02074nas a2200217   4500000000100000000000100001000000100002008004100003653002100044653002600065653002100091653001200112100001300124700001300137245009200150856014900242300001200391490000600403520142700409022002001836       2013                            d10aChanging culture10aChildren s literature10aForm and content10aOrature1 aT. Nyoni1 aM. Nyoni00aThe form and content of children s poetry and games on a kaleidoscopic cultural terrain  uhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84901237565&doi=10.4304%2ftpls.3.2.233-243&partnerID=40&md5=0e5d8af3394e5b09ab638ecd737f160f  a233-2430 v33 aThis research sought to look into the form and content of children s poetry and games in Shona. It was premised on the view that these aspects are part and parcel of the rich African heritage of orature and are an important component of Shona indigenous knowledge systems, hence these cannot be simply ignored more so when it comes to the process of socialization. The objective was to analyze critically these so-called play poems and games in terms of their form and content and see what is embedded in them. Data was gathered through observation as children went about their business of play. The research concluded that these poems and games cannot be simply treated as child s play as their content is  loaded . They are actually a silent but powerful vehicle for the inculcation of certain values and attitudes that influence the children s own lives later whether positively or negatively, at home or away from their comfort zones in the global village. As part of the African Indigenous Knowledge System, which has sustained us for centuries such intangible heritage should not be let to just spill from our cultural hands. The various forms they take also allow children to simulate real life situations and learn adult roles vicariously and thus prepare them for the challenges life proffers not as shadows of other people but as proud beings who can cast their own shadows on the kaleidoscopic cultural terrain.  a17992591 (ISSN)