Craftsman calls for revival of traditional games to combat social ills

Traditional Barbadian games like Warri and Patta could be an antidote to youth violence, a veteran craftsman suggested, urging Barbadians to embrace them.

Second-generation woodworker Franklyn Harwood, owner of Harwood Woodworks at Pelican Village, shared his belief that the decline in these historic pastimes, coupled with the rise of violent electronic games, has contributed to the social challenges facing the nation, including crime, especially among the youth.

“Years ago, you didn’t have much television, these big phones that you can watch everything on or play games. People had more time to communicate with one another,” Harwood told Barbados TODAY.

“These types of games—Warri and Patta—were what people used to play when they came in on evenings. When last you see someone playing hopscotch? I went to the Archives on numerous occasions and saw hopscotch marked out, and nobody was playing.”

The 61-year-old craftsman, who has been in the woodworking business for years after taking over from his father, said he is committed to reviving Warri, a pit-and-pebble mancala game brought to the Caribbean by enslaved Africans from Ghana and Nigeria.

The game is based on strategy and counting skills, with two contestants competing to capture more than 24 of their opponent’s seeds.

“Warri was out for a little while—people weren’t playing it again—but through the National Cultural Foundation (NCF), we are trying to revive it,” he explained.

The craftsman lamented that modern technology and electronic games with violent content have replaced traditional forms of recreation, leading to negative impacts on young minds.

“I went to a school and was teaching Warri, and a teacher went to a student to encourage him to play. The boy said he likes games that got in killing,” Harwood said.

“The whole psyche children have now is contributing to crime in society because they are young and don’t have much thinking power to know what’s right from wrong, and they tend to go towards things that are wrong.”

He noted that parents and older generations must take responsibility for ensuring that children are exposed to culturally enriching activities rather than being left to be entertained by screens.

“We go and buy things to babysit our children . . . the electronic games with a lot of blood and killing . . . and it’s not doing Barbados any good,” he warned.

Harwood is urging Barbadians to reclaim their cultural heritage and pass it down to younger generations, ensuring that traditional games like Warri remain a staple of Bajan society.

Despite the challenges, including a general lack of interest, he told Barbados TODAY that he is playing his part by teaching the game to those willing to learn.

While managing his business, he still finds time to visit schools to introduce students to the game.

“I don’t do this to become a millionaire, I do it because I enjoy it. I produce things that are functional,” he said.

“If someone passes by and wants to play a couple of games, I play with them. I can teach the game in less than 10 minutes. You want to learn to play?” he asked, before teaching this reporter the rules—who by the end of the visit, had become a self-proclaimed, Harwood-approved Warri expert.

 shannamoore@barbadostoday.bb