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Sutton-Smith, B. (1998). Play and Ambiguity. 1–17. In The Ambiguity of Play. Harvard University Press.

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Sutton-Smith, B. (1998). Play and Ambiguity. 1–17. In The Ambiguity of Play. Harvard University Press.

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Sutton-Smith devoted his lifetime into exploring the cultural significance of play in human life. This text discusses the complexities of defining play, a term that once seemed straightforward to me.

The author draws upon the various interpretations from different scholars, revealing play as a concept that cannot be pinned down to a single definition. He navigates through William Empson's classic Seven Types of Ambiguity (1955) that resonate with the diverse academic voices contributing to this discourse. The “playful nips” in games were not merely mock battles but rehearsals for negotiation and empathy in later life. Engaging with Sutton-Smith's work evokes a realization that play, in its many forms, is a powerful mode of learning and a reflective mirror of the culture we inhabit.

I recall how the games of my childhood, once thought trivial, were indeed the experiences that helped shape my social skills and personal values. This recognition has not only reshaped my academic thinking but has also contributes to my lived experiences with greater significance, demonstrating the pervasive and profound impact of play on human development.

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Schwartzman, H. B. (1978). Projecting Play: Culture and Personality. 135–209. In Transformations: The Anthropology of Children's Play. Plenum Press, New York.

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Schwartzman, H. B. (1978). Projecting Play: Culture and Personality. 135–209. In Transformations: The Anthropology of Children's Play. Plenum Press, New York.

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The author is a psychological anthropologist specializing in the study of childhood development and play. This insightful chapter offers an anthropological exploration of play, with a focus on its role in the cultural and personal development of children, presenting a thought-provoking analysis on how play integrated to the learning and socialization process.

This text has reshaped my understanding of children’s play. Take Luba girls' corn dolls (Figure 14) for example, while I initially regarded them as a simple instance of childhood creativity, through Schwartzman’s anthropological lens, they are recontextualized as an expression of complex interplay between psychological processes and cultural learning, embodying the values and patterns of the Luba community (e.g. sex play, societal role etc.). This makes me rethink those popular games in different areas and with different religions, which are indicators of related groups’ culture and values.

By integrating Freudian ideas into a broader anthropological framework, Schwartzman explains how play is instrumental in the developmental learning process, offering a bridge between personal psychological growth and the acquisition of cultural knowledge. Despite of some complex theoretical concepts, this text is particularly valuable for educators and anthropologists with its insights into the dynamic nature of play and its emphasis on play as a transformative experience, projecting and reinforcing the cultural norms and individual personalities. It’s very worth reading for further exploration in the anthropology of play.

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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. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0001972012000058

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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. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0001972012000058

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Jirata’s ethnographic study acknowledges a shift in the analysis of African riddles, from tools used by adults for education to forms of child-centered play that foster autonomous learning. Highlighting contributions from Argenti (2010) and Schwartzman (1978), Jirata underscores how riddles allow children to articulate their lived experiences and engage with their cultural context. This brings me back to my own childhood fascination with riddles. As I recall how memorizing and solving riddles from a young age sharpened my cognitive abilities, aligning with Jirata's insights into the educational benefits of such play. I think through the art of riddling, children can engage in critical thinking and cultural transmission.

This study sheds light on the dynamic and autonomous role of play in children’s learning and socialization. The author’s view resonating with personal experiences of engaging with riddles suggests the potential long-term impact of such play on the development of creative thinking and cognitive ability. Jirata advocates for a nuanced appreciation of children's play as a complex, self-driven learning process, reflecting a significant paradigm shift in the anthropology of play and learning.

With ethnography and its distinctiveness, anthropological approach offers unique lens in knowing our social and cultural life (Eriksen, 2010; Gay y Blasco & Wardle, 2019). I now appreciate riddles as not merely child's play but an anthropologically rich, educative activity offering insights into the individual's integration within their culture.

