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43-544: Versions of the game date back past the 3rd century and evidence suggests the game existed in Ancient Egypt . It is among the oldest known games to still be widely played today. According to some experts, the oldest discovered Mancala boards are in 'Ain Ghazal, Jordan in the floor of a Neolithic dwelling as early as ~5,870 BC although this claim has been disputed by others. More recent and undisputed claims concern artifacts from

86-690: A radical . Before the Spring and Autumn period the cowrie was used as a type of trade token awarding access to a feudal lord's resources to a worthy vassal. The Ojibwe aboriginal people in North America use cowrie shells which are called sacred miigis shells or whiteshells in Midewiwin ceremonies, and the Whiteshell Provincial Park in Manitoba , Canada is named after this type of shell. There

129-519: A board of 160 (4×40) holes requiring 320 seeds, and En Gehé ( Tanzania ), played on longer rows with up to 50 pits (a total of 2×50=100) and using 400 seeds. The most minimalistic variants are Nano-Wari and Micro-Wari, created by the Bulgarian ethnologue Assia Popova. The Nano-Wari board has eight seeds in just two pits; Micro-Wari has a total of four seeds in four pits. With a two-rank board, players usually are considered to control their respective sides of

172-414: A lap ends just before an empty hole. If a player ends their stone with a point move they get a "free turn". Depending on the last hole sown in a lap, a player may capture stones from the board. The exact requirements for capture, as well as what is done with captured stones, vary considerably among games. Typically, a capture requires sowing to end in a hole with a certain number of stones, ending across

215-432: A time in different holes reflects the physical act of sowing . If the sowing action stops after dropping the last seed, the game is considered a single lap game. Multiple laps or relay sowing is a frequent feature of mancala games, although not universal. When relay sowing, if the last seed during sowing lands in an occupied hole, all the contents of that hole, including the last sown seed, are immediately re-sown from

258-402: Is a tool noun derived from an Arabic root naqala ( ن-ق-ل ) meaning "to move". Most mancala games have a common gameplay. Players begin by placing a certain number of seeds, prescribed for the particular game, in each of the pits on the game board. A player may count their stones to plot the game. A turn consists of removing all seeds from a pit, "sowing" the seeds (placing one in each of

301-516: Is a classification or type of game, rather than any specific game. Some of the most popular mancala games (concerning distribution area, the numbers of players and tournaments, and publications) are: Although more than 800 names of traditional mancala games are known, some names denote the same game, while others are used for more than one game. Almost 200 modern invented versions have also been described. Like other board games , mancala games have led to psychological studies. Retschitzki has studied

344-738: Is known as the Military Monarchy as a result. The system fell apart in the 230s , giving way to a fifty-year period known as the Military Anarchy or the Crisis of the Third Century , following the assassination of the 28-year-old emperor Severus Alexander (the last emperor of the Severan dynasty), where no fewer than twenty emperors held the reins of power, most for only a few months. The majority of these men were assassinated, or killed in battle, and

387-568: Is often toothed at the edges. The narrower end of the egg-shaped cowrie shell is the anterior end, and the broader end of the shell is called the posterior. The spire of the shell is not visible in the adult shell of most species, but is visible in juveniles, which have a different shape from the adults. Nearly all cowries have a porcelain-like shine, with some exceptions such as Hawaii 's granulated cowrie, Nucleolaria granulata . Many have colorful patterns. Lengths range from 5 mm (0.2 in) for some species up to 19 cm (7.5 in) for

430-522: Is some debate about how the Ojibway traded for or found these shells, so far inland and so far north, very distant from the natural habitat. Oral stories and birch bark scrolls seem to indicate that the shells were found in the ground, or washed up on the shores of lakes or rivers. Finding the cowrie shells so far inland could indicate the previous use of them by an earlier tribe or group in the area, who may have obtained them through an extensive trade network in

473-552: Is supposed, by one modern ethnographic author, to represent a vulva or an eye. On the Fiji Islands, a shell of the golden cowrie or bulikula, Cypraea aurantium , was drilled at the ends and worn on a string around the neck by chieftains as a badge of rank. The women of Tuvalu use cowrie and other shells in traditional handicrafts. Cowrie shells are sometimes used in a way similar to dice , e.g., in board games like Pachisi , Ashta Chamma or in divination (cf. Ifá and

