Traditional Toy Design: A South African Perspective

文 /Keneilwe Munyai Mugendi K. M’Rithaa(Cape Peninsula University of Technology) 譯 / 賈 佳 季立萍

Introduction

The origin of toys dates back to prehistoric times and they are believed to have been first used in the 14th century (Muhammad,2008). Toys in South Africa play the role of connecting the child’s ability to psychologically take advantage of new opportunities, to create,to imagine, discovering to identify, to develop skills, to explore relationships, and most importantly to learn and stimulate creativity.In the South African context toys are aligned to the socio-cultural and material conditions as well as to the fact that they are cheap to produce and use sustainable techniques.

The majority of children in South Africa have used natural found objects like sand, water,sticks, clay, straws, seeds, bottle tops, wire,and tins, to construct traditional dolls, model houses, cars, and animals, often without guidance from parents or teachers. The creation of toys is usually a spontaneous process which takes place at an individual level or amongst peers. Some toys appeal to boys and girls alike; like musical instruments, and board games, ball games, jumping games. There is also gender specif i c toys, girls often play with toys that imitate family life, looking after smaller children, cooking and all the other activities that they see being done at home.Boys are interested in physical activities linked to handiness technology, speed and movement(Massal, 2001).

While the self made toys and traditional dolls have slowly started receding in visibility and prominence, other toys such as wire cars, dolls,and recycled tin toys still exist in the rural communities and townships. The children choose their own materials suitable for the types of toys they want to make. In this article we discuss the process of traditional toy making, material manipulation, and availability of resources, sustainability of the product and materials as well as the role of local knowledge.The knowledge held by people in a particular geographical area enables them to get the most out of their natural environment (Mascarenhas,2005:5). The knowledge and skills is then passed down from earlier generations, but new generations adapt and build on to the body of knowledge in constant changing circumstances and environmental conditions.

圖1 南非本土玩具

圖2 南非本土玩具

圖3 南非本土玩具

圖4 南非本土玩具

South African Indigenous toys

According to Nkobodi and Mosimege(2009:381) “indigenous games and indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) deal with knowledge of local origin which is known largely by specif i c cultural groups”. IKS encourage making of toys that ref l ect African and South African everyday life and culture using what is locally available.The development of children involves physical and cognitive development which includes creativity, discovery, language skills, symbolic thought, problem solving skills, and the ability to focus and control which are all inf l uenced by the playing and creating experiences (Therrell,2002). One of the problem-solving skills is that of crafting solution to economic challenges,where parents do not have money to buy imported toys children and parents to a certain extent use available resources to create familiar objects such as f i gurines which are moulded out of clay, wire cars, fabric dolls that meet the children’s gaming needs (Smith & Cotze, 2010).The next section will focus on the games and play things created to meet the needs of the children varying from very simple to relatively complicated.

Marabaraba is one of the oldest games played in across Africa. It is a thinking game where two player strategise. The tools needed to play the game are simple enough that a board can easily be scratched on stone, sand or wood and coins,pebbles or bottle tops can be used as pieces .Each player has twelve stones, the aim is for one person to try and get three stones in a row the opponent role is to try and prevent this from happening (Syman & Van Niekerk, 1996: 44).

Manipulation of materials

IKS production process is based on the use of locally available resources, the use of the found object and the ability to manipulate materials to come up with safe playing objects. Recycled drink cans are cut up and meticulously assembled, wire models of cars that show creativity and replicas of the original cars,while some are evocative creations based on fantasy (Massal, 2001:2). The traditional process considers the ergonomics to make the toys more comfortable for use stones are used for bending.The construction process includes paying attention to the movement and functionality of the toy. The toys are made of natural found objects because, that is a process that is also applicable to other aspects of life within the IKS context. Scrap metal, rod for handles, connected via discarded telephone wire or cod to create the form of the object, bottle tops and wire are also used for wheels all show the ability create movement.

The designs of the toys vary from basic and the through practice, they become more sophisticated. African toys mainly promote culture, collective use, and sense of community and local knowledge. Traditional toys are simple and provide opportunities for openended play which requires the children to use their imagination, create their own storyline and rules for the game. The toys and games that children invent promote spontaneous interaction amongst the children and reflect South African life and culture as seen through the eyes of the child. Community lifestyles and the ethnic composition of the population inf l uence the creativity and ultimately the kind of toys that are produced.