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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. https://doi.org/10.1080/19472498.2015.1030871

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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. https://doi.org/10.1080/19472498.2015.1030871

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Bowen’s study provides a detailed account of the children’s outdoor play in northern Odisha, emphasizing the intrinsic relationship between play and the spatial context. It explores how children construct their own understanding and embodied experience of their environment through play, despite the adult-imposed structures around them.

This image (Figure 1) impressed me as it represents play as an integral component of community and cultural life in rural Odisha. As play is not just an act of leisure but a significant embodied interaction with one's environment, contributing to the children's sense of place (Bowen, 2015), it reminds me that my weekend bike rides and picnics with friends during my childhood were not just recreational, but a fundamental aspect of learning, sharing, relationship building, and the environment sensing.

These experiences, much like those depicted by Bowen (2015), highlight the significance of play in developing social bonds and understanding our place within the natural world. This picture not only supports the argument for the importance of situated play in anthropological research but also resonates with my lived experience, underscoring the human universals (Brown, 2004) and the unique value of play in fostering communal ties and engagement with the physical world.

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Malaby, T. M. (2009). Anthropology and Play: The Contours of Playful Experience. New Literary History, 40(1), 205–218. https://doi.org/10.1353/nlh.0.0079

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Malaby, T. M. (2009). Anthropology and Play: The Contours of Playful Experience. New Literary History, 40(1), 205–218. https://doi.org/10.1353/nlh.0.0079

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Malaby’s work challenges traditional distinctions between work and play, presenting play as a disposition integral to human experience. This perspective resonates with Bowen’s (2015) ethnographic findings in Odisha where play is embedded in social and environmental contexts. With Sutton-Smith’s work (1998) on the inherent ambiguity of play which reflects the diverse roles it occupies within cultural contexts, Malaby's notions led me to reflective understanding of my childhood engagements with peers and games, shaping my cognitive and social skills, and highlighting the enduring influence of culturally embedded play in my own development. Drawing from Chick's insights (2010) on the variability of how children's contributions through play are culturally valued, I appreciate the broader application of play as a developmental tool across different societies.

Offering a cohesive anthropological perspective on the transformative power of play, these scholarly dialogues have expanded my anthropological understanding of education, challenging me to consider the multifaceted nature of learning and the environment's role in shaping it. Through this academic journey, I've come to understand that the play of my youth was not an entertaining activity but a critical element of my education. I am lucky to have diverse playful experience in my childhood which contributes to a lifelong ability to adapt and innovate.

# data[].attributes.body
Bowen, Z. (2015). Play on the mother-ground: children’s games in rural Odisha. South Asian History and Culture, 6(3), 330–347. https://doi.org/10.1080/19472498.2015.1030871

Brown, D. E. (2004). Human Universals, Human Nature & Human Culture. Daedalus, 133(4), 47–54. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20027944

Chick, G. (2010). Work, play, and learning. In D. F., Lancy, J., Bock & S., Gaskins (Eds.), The anthropology of learning in childhood, 119–143. AltaMira Press.

Empson, W. (1955). Seven types of ambiguity. Meridian Books. New York.

Eriksen, T. H. (2010). The challenges of anthropology. International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, 1(3), 194–202. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJPEE.2010.034684

Gay y Blasco, P., & Wardle, H. (2019). The concerns and distinctiveness of ethnography. In How to read ethnography (Second edition), 1–11. Routledge.

Jirata, T. J. (2012). Learning through play: An ethnographic study of children's riddling in Ethiopia. Africa, 82(2), 272–286. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0001972012000058

Malaby, T. M. (2009). Anthropology and Play: The Contours of Playful Experience. New Literary History, 40(1), 205–218. https://doi.org/10.1353/nlh.0.0079

Schwartzman, H. B. (1978). Projecting Play: Culture and Personality. In Transformations: The Anthropology of Children's Play, 135–209. Plenum Press, New York.

Sutton-Smith, B. (1998). Play and Ambiguity. In The Ambiguity of Play, 1–17. Harvard University Press.