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Evidence in Malawi
3 pieces of evidence found.
Id DLP.Evidence.643
Type Ethnography
Game Bao Kiswahili (East Africa)
Date 1913-01-01 - 1913-12-31
Rules 4x8 board. The fourth hole from the right in the inner rows of each player is larger and square.
Total of 64 counters.
Starting position: in the inner row, the first four holes, number of counters from the right: 0; 2; 2; 6.
Play begins with each player alternately introducing the remaining counters in their holes. Each is introduced in such a way as to capture an opponent's counters, by placing it into an occupied hole which is opposite one of the opponent's occupied inner-row holes. The opponent's counters are then captured and sown along the inner row from either the leftmost or rightmost hole. If the capture occurs in the rightmost or leftmost holes in the inner row, or the hole immediately adjacent to them in the inner row, the counters must be sown from the leftmost or rightmost hole (whichever is closest), and sown along the inner row. Captures on these subsequent sowings happen according to the same rules as in the second phase, with certain exceptions explained below.
If no capture is available, a counter may be placed in any occupied hole in the inner hole except the square hole, and sows them in either direction.
If the square hole is the only occupied hole in the inner row, the counter is placed there and the player sows only two seeds from it in either direction.
Moves that start without a capture on the first sowing which end in the square hole stops there without further sowing.
One all of the counters are introduced, second phase starts. Players move by sowing seeds from a player's holes. Sowing can happen in any direction, but must continue in that direction throughout the turn except in the special cases below.
When the final counter of a sowing lands in a hole in the inner row and there are counters in the opponent's hole in the inner row opposite, these are captured. The captured counters are placed in the leftmost or rightmost hole of the inner row and sown along the inner row. The leftmost or rightmost hole is chosen based on which continues the sowing direction of the move that made the capture. If the capture occurs in the rightmost or leftmost holes in the inner row, or the hole immediately adjacent to them in the inner row, the counters must be sown from the leftmost or rightmost hole (whichever is closest), and sown along the inner row, even if this incurs a change of direction.
If the final counter lands in an occupied hole and a capture is not possible, the counters are picked up and sowing continues. If the final counter lands in an empty hole, the turn ends.
A player must make a capturing move on their initial sowing if it is available.
If a capturing move is not possible on the first sowing, no captures can be made on subsequent sowings in that turn.
The game is won when the opponent's inner row is cleared of counters.
Content "The Game is in Nyasaland almost exclusively by the Yaos, and even among them it is of recent importation.
The game is played by two persons, a special board and 64 marbles or seeds being required.
The board consists of a flat piece of wood...on one surface are four rows of shallow round holes (Inyumba), eight in each row or 32 in all. The "nyumba" are regularly placed so that from side to side there are four holes in each line.
The fourth hole from the right of each player is in most boards made larger than the rest, often square instead of round, and is called the "village" (mji or musi).
The traveling Yao makes his board after the fashion of the other games, i.e. by scooping out the requisite number of holes in any flat piece of ground, pebbles taking the place of the more correct seeds (nam or makomo).
For the proper understanding of the play it is necessary to plan out the two
opposing front rows into two squares of four holes, one at each end, and a rectangle of eight holes in the centre.
The two holes at each end of each front line may for convenience be termed
"reverse" and the four holes in each front line between them " optional."
The object of the game is to take all the men from the opponent's front row.
Definitions.
The back rows are those nearest the player.
The front rows are the two centre ones.
Reverse holes are the last two at each end of the front rows.
Optional holes are the remaining four of the first row, lying between the reverse holes and including the " village."
Addition.-A player is said to "add" a man when, in commencing his turn, he puts one of the men in hand into a hole.
Spreading.-A player is said to "spread" when he takes up all the men from a hole
in one of his own rows and puts them seriatim in other holes as far as they will go, beginning with the hole next to that from which he is moving; the latter remains empty.
Placing.-A player is said to "place" the men he takes from his opponent. One is
put into each hole of his own front row, as in spreading, but beginning at one end.
Arrival.-A player is said to "arrive" at a hole when he adds to that hole the last man of those which he is either spreading or placing.
Opposition.-Is said to be taken, or to exist, when a player puts, or has, respectively, a man or men in a hole of his front row opposite to one in which his opponent has a man or men.
Rules.
I.-Each player plays in turn.
II.-Each player has, at the
commencement of the game, ten men in his front row and twenty-two in hand.
III.-Of the ten men, six are in the village, and two in each of the two holes immediately to the (player's) right of the village.
There is no opposition when the men are so placed.
IV.- A man must be added at the commencement of each move, as long as any remain in hand, i.e., till all are on the board.
V.-A man can only be added to a hole already occupied by one or more.