A sense of ownership and sharing of toys in African culture is linked to sustainability and inclusiveness. Traditional toys are safe, effi cient,and pleasurable to the user. The child creates a toy that is congenial and harmless to engage in recreation with and share with others. The relationship Creating own toys helps with emotional development and helps shape their play and is linked to feelings of happiness,feeling of power over their environment,emotional awareness, sensitivity to others,emotional strength and stability, spontaneity,humour, it also encourages social learning during the play interactions. between the toy and the child assumes an operational and social context (Donlon, 1999).

The materials are transformed into more decorative and dynamic parts of the toy.Attention is given to form, movement and functionality of the toy. The children collaborate or compete in the construction of toys. The children adapt the toys they have created to meet their needs by creating toys that are suitable for their body size, the environmental suitability. While cognitive ergonomics covers the children’s mental processes, reasoning they create toys that are aligned to the socio-cultural and material conditions (see Figures 5, 6 & 7).

圖5 南非本土玩具

Culture separates us from or unites us with other people. In this article, I have already argued that a design is proof of a way of life;culture therefore, in our design separates them from us. Design is the process of writing culture and is used as a means to write culture and African design refers to specific culturedesign interactions including the once that take place outside of Africa (Pido, 2001). However,there are some toys which are made by adults to support children’s imaginative, social as well as cognitive development these include stuf f ed toy, homemade dolls and other toys which are generally made from waste materials .

The designing of toys by adults particularly for children under the age of 5years old is done to address the well-being of the child (Therrell,2002). Design of toys intertwines with culture and identity in simple yet complicated ways.Since designers are constantly trying to and often do create new concepts and designs, they are responsible for changes in culture (Pido,2001). The dolls are usually made out of old recycled textiles, and usually resemble familiar dressing styles in the community. The cloth dolls are made for girls from the age of 2 years old.

There is cognitive and af f ective advantages to creating toys that are relevant to the children’s culture. Children learn by doing, and learn to be problem solvers (Vithal, 1992). However,since culture is not static toy design has also evolved to be industrially manufactured using traditional materials.

IKS as an inclusive knowledge that covers technologies and practices that have been and are still used by indigenous and local people for survival and adaptation in a variety of environments. The knowledge is not static but evolves and changes as it develops. It also influences and is also influenced by external circumstances and interaction with other knowledge systems (Mosimege & Onwu, 2004:2).

South African toy design still has reference to old techniques. The process to a certain extent still employs the traditional methods, made by hand, utilises recycled and found object,which makes the process sustainable and environmentally friendly.

In conclusion there is no doubt that the creative use of IKS with respect to available materials,assembling techniques and the functionality of designs has inf l uence many contemporary designers. Contemporary design is dependent on traditional knowledge. There is a link between sustainable design and IKS. However,it must also be acknowledged that due to the impact of globalisation in general, and the ubiquitous cheap imports in particular there is a real threat that home grown and self-made toys may become obsolete in the near future.

There is an urgent need for socially conscious designers in collaboration with artisans and custodians of indigenous knowledge to join hands in re-interpreting toys that are rich in socio-cultural and ecological value. Subsequent re-interpretation will breathe a new lease of life into an important and deeply enriching aspect of African lives and livelihoods.To this end, this paper highlights the signif i cant contribution of indigenous traditional knowledge to modern discourse on design, and the need to preserve the priceless heritage that authentic indigenous toys engender.

Donlon, J. (1999). Tradition and change in the wire toys of Southern Africa. Studies in popular culture. 22 (1).(np).Retrived from http://pcasacas.org/SiPC/22.1/donlon.htm

圖6 南非本土玩具

圖7 南非孩童的自制玩具

Mascharenhas, A. (2004). Knowledge, Indigenous Knowledge, peace and development. Indilinga: African Journal of indigenous Knowledge Systems, 3: 1-15.

Mosimege MD & Onwu G (2004). Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Science Education.Journal of the Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 8:1-12.

Muhammad, B.Y., 2008. Opinion: The need for culturally, socially adaptable toy for Africa. [accesed 26 March , 2012]http://www.tripolipost.com/articledetail.asp?c=5&i=1925

Nkopodi, N, & Mosimege, M. (2009). Incorporating the indigenous game of Marabara in the learning of mathematics. South African journal of education. Vol 29.No.3. Pretoria.ISSN 0256-0100

Pido, J.P.O., (2001, November). Design and the African cultural identity. Design for development conference.8 November 2001. Paper presented at the design for development conference. International Convention Centre in Durban. Retrieved from https://www.sabs.co.za/index.php?page=daci

Therrel, J.A. 2002. Age determination guidelines:Relating children’s age to toy characteristics and play behaviour. Washington D.C. US consumer product safety commission.

