The name Immaculée Dusabemariya has been making headlines after winning the national 'Igisoro' competition in women's category during the 2023 Umurenge Kagame Cup finals that concluded in Huye and Gisagara Districts over the weekend.
The Bugesera-based woman bagged Rwf200,000 prize after beating Costasie Mukaruhama of Ngoma District in the final. She won the competition without losing a single match.
Igisoro is a two-player board game of the Mancala family originating from the African Great Lakes region and played primarily in Rwanda and Burundi.
Being a male-dominated sport never stopped Musabemariya from venturing in 'Igisoro' only at the age of 5. And she is now a champion on the national level at the age of 66, a golden and emotional moment that she says will cherish in her life, especially when she saw people loving the game she has been playing over the past six decades.
"I'm really happy for this medal and the prize, the most exciting thing to me is seeing people competing in this traditional game," Dusabemariya told Times Sport.
Musabemariya started her love affair with 'Ikibuguzo' at a tender age where she used to play with her late father before he passed away.
"I remember, in my young age, he used to tell my siblings and I to finish all home activities earlier so he can free me to play the game with him," she recalls.
"After he passed away, I didn't practice it constantly. But, when I heard that there is this competition [Umurenge Kagame Cup] coming, I said that I should compete and I thank God that I made it," she added.
In most cases, Igisoro is played by adults aged 30, 40, 50, 60 and above and it is rare to find children playing it.
But Dusabemariya insists that the sport, also known as 'Ikibuguzo', is a very good game for young children because it improves their maths, thinking and reasoning capabilities.
"This is a nice game to the old people because it's among the few things that remind them of the early days and helps them to entertain and enjoy themselves. But it can also be a very good one for children because it helps them to use their brain and think beyond," she explained.
For example, she said, I didn't attend any school due to the history of our country, but through this game I can calculate well using my brain because you can't be playing this game with poor calculation capacity. This game sharpens thinking and reasoning capabilities and this is very important to developing their brains.
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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 since dating from the time Rwanda was founded, and some facts back this argument.
But, on a sad note, Dusabemariya feels unimpressed when she learns the young generation, especially the majority of youths in urban areas, don't even know that the game exists. Others think that it is only played by adults.
"This a common problem for the youth. They aren't playing the traditional games and we risk seeing them disappear in the future," she claimed.
"We, elders, should encourage the young generation in our neighborhoods to try these games because this is who we are, it's our culture. The government should also establish more tournaments like this with more traditional games because there are plenty of them that need to be played," she suggested.
Igisoro is one of the traditional games that were included in the 2023 Umurenge Kagame Cup edition. Others include 'Urukiramende' and 'High Jump' among others.
