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Evidence for Lam Waladach
1 pieces of evidence found.
Id DLP.Evidence.1244
Type Ethnography
Location 12° 1'51.24"N, 39° 2'51.47"E
Date 1971-01-01 - 1971-12-31
Rules 2x6 board. Four counters in each hole. The first player takes three counters from each of their holes, and sows them beginning in the opponent's first hole. Sowing proceeds in an anti-clockwise direction, and when the final counter lands in an occupied hole, these are picked up and sowing continues. While sowing, if a hole is made to contain four counters, these are captured by the player. When the final counter falls into an empty hole, the turn ends, unless the player was able to make a capture during the sowing, in which case they may play again. A player with no counters on their side must pass, and may continue playing when there are counters in their holes again. Play continues until all the counters are captured, and the player with the most counters wins. A second round is played, each player placing four counters into each hole starting from the rightmost hole in their row. The player with more counters gains a hole from their opponent for every four extra balls they've captured. If an opponent has three extra after counting in such a way, they also gain a hole, but not if there are one or two extra. Play continues in several rounds like this until one player captures all the holes.
Content "Gabata IV (Lam Waladach) This type of gabata, which is related to Games 7, 16, 17, and 18, is also popular in Shoa, though less frequently reported than games 20 or 21. It was played by Ehetalam Derso, a maid servant from Lalibala who referred to it as lam waladach. The game is based on two rows each of six holes with four balls per hole, play being conducted throughout in an anti-clockwise direction. The first player to move would begin from his extreme left hand hole by taking into his hand three balls from each of the holes on his side, i.e. leaving one ball in each. He would then distribute all the balls in his hand one by one into his opponent's holes and then his own, picking up new balls whenever the last counter of any hand fell in a hole with contents, but stopping whenever he reached an empty hole. The two players would play alternately, always starting from a hole in their own row. Whoever dropped a ball, on either side of the board, into one or more holes containing three counters, thus increasing them to four, would take the said counters as his winnings, this capture entitling him to continue playing, I.e. to take up another hand before it was his opponent's turn to move.A player with no counters on his side ceased playing, but resumed whenever one or more of his holes were filled. Victory would go to the player who at the end of the round had won the largest number of counters. Play might end with a single round, or continue round after round, in which case the rules for the re-allocation of holes would be the same as that described fro Game 20." Pankhurst 1971: 177.
Confidence 100
Ages Adult
Social status Non-Elite
Genders Female
Source Pankhurst, R. 1971. Gabata and Related Board Games of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia Observer 14(3):154-206.
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