Retrieved from www.cpsc.gov/businfo/adg.pdf

Vithal, R. 1992. Use games in teaching mathematics.(Eds)in : Moodely, M. Njisane, R.A. & Presmeg, N.C.Mathematics education for in-service and pre-service teachers. Pietermaritzburg: Shuter & Shooter.

Massal, M. (2001). Children’s toys from Africa. Paris.EDISUD/UNESCO publications

引言

玩具的起源可以追溯到史前時(shí)代，但是直到14世紀(jì)人們才開(kāi)始使用玩具（穆罕默德，2008）。在南非，玩具在孩子們的成長(zhǎng)過(guò)程中發(fā)揮了重要作用，它鼓勵(lì)孩子們?nèi)ププ⌒碌臋C(jī)遇，去創(chuàng)造，去想象，去發(fā)現(xiàn)與識(shí)別，去提升技能，去探索關(guān)系，更為重要的是，鼓勵(lì)他們?nèi)W(xué)習(xí)以及激發(fā)其創(chuàng)造力。在南非，玩具產(chǎn)業(yè)與社會(huì)文化和物質(zhì)條件息息相關(guān)。與此同時(shí)，玩具生產(chǎn)成本低廉并且采用可持續(xù)性的生產(chǎn)技術(shù)。

通常在沒(méi)有家長(zhǎng)或老師的指導(dǎo)下，大多數(shù)南非兒童會(huì)利用像沙子、水、樹(shù)枝、粘土、秸稈、種子、瓶蓋、電線和易拉罐這樣很容易找到的東西來(lái)制作傳統(tǒng)玩具娃娃、房屋模型、汽車和動(dòng)物。玩具的創(chuàng)造通常是個(gè)人或與同伴之間一個(gè)自發(fā)的過(guò)程。一些玩具，比如樂(lè)器、棋盤游戲、球類、跳躍游戲等，對(duì)男孩和女孩有著同樣的吸引力。也有一些專門針對(duì)不同性別兒童而設(shè)計(jì)的玩具。女孩子們常常會(huì)玩模擬家庭生活、照顧小孩、做飯以及其他可以在家玩耍的游戲。男孩子們則對(duì)和技術(shù)、速度和運(yùn)動(dòng)相關(guān)的體育活動(dòng)感興趣(Massal,2001)。

雖然自制玩具和傳統(tǒng)娃娃已經(jīng)開(kāi)始在市場(chǎng)上逐漸被淘汰，變得不再像以前那么重要，但是另外一些玩具，如玩偶，回收鐵皮玩具等，仍然存在于農(nóng)村社區(qū)和鄉(xiāng)鎮(zhèn)。對(duì)于自制玩具的材質(zhì)，孩子們可以自行選擇。在本文中，我們將討論傳統(tǒng)玩具的制作過(guò)程、材料處理、可用資源、產(chǎn)品和材料的可持續(xù)性以及當(dāng)?shù)刂R(shí)在玩具制作過(guò)程中所發(fā)揮的作用。某個(gè)特定區(qū)域的居民所掌握的知識(shí)，使他們能夠最有效地利用周圍的自然環(huán)境（奧馬斯卡雷，2005:5）。這些知識(shí)與技能代代相傳，新一代人將傳承并進(jìn)一步改善知識(shí)與技能以適應(yīng)不斷變化的生活與環(huán)境。

南非本土玩具

Nkobodi和Mosimege(2009:381)指出“本土游戲和原住民知識(shí)體系(IKS)與特定文化群體所了解的當(dāng)?shù)刂R(shí)起源息息相關(guān)”，原住民知識(shí)體系鼓勵(lì)人們利用當(dāng)?shù)噩F(xiàn)有資源制作反映非洲和南非日常生活及本土文化的玩具。兒童的發(fā)展包括身體和認(rèn)知能力的發(fā)展，如創(chuàng)造性、發(fā)現(xiàn)力、語(yǔ)言表達(dá)能力、符號(hào)思維、解決問(wèn)題的能力，同時(shí)涵蓋了在游戲和新的經(jīng)歷影響之下的集中力和控制力 (Therrell, 2002)。解決問(wèn)題的技能之一在于制定經(jīng)濟(jì)難題的解決方案。在那些家長(zhǎng)買不起進(jìn)口玩具的地區(qū)，孩子和家長(zhǎng)在一定程度上利用現(xiàn)有的資源，創(chuàng)造熟悉的物件，如粘土塑造出的桶、線車、布娃娃，以滿足孩子們的游戲需求(Smith& Cotze,2010)。接下來(lái)的部分將專注于游戲和玩具，來(lái)滿足孩子們從非常簡(jiǎn)單到相對(duì)復(fù)雜的需求。

