The Game of Mancala with Reference to Commonalities among the Peoples of Ethiopia and in Comparison to Other African Peoples: Rules and Strategies

The Game ofMancala with Reference to Commonalities among the Peoples of Ethiopia and in Comparison to Other African Peoples: Rules and Strategies Anthula Natsoulas University of Toledo Mancala is a game whose existence has been documented as early as 1500 B.c. and is found in varied forms throughout Africa and Asia. Within the rules of the game, however, there may be found a sense of unity as weU as a reflection of the diversity of the many peoples who play it. An analysis of the rules extrapolates the common elements of board format, capture of counters, capture of houses, and end of turn in the multiple lap games played in Africa. Common elements are found among geographically diverse peoples, but there are distinct variations among neighbors; in Ethiopia it is called gabata, in Ghana it is called oware, in East Africa it is called sora, and in Nigeria it is called ayo. Its cultural diversity is reflected in the varied rules by which it is governed which also allow the game to be played at differing degrees of complexity according to the skills of the players. Conventions for the representation of board configurations are defined , as is notation for players' turns, thus facilitating analysis of the game. A study of opening moves and game strategies gives the advantage of the game to the first player under one set of rules but suggests the second player may have an advantage if certain rules are changed. General Description The game of Mancala was first introduced to the author by Ethiopian acquaintances in Addis Ababa. As originally described, the game was a blending of basic elements common to many versions. It is possible to©Northeast African Studies (ISSN 0740-9133) Vol. 2, No. 2 (New Series) 1995, pp. 7-24 8 Anthula Natsoulas conceptualize a unity in the diverse rules of play by extracting a set of universals and describing the differences as variations on such basic themes. The common elements of Mancala and the ethnography of the variations will be described below, focusing on the game as it is known on the African continent. This will be followed by a discussion of opening moves and strategies and the simulation of a typical game. The game of Mancala is always played by two persons. It is played on boards containing rows of holes or "houses," the most common being two rows of six holes each with two large holes at either end (see Figure 1). The smaller holes, as they are known in the Ethiopian highlands, are "tukuls" or "houses," the larger ones are called "banks." The board is placed between the two players and each player owns the houses on his/her side. Counters or balls—which may be seeds, beans, pebbles, or beads—are placed in the houses and moved around the board in a counterclockwise rotation; the banks are used only to store captured balls. At the beginning of play, a specified number of balls is placed in each house, the most common being four, and each player owns all the counters on his/her side of the board. The ultimate goal of the game is for one player to render his/her opponent incapable of continuing play by capturing his/her counters. A player may capture counters directly for storage in his/her bank or, in some variations, through the acquisition of the opponent's houses. The game may thus be considered to have three universal aspects subject to variation: board format, rules of capture, and end of a player's turn. A round of the game ends when either player is unable to make a move, although still in possession of seeds. At this point, a new round may be started. O OO O OO O OOO OO Figure 1: Typical Mancala Board The Game ofMancala 9 Board Format The three major elements of the board format are: (l) the number of rows of houses, (2) the number of houses per row, and (3) the number of counters placed in each house at the beginning of play. Most common are two rows of houses, each row containing 6, 8, or 10 houses, although boards composed of three...