Mancala, the National Game of Africa

Mancala, the National Game of Africa

Mancala, the National Game of AfricaThe comparative study of games is one that promises an important contribution...
$9.99 AUD
$19.99 AUD
$9.99 AUD
SKU: gb-66220-ebook
Product Type: Books
Please hurry! Only 10000 left in stock
Author: Culin, Stewart,1858-1929
Format: eBook
Language: English
Subtotal: $9.99
10 customers are viewing this product
Mancala, the National Game of Africa

Mancala, the National Game of Africa

$19.99 $9.99

Mancala, the National Game of Africa

$19.99 $9.99
Author: Culin, Stewart,1858-1929
Format: eBook
Language: English

Mancala, the National Game of Africa

The comparative study of games is one that promises an important contribution to the history of culture. The questions involved in their diffusion over the earth are among the vital ones that confound the ethnologist. Their origins are lost in the unwritten history of the childhood of man. Mancala is a game that is remarkable for its peculiar distribution, which seems to mark the limits of Arab culture, and which has just penetrated our own continent after having served for ages to divert the inhabitants of nearly half the inhabited area of the globe. The visitor to the little Syrian colony in Washington street in New York City will often find two men intent upon this game. They call it Mancala. The implements are a board with two rows of cup-shaped depressions and a handful or so of pebbles or shells, which they transfer from one hole to another with much rapidity. A lad from Damascus described to me the methods of play. There are two principal ways, which depend upon the manner in which the pieces are distributed at the commencement of the game. Two persons always engage, and ninety-eight cowrie shells (wada) or pebbles (hajdar) are used. One game is called Lab madjnuni, or the Crazy game. The players seat themselves with the board placed lengthwise between them. One distributes the pieces in the fourteen holes, called bute, houses, not less than two being placed in one hole. This player then takes all the pieces from the hole at the right of his row, fig. 1, G, called el ras, the head, and drops them one at a time into the holes on the opposite side, commencing with a, b, c, and so on. If any remain after he has put one in each of the holes on the opposite side, he continues around on his own row A, B, C. When he has dropped his last piece he takes all the pieces in that hole and continues dropping them around as before. This is done until one of two things happenshis last piece drops into an empty hole, when he stops and his opponent plays, or it drops into a hole containing one or three pieces, completing two or four. In that case he takes the two or four pieces with those in the hole opposite, and if one or more of the holes that follow contains two or four without the intervention of a hole with any other number, he takes their contents with those opposite. The second player takes from the hole g, and distributes his pieces around A, B, C. If the head is empty, the player takes from the next nearest hole in his row. When the board is cleared, each player counts the number he has above his opponent as his gains. No skill is necessary or of any avail in this game, the result being a mathematical certainty, according to the manner in which the pieces were distributed in the beginning. Lab hakimi, the Rational game, or Lab akila, the Intelligent game, is so called in contrast to the preceding. Success in it depends largely upon the skill of the players. In this game it is customary in Syria to put seven pieces in each hole. The players, instead of first taking from the hole on their right, may select any hole on their side of the board as a starting place. They calculate the hole in which the last piece will fall, and the result depends largely upon this calculation. Lab rosya is a variety of the first game and is played only by children. Seven cowries are placed in each hole, and the first player invariably wins. My Syrian friend told me that the shells used in the game are brought from the shores of the Red Sea. Mancala is a common game in Syrian cafs. Children frequently play the game in holes made in the ground when they have no board, a device also resorted to by travelers who meet by the way. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 66220
Author: Culin, Stewart
Release Date: Sep 4, 2021
Format: eBook
Language: English

Returns Policy

You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).

If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.

Shipping

We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.

When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.

Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.

Related Products

Recently Viewed Products