VI.-A man must be added to a hole in opposition if there be one.
VII. -A move ends when, in spreading or placing, a player arrives at an empty
hole.
He is then said to "lie" (kugona).
VIII.-A man or men belonging to the opponent can only be taken (kulya) by
adding a man to a hole already in opposition or by arriving at such a hole.
IX.-In such circumstances the opponent's man or men must be taken and placed in accordance with Rules XII, XVI, XVIII, and XIX.
X.-If no holes be in opposition at the commencement of a move, a man must be
added to any hole in the front row containing one or more, and the resulting contents spread in either direction.
Only two men may be taken and spread from the " village " under this rule, and then only if all other holes in the front row be empty.
XI.-None of the opponent's men can be taken during a move commenced by adding
to a hole not in opposition
XII.-A man or men taken from an optional hole by adding may be placed from either end at the discretion of the player.
XIII.-When no men remain in hand, the game proceeds by spreading the contents
of any hole containing more than one man; if, in so spreading, the player arrives at a hole in opposition, he takes and places the opponent's man or men as before, and continues spreading or taking till he arrives at an empty hole, when the move ends.
XIV. -No man can be taken during a move under the preceding rule unless the first spread arrives at a hole in opposition; otherwise the player continues spreading till stopped by arriving at an empty hole, but he must not take any of his opponent's men.
XV. -A move must be continued till an empty hole is arrived at.
Exception.-If in spreading or placing a player arrives at the village he has the
option of discontinuing his move, provided that no men have been previously removed from the village and that it is not in opposition.
XVI.-Men taken from the opponent must be placed in the front row. If more
than eight men are taken from any hole the placing is continued along the back row in the reverse direction.
XVII.-Similarly, spreading is continued from one row to another by proceeding
along the new row in an opposite direction.
XVIII.-A man or men taken from a reverse hole must be placed from the end
hole of the same reverse.
XIX.-The direction of moves in the front row-from left to right or from right to left-can only be altered by the preceding rule. So that a man or men taken from an optional hole by spreading or placing from right to left and so arriving at a hole in opposition, must be placed from the right-hand end, and vice versa.
XX.-A player loses if, there being no men in hand, he has only single men in the holes." Sanderson 1913: 726-731.
Confidence 100
Source Sanderson, M. 1913. "Native Games of Central Africa." Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 43: 726-736.
Id DLP.Evidence.1413
Type Ethnography
Game Spreta
Date 1913-01-01 - 1913-12-31
Rules 4x10-12 board (even numbers only). One counter in each hole, except for the third hole from the left of the inner row, which contains two, and the rightmost hole of the inner row, which is empty. Play must begin from the hole containing two counters. Sowing occurs in an anti-clockwise direction. When the final counter lands in an occupied hole. these are picked up and sowing continues. When the final counter falls in an empty hole, the contents of the hole in the opponent's inner row opposite this hole are captured; if there are also counters in the opponent's outer row, these are also captured, along with the contents of any other two holes on the opponent's side of the board. Single counters can be moved only when there are no holes with multiple counters and they may only be moved to an empty hole. The player who captures all of the opponent's counters wins.
Content "Spreta (Achikunda). One man in every hole of both rows, except the right-hand end hole of the front row, which is empty, and the third hole from the left in the front row, which contains two. The hole containing two must be spread first. Men are moved and taken as in Msuwa." Sanderson 1913: 736.
Confidence 100
Source Sanderson, M. 1913. "Native Games of Central Africa." Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 43: 726-736.
Id DLP.Evidence.1906
Type Ethnography
Game Sute
Date 1913-01-01 - 1913-12-31
Rules 4x8=20 holes, with an even number per row. One counter in each hole, except the right-hand end row of the inner row. Sowing occurs in an anti-clockwise direction, only into an empty hole. When a counter lands in a hole in the inner row and the opponent's opposite inner row hole is empty, the contents of the opponent's opposite outer row hole are captured. The player who captures all of the opponent's pieces wins.
Content "Sute (Achikunda). As in above games, there are four rows of eight, ten, up to twenty holes.
One man is put in every hole, both rows, except the rigbt-hand end hole of the front row.
Singletons are moved into an empty hole only, always, as in all these games, from left to right along the back row and from right to left along the front.
Men can be taken only from the back row hole opposite to the hole arrived at, and only if the corresponding hole of the opponent's front row be empty. Thus a player cannot take unless he is moving into an empty hole of his own front row facing an empty one in his opponent's; in which evelnt he can only take the contents of the corresponding hole in the back row.
A player may move or take only once each turn." Sanderson 1913: 736.
Confidence 100
Source Sanderson, M. 1913. "Native Games of Central Africa." Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 43: 726-736.
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