Kura ya kura ya: The Dagbamba children’s game IShowSpeed took global, and the words the internet got wrong

For generations, “Kura ya kura ya” was a play song of children and women among the Dagbamba of northern Ghana, chanted in evening circles.

This year it went global, carried across television screens and social media feeds after American streamer IShowSpeed joined in during his visit to Ghana.

But on its journey online, did the internet get the words right?Before social media, Ghanaians kept their diverse but binding cultures alive through funerals, harvests, festivals, marriage and naming ceremonies, and communal work such as house plastering.

Just as important were ordinary nights by the fireside or under the moonlight, when songs, stories and games passed knowledge from one generation to the next and kept children safe within the community.

Northern Ghana was no exception.The Dagbamba, one of the largest ethnic groups in northern Ghana, have a rich body of indigenous songs: dirges, religious songs, epics and ludic (play) songs, among others.

“Kura ya kura ya” belongs to the last group. It is a children’s play song with ancient roots, meant to sharpen young minds, steer children away from social vices and teach them moral lessons.

How the game is playedWhen the sun begins to set and the evening meal has settled, Maltiti runs to the playground. Mayama, Ashetu, Toffik, Wunpini, Awunbe and Mariya soon join her, and the list grows until a circle forms.

A pile of stones, one for each player, is gathered in the middle. A leader is chosen by acclamation, regardless of whether they are a boy or a girl.

Squatting, with both palms striking the ground, the children set a rhythm and introduce themselves in turn, reconnecting with great ancestors such as the legendary Tohajie.

The leader, who also plays, raises the chant “Kura ya kura ya”, and the group answers “Kur jai jai”. The stones are passed clockwise from player to player.

Once everyone has a stone, the leader chants again, this time singing “kur” followed by the name of the next player to the right, and the group replies “kur jai jai”.

As the stones move faster and the tempo peaks, one golden rule applies: no player may hold two stones at once. Anyone caught with two has as good as invited referee Daniel Laryea to show them a red card.

More than a gameLike many children’s games, Kura ya kura ya develops all three learning domains of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Memorising the song along with its rules is a cognitive feat in itself, and the leader’s ability to keep the rhythm while shifting and stressing the vowel sounds in each player’s name at lightning speed is no small skill.

The tolerance, togetherness and emotional intelligence the game demands, across gender, social class, religion and clan, with a fair judge at its heart, speak to the affective domain.

Coordinating movement and song, and using small, clever delays to trip up a playmate and knock them out, ticks the psychomotor box.The game also carries deep moral lessons meant to shape the child into a responsible member of the community.

It trains the mind to be sharp in any endeavour. It teaches selflessness and discourages greed, hence the knockout for anyone who holds more than one stone.

The game ends with a short song about the grasshopper carrying its belongings, a reminder that opportunities within a child’s reach can slip away through procrastination.

Whatever the outcome, each child must own their choices, good or bad.

What the internet got wrongIt is remarkable that a simple call-and-response song carries such a package of life lessons.

But did the internet capture the right words of the melody Hamamat Montia led during that now-famous massage?

Ghanaian names and cultural expressions that go viral are often pronounced and spelt with little care.

Think of how often the names of Ghanaian footballers such as Asamoah Gyan and Sulley Muntari have been mangled, despite years of playing alongside foreign counterparts and constant media exposure.

If we want to promote and sell our indigenous cultures, we must protect not only how they sound but also how they are written.

Online, the song has appeared as “kuriya kuriya”, “kurijenjen” and “kura ya kuraya, kur jen jen”, among other versions, all some distance from the original.

The Dagbamba say “kura ya kura ya, kur jai jai”. In Dagbanli, “kura” is a verb meaning to pound or knock, with a fist, a stick or similar. “Ya” is also a verb, meaning to separate, drive away, exclude or eliminate.

Pounding seldom happens without a sound, and the onomatopoeia for pounding is “jai jai!” The “u” in “kura”, shortened to “kur” to keep the melody flowing, is pronounced like the Spanish “u”. In playing it, the Dagbang child was already learning to spot the weak points of opponents and allies alike, and to knock them out of the game.

How Speed took it globalKura ya kura ya was already doing the rounds when IShowSpeed (Darren Watkins Jr.) landed in Ghana on Sunday, January 25, 2026, as part of his “Speed Does Africa” tour.

He visited tourist sites, embraced local identity and immersed himself in Ghanaian culture. His wish to own a home in Ghana echoed the country’s long-standing efforts, through initiatives such as the Year of Return, to welcome foreigners and Africans in the diaspora.

His free spirit lifted the whole visit, and his eagerness to taste local dishes showed a genuine openness to the country.

For a moment, he was the engine carrying Ghana’s heritage to a global audience: a moment of cultural rediscovery and pride, and a call to rethink how we promote and preserve an identity we too often underestimate.

The chant reached its peak when Speed visited the Shea Butter Museum owned by Hamamat Montia for a shea butter massage. During the massage, Madam Montia led “kura ya kura ya” and the nine women with her responded “kur jai jai”.

In that moment, the famous YouTuber was reconnecting with his African roots the way Dagbang children do.

The entrepreneur and philanthropist created a relaxed atmosphere that blended her passion for preserving the shea tree with cultural pride, girl-child education and her ambassadorial work promoting Ghanaian skincare and beauty worldwide.

Her creativity highlighted the value of Ghanaian oral tradition and the need for a conscious effort to keep it from fading into obscurity.

It is no surprise that people from many walks of life now come to Ghana to watch, and join, the famous nine-syllable game.

What we should do nextIf Kura ya kura ya can spark this much interest, we should revisit our oral songs and games. Schools could adapt them for lessons and play.

Custodians of oral tradition could be brought together, and their knowledge recorded and shared online.

Young people could be encouraged to develop a taste for indigenous culture. Supporters’ unions could cheer our national teams with these songs at home and abroad.

And since foreign video games played on phones and consoles have drawn many young Ghanaians away from local games, Ghanaian tech innovators and institutions could build apps based on them.

Kura ya kura ya has shown that when we take the lead in projecting our culture, a helping hand from abroad, however accidental, can carry it much further.

Ibrahim Yahya: Fijai Senior High SchoolMail: yahayaibrahim374@gmail.com