Marabaraba是非洲最古老的游戲。它是一種由兩個(gè)玩家制定戰(zhàn)略的思維游戲。玩游戲所需要的工具非常簡(jiǎn)單，僅需要一塊易被石頭、沙子、木頭、硬幣、卵石或瓶蓋劃出痕跡的板子。每個(gè)玩家都有十二塊石頭，其中一個(gè)人連續(xù)奪得三塊石頭即獲勝，而對(duì)方則盡力避免該種情況發(fā)生。(Syman & Van Niekerk,1996:44)。

圖8 南非孩童的自制玩具

圖9 南非孩童的自制玩具

材料的處理

本土游戲和原住民知識(shí)體系(IKS)生產(chǎn)過(guò)程基于使用當(dāng)?shù)乜捎觅Y源，隨手拾來(lái)物件以及將材料組成安全玩具的能力。一些玩具展現(xiàn)了人們非凡的創(chuàng)造力，回收的易拉罐可以在切割后被精心的組裝好，汽車模型再現(xiàn)了原始汽車的造型，還有一些玩具則完全是幻想的產(chǎn)物(Massal,2001:2)。傳統(tǒng)的玩具生產(chǎn)流程融入了人體工程學(xué)，使其更加舒適。玩具的組裝過(guò)程也十分注重動(dòng)態(tài)性和功能性。很多玩具都是由隨手即拾的物件做成的，因?yàn)檫@正是一個(gè)IKS環(huán)境里適用于生活其他方面的過(guò)程。人們用廢棄的電話線或外殼纏繞廢金屬和把手棒來(lái)勾勒物體的輪廓，用瓶蓋和金屬絲做成車輪的形狀，所有的這一切都顯示出人們營(yíng)造物品動(dòng)態(tài)感的能力。

玩具的樣式繁多，從基本款到復(fù)雜成熟的設(shè)計(jì)款式不一而足。非洲的玩具推動(dòng)了當(dāng)?shù)匚幕椭R(shí)的傳播，并通過(guò)共同使用增強(qiáng)了集體觀念。傳統(tǒng)的玩具非常簡(jiǎn)單，孩子們可以自由玩耍，但即便如此，依舊需要他們發(fā)揮自己的想象力去編織故事情節(jié)和制定游戲規(guī)則。這些玩具和游戲都是孩子們?cè)谂c玩伴們互動(dòng)的過(guò)程中發(fā)明創(chuàng)造的，它們反映了孩子們眼中的南非生活與文化。但是集體生活方式和人口種族結(jié)構(gòu)影響了孩子們的創(chuàng)造力及其最終產(chǎn)品——玩具。

在非洲文化中，玩具擁有和分享的意識(shí)與可持續(xù)性和包容性相關(guān)。傳統(tǒng)的玩具非常安全、有效，能夠給兒童帶來(lái)樂(lè)趣。孩子們創(chuàng)造新玩具以便與其他孩子玩耍、分享。玩具和孩子之間的關(guān)系存在于社會(huì)環(huán)境之中。孩子們自制的玩具不但可供玩樂(lè)，也有助于他們的情感發(fā)展，同時(shí)，這些自制玩具也與他們的喜悅感、敏感度、穩(wěn)定性、自發(fā)性、幽默感和情感意識(shí)相關(guān)聯(lián)，提高他們?cè)谂c同伴的玩?；?dòng)中社會(huì)學(xué)習(xí)的能力。(Donlon, 1999)

玩具的外形，動(dòng)態(tài)性和功能性受到人們的重視，一些特定的材料被越來(lái)越多的用來(lái)制造玩具那些裝飾和可供靈活拆卸的部分。在制作玩具過(guò)程中，孩子們有時(shí)相互合作，有時(shí)相互競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。他們會(huì)根據(jù)自身的需求對(duì)玩具做出相應(yīng)的調(diào)整，最終與他們的體型和環(huán)境相適應(yīng)。與此同時(shí)，認(rèn)知工效學(xué)涵蓋了兒童的心理歷程，提醒孩子們?cè)谥谱魍婢叩耐瑫r(shí)要與社會(huì)文化以及材料質(zhì)地保持一致。