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516-727: The Adena culture of the Ohio River valley declined in favor of the Hopewell culture . The Maya civilization entered its Classic Era . After the death of Commodus in the late previous century the Roman Empire was plunged into a civil war. When the dust settled, Septimius Severus emerged as emperor, establishing the Severan dynasty. Unlike previous emperors, he openly used the army to back his authority, and paid them well to do so. The regime he created

559-805: The Americas . The game was brought to the Americas by enslaved Africans during the trans-Atlantic slave trade . The game was played by enslaved Africans to foster community and develop social skills. Archeologists may have found evidence of the game Mancala played in Nashville, Tennessee at the Hermitage Plantation . Recent studies of mancala rules have given insight into the distribution of mancala. This distribution has been linked to migration routes, which may go back several hundred years. The word mancala ( Arabic : مِنْقَلَة , romanized :  minqalah )

602-722: The Jin dynasty , headed by the Sima clan , who would usurp Wei in 266, and conquer Wu in 280. In other parts of the world, Korea was ruled by the Three Kingdoms of Korea . Japan entered the Kofun period . The Southeast Asian mainland was mostly dominated by Funan , the first kingdom of the Khmer people . In India , the Gupta Empire was on the rise towards the end of the century. In Pre-Columbian America ,

645-562: The United States and Mexico , cowrie species inhabit the waters off Central California to Baja California (the chestnut cowrie is the only cowrie species native to the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of the United States; further south, off the coast of Mexico, Central America and Peru , Little Deer Cowrie habitat can be found; and further into the Pacific from Central America,

688-521: The annual customs of Dahomey of Benin ). A number of shells (6 or 7 in Pachisi) are thrown, with those landing aperture upwards indicating the actual number rolled. In Nepal cowries are used for a gambling game, where 16 pieces of cowries are tossed by four different bettors (and sub-bettors under them). This game is usually played at homes and in public during the Hindu festival of Tihar or Deepawali . In

731-588: The slave trade , introduced huge numbers of Maldivian cowries in Africa. The Ghanaian cedi was named after cowrie shells. Starting over three thousand years ago, cowrie shells, or copies of the shells, were used as Chinese currency . They were also used as means of exchange in India . The Classical Chinese character for money ( 貝 ) originated as a stylized drawing of a Maldivian cowrie shell. Words and characters concerning money, property or wealth usually have this as

774-513: The 6th and 7th centuries AD. The oldest mention of the game is in the " Kitab al-Aghani " (" Book of Songs ") of the 10th-century, attributed to Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani . The game may have been mentioned by Giyorgis of Segla in his 14th century Geʽez text Mysteries of Heaven and Earth , where he refers to a game called qarqis, a term used in Geʽez to refer to both Gebet'a (mancala) and Sant'araz (modern sent'erazh , Ethiopian chess ). Evidence of

817-518: The Atlantic deer cowrie, Macrocypraea cervus . Cowrie shells, especially Monetaria moneta , were used for centuries as currency by native Africans. In his book Marriage and Morals , Bertrand Russell attributed the use of cowrie shells as currency in ancient Egypt to the similarity between shape of the shell and that of female genitalia. After the 1500s, however, the shell's use as currency became even more common. Western nations, chiefly through

860-659: The Pacific habitat range of Money Cowrie can be reached ) as well as the waters south of the Southeastern United States . Some species in the family Ovulidae are also often referred to as cowries. In the British Isles the local Trivia species (family Triviidae, species Trivia monacha and Trivia arctica ) are sometimes called cowries. The Ovulidae and the Triviidae are other families within Cypraeoidea ,

903-613: The ancient past. In Eastern India, particularly in West Bengal, it is given as a token price for the ferry ride of the departed soul to cross the river " Vaitarani ". Cowries are used during cremation. Cowries are also used in the worship of Goddess Laxmi. In Brazil, as a result of the Atlantic slave trade from Africa, cowrie shells (called búzios ) are also used to consult the Orixás divinities and hear their replies. Cowrie shells were among

