An ethnomathematical exploration of the game of ogiurrise – a traditional edo game in Nigeria schools

Abstract

Games are part of human culture, and indigenous games have been an expression of local people, culture, and social realities over a period of time. Games cannot only be viewed from the aesthetic perspective of play, enjoyment and recreation but also from that of promoting learning. Games can promote the learning of Mathematics in an interesting and entertaining way as well as provide room for interaction and lend informality to learning school Mathematics. Apart from showing the historical and cultural perspectives of indigenous games, analyses of games will reveal the related mathematical ideas/concepts, school Mathematics curriculum connections and educational implications. This paper is an ethnomathematics exploration of the game of Ogiurrise, an indigenous traditional game played by the Edos of the Mid-Western part of Nigeria. A brief description of the Rules of the Ogiurrise board game, the mathematical strategies that can be applied in playing the game and some related mathematical concepts are analysed and presented. The general classroom connections between the Ogiurrise board game and the conventional school Mathematics curriculum are discussed.