圖10 南非孩童的自制玩具

圖11 南非本土玩具市場(chǎng)

文化能使我們同他人分離或團(tuán)結(jié)。在本文中，筆者已經(jīng)強(qiáng)調(diào)設(shè)計(jì)是某種生活方式的體現(xiàn)，因此，我們?cè)O(shè)計(jì)中的文化將我們同其他人區(qū)別開(kāi)來(lái)。設(shè)計(jì)是書寫文化的過(guò)程，也被看作書寫文化的一種方式。非洲設(shè)計(jì)是指非洲文化與設(shè)計(jì)的交互，包括曾經(jīng)發(fā)生在非洲以外地方的此種交互(Pido,2001)。為了提升兒童的想象力、社會(huì)能力和認(rèn)知能力，成年人制作了一些玩具，如填充玩具、自制玩偶，但是這些玩具大部分是用廢料做成的。

成年人為兒童（尤其是5歲以下的兒童）設(shè)計(jì)的玩具對(duì)兒童來(lái)說(shuō)是一種幸福(Therrell,2002)。玩具的設(shè)計(jì)以一種既簡(jiǎn)單又復(fù)雜的方式融合了文化和身份。因?yàn)樵O(shè)計(jì)師不斷地做出新的嘗試，創(chuàng)造出新的概念和新的設(shè)計(jì)，所以說(shuō)設(shè)計(jì)師對(duì)文化變革具有推動(dòng)作用 (Pido, 2001)。玩偶通常是用回收的紡織品做成的，服裝也與當(dāng)?shù)鼐用竦闹b風(fēng)格相類似。布娃娃是專為兩歲以上的女孩子制作的。

創(chuàng)造玩具過(guò)程中的認(rèn)知和情感優(yōu)勢(shì)與孩子們的文化累積息息相關(guān)。孩子們通過(guò)實(shí)踐得到經(jīng)驗(yàn)，學(xué)會(huì)如何解決問(wèn)題(Vithal,1992)。然而，既然文化不是靜態(tài)的，那么玩具設(shè)計(jì)也會(huì)演變?yōu)橐詡鹘y(tǒng)材料為原材料的工業(yè)化生產(chǎn)的產(chǎn)物。

ISK作為一個(gè)包容性的知識(shí)體系涵蓋了原住民長(zhǎng)久以來(lái)在生存和適應(yīng)環(huán)境過(guò)程中獲得的技術(shù)和經(jīng)驗(yàn)。知識(shí)不是靜態(tài)的，會(huì)慢慢演變，它也會(huì)與外部環(huán)境相互影響，與其他知識(shí)體系相互作用(Mosimege &Onwu,2004:2)。南非玩具設(shè)計(jì)仍會(huì)參考舊時(shí)的制造技術(shù)。生產(chǎn)過(guò)程在一定程度上仍然沿襲了傳統(tǒng)的制作方法，即手工制作、利用回收或拾得的材料，這樣的方法具有可持續(xù)發(fā)展和環(huán)境友好的優(yōu)點(diǎn)。

毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)，ISK對(duì)可用材料、組裝技術(shù)和設(shè)計(jì)功能的創(chuàng)造性使用影響了當(dāng)代的許多設(shè)計(jì)師。當(dāng)代設(shè)計(jì)依賴于傳統(tǒng)的知識(shí)?？沙掷m(xù)的設(shè)計(jì)和IKS之間存在密切聯(lián)系。然而，不可否認(rèn)的是全球化的影響，特別是市場(chǎng)上充斥的廉價(jià)進(jìn)口商品，對(duì)本土自制的玩具構(gòu)成了巨大的威脅，使其很有可能在不久的將來(lái)被淘汰。

現(xiàn)在迫切需要擁有社會(huì)意識(shí)的設(shè)計(jì)師與擁有當(dāng)?shù)刂R(shí)的工匠和原住民攜手合作，重新解讀具有豐富社會(huì)文化和生態(tài)價(jià)值的傳統(tǒng)玩具。

新的解讀將會(huì)賦予傳統(tǒng)玩具新的生命，也會(huì)更加豐富非洲人民的生活。為此,本文再次強(qiáng)調(diào)傳統(tǒng)原住民知識(shí)對(duì)現(xiàn)代設(shè)計(jì)的重大貢獻(xiàn)，以及保護(hù)非洲本土玩具這份無(wú)價(jià)遺產(chǎn)的重要性與迫切性。