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946-569: The beginning of Late Antiquity . In Persia , the Parthian Empire was succeeded by the Sassanid Empire in 224 after Ardashir I defeated and killed Artabanus V during the Battle of Hormozdgan . The Sassanids then went on to subjugate many of the western portions of the declining Kushan Empire . In China , the chaos that had been raging since 189 would ultimately continue to persist with

989-512: The beginning of a player's turn, they select a hole with seeds that will be sown around the board. This selection is often limited to holes on the current player's side of the board, as well as holes with a certain minimum number of seeds. In a process known as sowing , all the seeds from a hole are dropped one by one into subsequent holes in a motion wrapping around the board. Sowing is an apt name for this activity, since not only are many games traditionally played with seeds but placing seeds one at

1032-428: The board from stones in specific configurations or landing in an empty hole adjacent to an opponent's hole that contains one or more pieces. Another common way of capturing is to capture the stones that reach a certain number of seeds at any moment. Also, several games include the notion of capturing holes, and thus all seeds sown on a captured hole belong at the end of the game to the player who captured it. The name

1075-473: The board, although moves often are made into the opponent's side. With a four-rank board, players control an inner row and an outer row, and a player's seeds will remain in these closest two rows unless the opponent captures them. The objective of most two- and three-row mancala games is to capture more stones than the opponent; in four-row games, one usually seeks to leave the opponent with no legal move or sometimes to capture all counters in their front row. At

1118-524: The cognitive processes used by awalé players. Some of Restchitzki's results on memory and problem solving have recently been simulated by Fernand Gobet with the CHREST computer model. De Voogt has studied the psychology of Bao playing. Several groups of Mancala games have their own tournaments. A medley tournament including at least two modalities has been part of the Mind Sports Olympiad , including in

1161-478: The decisive defeat of Cao Cao at the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208, which would increasingly end the hopes of unification and lead to the tripartite division of China into three main empires; Shu , Wu , and Wei , colloquially known as the Three Kingdoms period, which started in 220 with the formal abdication of Emperor Xian of Han to Cao Cao's son, Cao Pi , thereby founding Wei, which would go on to conquer Shu in 263, but would ultimately be united again under

1204-489: The devices used for divination by the Kaniyar Panicker astrologers of Kerala , India. In certain parts of Africa, cowries were prized charms, and they were said to be associated with fecundity, sexual pleasure and good luck. It is also used in the treatment of certain diseases such as rashes and ringworm when it is burnt into ashes. In Pre-dynastic Egypt and Neolithic Southern Levant , cowrie shells were placed in

1247-473: The empire almost collapsed under the weight of the political upheaval, as well as the growing Persian threat in the east. Under its new Sassanid rulers, Persia had grown into a rival superpower, and the Romans would have to make drastic reforms in order to better prepare their state for a confrontation. These reforms were finally realized late in the century under the reign of Diocletian , one of them being to divide

1290-477: The empire into an eastern and western half, and have a separate ruler for each. Cowry Cowrie or cowry ( pl.   cowries ) is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails in the family Cypraeidae . The term porcelain derives from the old Italian term for the cowrie shell ( porcellana ) due to their similar appearance. Cowrie shells have held cultural, economic, and ornamental significance in various cultures. The cowrie

1333-446: The ends of the board called stores , are used for holding the pieces. Playing pieces are seeds, beans, stones, cowry shells, half-marbles or other small undifferentiated counters that are placed in and transferred about the holes during play. Board configurations vary among different games but also within variations of a given game; for example Endodoi is played on boards from 2×6 to 2×10. The largest are Tchouba ( Mozambique ) with

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1376-470: The following pits in sequence), and capturing based on the state of the board. The game's object is to plant the most seeds in the bank. This leads to the English phrase "count and capture" sometimes used to describe the gameplay. Although the details differ greatly, this general sequence applies to all games. If playing in capture mode, once a player ends their turn in an empty pit on their own side, they capture

