As I walked through the tiny path between tables full of happy people, I couldn’t help but feel amazed by how quickly the Biryogo colourful car-free zone had become more beautiful and with a variety of delicacies. This time, there were ice cream shops, restaurants serving rolex (chapati rolls) and other things one wouldn’t have got when the road was just painted. People were even watching a Liverpool-Villarreal game when I passed by. As I kept walking, there was a zone which didn’t have many restaurants. It looked like a ‘board game zone’ where people mostly in their 50s and 60s played Ludo games on their tablets and phones, while others played Igisoro, a popular board game in African culture. Igisoro players during the game at Busasamana in Bigogwe. Dan Nsengiyumva On Igisoro, people waited for their turn to play and some even fought a little bit about who was next. One of them who only identified as Ntaganda seemed to be the oldest, and people in the group were laughing at his mediocre playing skills despite his thoughts that he was the best. “When you hear the word Igisoro, know they are referring to me. I am Igisoro. I basically run this game,” he said, adding that he has played from Biryogo streets for more than ten years. Amuli Hanyurwimfura, 48, is believed to be the best among this regular team that meets daily to play Igisoro. He told The New Times that he started playing at the age of five, adding that Biryogo is home to this game as it is to him, because he was born there. “Igisoro connects people,” Hanyurwimfura noted. While little is known on when and how Rwandans started playing this game, available records that prove it is part of the Mancala family games trace it as far as the 6th and 7th century in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Some even say it was played before the birth of Christ. Nevertheless, Rwandan historians say this game has always been played in the country, at least dating from since dating from time Rwanda was founded, and some facts back this argument. When King Ruganzu I Bwimba of Rwanda fell for a different Kingdom’s princess, Nyanguge, he knew it was almost impossible to marry her given the competition from other kings too, especially Kimenyi of Gisaka. He decided to seek divination (kuraguza) to make sure she was fit for him and he eventually married her. Kimenyi, on the other hand, was always playing a board game traditionally known as Igisoro. That is when a saying “Umwami uraguza yatsinze ubuguza” (A divination seeking king won against that who played Igisoro) emerged, mocking Kimenyi’s easy life. This was between 1312 and 1345, during Ruganzu I reign, when Igisoro was already considered an addictive game. Ruganzu II Ndoli who was also the Kingdom of Rwanda since 1510 until his death in 1543 was also known to enjoy the game. There is also a rock in Ruhango district which has an Igisoro board illustration- which looks exactly like the standard board, and it is believed it is where he used to play from. “Wherever Ruganzu II Ndoli passed, there are boards on rocks where he would play while resting,” Simon Bizimana, a Historian told The New Times. Dr Juru Ruranganwa, author of Imikino nyarwanda gakondo - a book that analyses 39 Rwandan traditional games, told The New Times that initially, Kubuguza was a Royal game played by the King and a few other high ranking officials. The game is also played all over Africa till date. Every country where this game is played has a different name for it, and sometimes the rules too. For instance, we know it as Igisoro in Rwanda and Burundi, but the Baganda clan of Uganda call it Omweso. Although this game will look a bit complicated to the uninitiated, people with interest will not spend a single day without playing at least one round. In Kigali, although people gather at several public spaces to play, it may even seem that this game is not played at all. Some even refer to it as the game of the elderly. An example is in Biryogo, which is indeed, home to everything, including Igisoro. People gather there every single night to play. Ruranganwa told The New Times that at the age of seven, he would face older people and challenge them. He is 78 now. “We would play and even forget to have our meals,” he recalls. But he also thinks because of many different games children have now, only a few- if at all, will know how to play Igisoro. “All my grandchildren know how to play. But I understand that they are among the few who can,” Ruranganwa said. One may consider suppressing the idea that Kubuguza is at the verge of extinction, at least before talking to Alexandre Karambizi at the federation of traditional games in the Ministry of Youth and Culture. Although it may even seem that this game is not paid attention to in the same way soccer, basketball, and even chess are, one would need to cross check. According to Karambizi, national championships are held each year, and every area in the country is well represented! “Every sector in the country has multiple clubs, with the ones in Kigali having the highest turnout. We even have all-female clubs, and some with very young people. It is a game played by anyone and its extinction seems impossible,” Karambizi said in a phone interview. Karambizi added that they are working with the Ministry of Education to include kubuguza in the sports curriculum for schools. “This was our long-term strategy to encourage more young people to play this game, but because of Covid-19 and the nature of this game, it wasn’t possible. We are scaling this up and very soon, more children will be able to play,” Karambizi added. Kubuguza is a two-player game where 64 seeds- referred to as ubusoro or inka (cows) are moved on the 4×8 board (igisoro) made of wood. The seeds are moved from one pit to another. Moving your opponents’ seeds to your side is referred to as kurasa (shooting). The best Igisoro players were believed to be geniuses, and no known researcher has contested the idea.
