Let’s play the Mancala!

Playing Our Way Through History 📚🌍
At our CALF-Events, we believe literature is not only what’s written. It’s what’s carved, spoken, passed down, and played.

That’s why we’re shining a light on MANCALA – an ancient African strategy game that is far more than entertainment. It is an awesome vessel of cultural memory, a performance of intergenerational wisdom, and a tactile form of storytelling that spans continents.
Every year this indigenous game forms part of CALFE’s delivery and children absolutely love it!!
Did you know? The oldest known Mancala board in a UK museum was donated in #1820 to the hashtag#AnthropologicalMuseum, hashtag#MarischalCollege in hashtag#Aberdeen. This Kyngee bel board from West Africa isn’t just an artefact – it’s a preserved narrative of heritage, movement, and identity.

As part of our ongoing work with museums in Essex and Manchester, CALFE is not just celebrating these objects – we are actively working to influence museum collections, reframe narratives around “play,” and expand how cultural institutions acknowledge intangible heritage like games, performance, and oral traditions.
Mancala reminds us that: Culture is not only written – it is played, spoken, remembered.
Books tell stories, but so do boards.
Join us at CALFE as we explore the intersections between literature, heritage, and memory. Let’s open up our definitions of culture – and advocate for museums that reflect its full complexity.