few studies have focused on riddles as a study to explore the meaning of play.

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Connections between play and the environment.

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Connections between play and the environment.

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Bowen, Z. (2015). Play on the mother-ground: children’s games in rural Odisha. South Asian History and Culture, 6(3), 330-347.

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Bowen, Z. (2015). Play on the mother-ground: children’s games in rural Odisha. South Asian History and Culture, 6(3), 330-347.

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In northern India, Bowen(2015) employed ethnographic research from an insider's prospective, using questionnaires to observe Odisha children at play. This fieldwork clearly shows how play in this cultural context is in fact an adaptive and flexible training exercise that shapes children's perceptions towards the environment. This essay contrasts adult symbolic associations with laterite soil with those held by children (soil as a play resource). Here, children spontaneously structure symbolic meanings and thus construct perceptions of the social environment through play. In doing so, this essay states that children remain unrestrained from rigid societal patterns. Children learn to adapt to situations in play, gaining important flexibility to prevent overly rigid thinking. Overall, two conclusions are made: children adapt to and recognise their environment through play, and changes or limitations in the environment cause changes in the form of play. This article assisted me in understanding the connection between play and the surroundings. Although this conclusion is widely authenticated, Bowen(2015) stands out on his detailed observation of Odisha villages and the use of questionnaires, which might be applied to my dissertation study.

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DeMarrais, K. B., Nelson, P. A., & Baker, J. H. (1992). Meaning in mud: Yup'ik Eskimo girls at play. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 23(2), 120-144.

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DeMarrais, K. B., Nelson, P. A., & Baker, J. H. (1992). Meaning in mud: Yup'ik Eskimo girls at play. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 23(2), 120-144.

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DeMarrais et al.(1992) observe the Yup'ik Eskimo girls of southwest Alaska who play ‘storyknifing’. Field research was conducted in this village on the Kuskokwim River. Here, only the girls regard storyknifing as a game and 'informally' learn through it. Specifically, storyknifing is a traditional play activity for young girls who scratch out pictures on the land while telling stories with kitchen knives or wooden sticks. This activity helps the girls to learn and master various skills such as insight, logic and imagination. This corroborates Jirata's (2012) argument against viewing play as a meaningless and value-free activity. In addition, although the use of storyknifing has been interpreted differently in a Western context, it is still an invaluable tool for transmitting and learning about the local traditions. Ancient Eskimo culture was communicated through storyknifing, and in modern times this form of play helps girls learn about the values and traditions of Eskimo culture, understand their environment and habits, and continue to pass them on. This study is unique in that it has enabled scholars to gain an anthropological perspective on storyknifing, a form of play and an important tool of expression for Eskimo culture.