“Mafuzziwogs”

“Mafuzziwogs” are small homemade items that represent a person, their community, or their background, that scouts trade at world and national events. Well that’s what Baden-Powell called them, when they were first used to represent some hospitalized scouts that could not attend 1924 Imperial Jamboree at Wembly, England. They became very poplar before the invention of modern patches and pins, for trading and introducing one Scout to another, especially in the 1940's and 1950's.

There are a few rules for giving or trading these little trinkets, tokens, or mementos; they should tell or represent something about the givers, the group, the country, the community, or local Scout continent. They should be inexpensive in nature. Time should be taken to know a little about whom you trade. And a handshake should always follow the trade.

In Girl Scouts these are called SWAPs. In more recent years, the name has become an acronym for, “Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere.” In Boy Scouting there is no set word for them, although I heard the term “trades” fairly often and more recently the term “Swag” just like in Geocaching. Trading is and will be forever part of scouting sprit of friendship and camaraderie.