1419-636: The game has also been uncovered in Kenya. The games have also existed in Eastern Europe . In Estonia , it was once very popular (see " Bohnenspiel "), and likewise in Bosnia (where it is called Ban-Ban and still played today), Serbia, and Greece ("Mandoli", Cyclades). Two mancala tables from the early 18th century are to be found in Weikersheim Castle in southern Germany. In western Europe, it never caught on but

1462-517: The graves of young girls. The modified Levantine cowries were discovered ritually arranged around the skull in female burials. During the Bronze Age , cowries became more common as funerary goods, also associated with burials of women and children. Cowrie shells are also worn as jewelry or otherwise used as ornaments or charms . In Mende culture, cowrie shells are viewed as symbols of womanhood , fertility , birth and wealth . Its underside

1505-499: The hole. The process usually will continue until sowing ends in an empty hole. Another common way to receive "multiple laps" is when the final seed sown lands in your designated hole. Many games from the Indian subcontinent use pussakanawa laps . These are like standard multi-laps, but instead of continuing the movement with the contents of the last hole filled, a player continues with the next hole. A pussakanawa lap move will then end when

1548-689: The in-person event and the online Grand Prix. 3rd century The 3rd century was the period from AD 201 (represented by the Roman numerals CCI) to AD 300 (CCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. In this century, the Roman Empire saw a crisis , starting with the assassination of the Roman Emperor Severus Alexander in 235, plunging the empire into a period of economic troubles, barbarian incursions, political upheavals, civil wars, and

1591-599: The modern-day Israel in the city of Gedera in an excavated Roman bathhouse where pottery boards and rock cuts that were unearthed dating back to between the 2nd and 3rd century AD. Among other early evidence of the game are fragments of a pottery board and several rock cuts found in Aksumite areas in Matara (in Eritrea ) and Yeha (in Ethiopia), which are dated by archaeologists to between

1634-516: The opponent's pieces directly across. Once captured, the player gets to put the seeds in their own bank. After capturing, the opponent forfeits a turn. Equipment is typically a board, constructed of various materials, with a series of holes arranged in rows, usually two or four. The materials include clay and other shapeable materials. Some games are more often played with holes dug in the earth, or carved in stone. The holes may be referred to as "depressions", "pits", or "houses". Sometimes, large holes on

1677-459: The same festival these shells are also worshiped as a symbol of Goddess Lakshmi and wealth. Large cowrie shells such as that of a Cypraea tigris have been used in Europe in the recent past as a darning egg over which sock heels were stretched. The cowrie's smooth surface allows the needle to be positioned under the cloth more easily. In the 1940s and 1950s, small cowry shells were used as

1720-540: The split of the Roman Empire through the Gallic Empire in the west and the Palmyrene Empire in the east, which all together threatened to destroy the Roman Empire in its entirety, but the reconquests of the seceded territories by Emperor Aurelian and the stabilization period under Emperor Diocletian due to the administrative strengthening of the empire caused an end to the crisis by 284. This crisis would also mark

1763-551: The superfamily of cowries and their close relatives. The word cowrie comes from Hindi कौडि ( kaudi ), which is itself derived from Sanskrit कपर्द ( kaparda ). The shells of cowries are usually smooth and shiny and more or less egg-shaped. The round side of the shell is called the Dorsal Face, whereas the flat under side is called the Ventral Face, which shows a long, narrow, slit-like opening ( aperture ), which

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1806-745: Was documented by Oxford University orientalist Thomas Hyde. In the United States a traditional mancala game called Warra was still played in Louisiana in the early 20th century, and a commercial version called Kalah became popular in the 1940s. In Cape Verde , mancala is known as "ouril". It is played on the Islands and was brought to the United States by Cape Verdean immigrants. It is played to this day in Cape Verdean communities in New England. Historians may have found evidence of Mancala in slave communities of

1849-815: Was the shell most widely used worldwide as shell money . It is most abundant in the Indian Ocean , and was collected in the Maldive Islands , in Sri Lanka , along the Indian Malabar coast , in Borneo and on other East Indian islands, in Maluku in the Pacific, and in various parts of the African coast from Ras Hafun to Mozambique . Cowrie shell money was important in the trade networks of Africa , South Asia , and East Asia . In

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