MORABARABA WARRIORS

by Jarrod De Jong on 28-Jul-09 9:12am

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MORABARABA WARRIORS


1. BACKGROUND
There is an ancient game played on the African continent. Its history is as ancient as the peoples of Africa, it has strong educational benefits and it is the most popular game in South Africa with an enormous 40% of the population playing the game on a recreational level. That is a staggering 16 million people in South Africa alone that play the game regularly on a recreational basis! It is more popular than soccer! It has been called the Nation's Game, and with good reason!

In the rest of Africa is also played by millions upon millions of people: In Somalia the game is known as Shax, in Ethiopia as Gebeta, in Namibia the game is known as Owela, in Zimbabwe the game is known as Tsoro, and in Botswana the game is known as Mmele.

In South Africa this game is known as: Morabaraba, Umlabalaba or Mrabaraba.

No one really knows when the first Morabaraba game was played, says Colin Webster, the president of the Mind Sports South Africa. "It's truly an African game and we are trying to take it back to its roots. But the history of the game reaches far back into antiquity," he says. "It was certainly played in ancient Egypt about 3 000 years ago. Morabaraba has been around for a very long time, for as long as anyone can remember anyway. But it's not dependent on any written history." In fact, in the entrance hall of the pyramid at Khofu a Morabaraba board in gouged in the floor!

This game is officially recognized as a sport with numerous clubs around the country affiliated to the South African and International Wargames Union. The game was recognized as a traditional African war game in 1996 by the Department of Sport and Recreation and the National Sports Commission. Players receive provincial and national colours.

Now that the game is officially recognized, players can be rewarded for the excellence of their play. There are annual world championships, in which South Africans have been crowned world champions for a number of years.

MORABARABA - SENIOR WORLD CHAMPIONS
1997 - Gilbert Magabotse (Mind Sports South Africa)
1999 - Amos Mavuso (Mind Sports South Africa)
2000 - David Hlophe (Mind Sports South Africa)
2001 - David Hlophe (Mind Sports South Africa)
2002 - Simon Skhosana (Mind Sports South Africa)
2004 - Simphiwe Maphumulo (Mind Sports South Africa)
2005 - Medupe Sekao (Botswana Wargames Federation)
2006 - Thanos Taktikos (Hellenic Wargames Federation)
2007 - Moses Rannyadi (Mind Sports South Africa)
2008 - Moses Rannyadi (Mind Sports South Africa)

MORABARABA - WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPION
2007 - Ledile Tshwane (Mind Sports South Africa)

MORABARABA - JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONS
2002 - Innocent Kubheka (Mind Sports South Africa)
2003 - Simphiwe Maphumulo (Mind Sports South Africa)
2005 - Teresa Chen (Mind Sports South Africa)
2007 - Innocent Kubheka (Mind Sports South Africa)

Morabaraba has even given the African Renaissance a boost - Morabaraba fever is catching on fast worldwide and is now played Europe and Asia as well. Suffice it to say that this game is the most widely played game in South Africa and a game played by men and women, boys and girls, young and old. The majority of people in South Africa have a fair knowledge of the game and this means that an exciting game show based on this game will have an enormous potential viewer base!

Just to illustrate its popularity: There is an active league on the South African mines with 40 000 participants. All championships organized around the country are attended by thousands of enthusiasts.

It is also indeally suited for the mass media. For example, in 1996 the Sowetan ran a Morabaraba competition in the newspaper where people could send in entries. In a single month more than 500 000 entries were received.

The game is also played in many schools with kids form all races participating, and since 2005 Morabaraba also features in the official life skills textbook for Gr 10 learners nationally.

There are many initiatives already in existence, like gaming stands in schools and public spaces which are enthusiastically received by both business and educators.

We are looking for companies who has a commercial interest in television and would love to get involved in an adaptation of Marabaraba Warriors as a Gameshow. The experience with Morabaraba is that it is one of the most fascinating games ever devised by humankind. It can be fun and fast and exciting and can drive a studio audience into a frenzy!! For the first time in the history of this ancient game, a game show has been devised in which Morabaraba is popularized to have all the elements a fun and drama an exciting game show should have.


Details


Location: Queenswood, South Africa, 0186, South Africa
Keywords/Tags: Television , Media , Gameshow , Money , Prizes , Online , Characters , Sponsorships , Branding , Commercial Exposure
Offered/Wanted: Offered
Posted: 28-Jul-09
Expires: Expired
Likes: 39
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