[Nfb-krafters-korner] {Disarmed} Re: What is Mancala?

Terrence van Ettinger terrencevane at gmail.com
Thu Dec 23 23:10:28 UTC 2010 

LOL Lynda! I don't think I'd mind it so much if it wasn't pain-induced. 

Terrence, praying for sleep.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/terrencevane
Skype: LandrasPhaelan
Words with Friends ID: terrencevak


On Dec 23, 2010, at 1:59 PM, "River Woman" <riverwoman at zoominternet.net> wrote:

> OH, temporary Space Cadet, huh? Well, I am a permanent Space Cadet, and it's not so bad. haa Lynda
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Terrence van Ettinger" <terrencevane at gmail.com>
> To: "List for blind crafters and artists" <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, December 23, 2010 4:38 PM
> Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] {Disarmed} Re: What is Mancala?
> 
> 
>> Wow! Lots of stuff there! Will have to read through some more of it when I'm not still spaced from novicane or whatever they used on me this morning.
>> 
>> Terrence the temporary space cadet
>> 
>> Twitter: www.twitter.com/terrencevane
>> Skype: LandrasPhaelan
>> Words with Friends ID: terrencevak
>> 
>> 
>> On Dec 23, 2010, at 11:18 AM, Blindhands at aol.com wrote:
>> 
>>> 
>>> Mancala
>>> 
>>> From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
>>> 
>>> Jump to: _navigation_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#mw-head) ,
>>> _search_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#p-search)
>>> Mancala is a family of board games played around the world,  sometimes
>>> called "_sowing_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sowing) " games, or
>>> "count-and-capture" games, which  describes the game-play. Mancala games play a role in
>>> many African and  some Asian societies comparable to that of _chess_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess)   in the West, or the game of _Go_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_(game))   in Eastern Asia. The list of mancala games
>>> best known in the Western  world includes _Kalah_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalah)  and _Oware_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oware) . Other games are
>>> _Congkak_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congkak) , _Omweso_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omweso) , _Ünee tugaluulakh_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ünee_tugaluulakh) , _Bao_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bao_(mancala_game)) ,
>>> _Sungka_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sungka)  and _Igisoro_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igisoro) .
>>> The word mancala comes from the _Arabic_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language)  word naqala meaning literally "to move."  There is no one game
>>> with the name mancala; instead mancala is a type, or  designation, of game.
>>> This word is used in Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt, but is not  consistently
>>> applied to any one game.
>>> In the USA, however, "mancala" is often used as a synonym for the game
>>> _Kalah_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalah) .
>>> 
>>> Contents
>>> [_hide_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#) ]
>>>   *   _1 General  gameplay_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#General_gameplay)
>>>   *   _1.1 Equipment_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#Equipment)
>>>   *   _1.2 Object_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#Object)
>>>   *   _1.3 Capturing_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#Capturing)
>>>   *   _2 History_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#History)
>>>   *   _3 Psychology_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#Psychology)
>>>   *   _4 See  also_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#See_also)
>>>   *   _5 Bibliography_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#Bibliography)
>>>   *   _6 References_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#References)
>>>   *   _7 External links_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#External_links)
>>> [_edit_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mancala&action=edit&section=1)  ] General gameplay
>>> Mancala games share a common general game play. Players begin by placing a
>>> certain number of seeds, prescribed by the variation in use, 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 the following pits in sequence), and capturing based on the
>>> state of  board. 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.
>>> [_edit_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mancala&action=edit&section=2)  ] Equipment
>>> 
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Igoware.JPG)
>>> Wooden Mancala Board from West Africa
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Equipment is typically a board, constructed of various materials, with a
>>> series of holes arranged in rows, usually two or four. 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 the  ends of the board, called stores, are used for holding the pieces.
>>> Playing pieces are seeds, beans, stones, cowry shells, or other small
>>> undifferentiated counters that are placed in and transferred about the holes
>>> during play. _Nickernuts_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickernut) are one
>>> common example of pieces used. Board  configurations vary among different
>>> games but also within variations of a given  game; for example _Endodoi_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endodoi)  is played on boards from 2 × 6 to 2 × 10.
>>> With a two-rank board, players usually are considered to control their
>>> respective sides of 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  captured them.
>>> [_edit_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mancala&action=edit&section=3)  ] Object
>>> The object of mancala games is usually to capture more stones than the
>>> opponent; sometimes, one seeks to leave the opponent with no legal move or to
>>> have your side empty first in order to win.
>>> At 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 a time in different holes
>>> reflects  the physical act of _sowing_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 resown from 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_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India)
>>> subcontinent use pussa-kanawa laps. These are like standard multilaps, 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 a lap ends just prior to an empty hole. If a player ends his stone with  a
>>> point move he gets a "free turn"
>>> [_edit_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mancala&action=edit&section=4)  ] Capturing
>>> 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
>>> the board  from stones in specific configurations, or landing in an empty
>>> hole adjacent to  an opponents 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.
>>> [_edit_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mancala&action=edit&section=5)  ] History
>>> 
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AksumGebeta.jpg)
>>> 
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AksumGebeta.jpg)
>>> Ancient Gebeta (i.e. mancala) holes in the base of an _Aksumite_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Aksum)  _stele_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stele) ,  _Axum_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axum) , _Ethiopia_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia) .
>>> 
>>> 
>>> One of the earlist evidence of the game are fragments of a pottery board
>>> and  several rock cuts found in _Aksumite_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Aksum)  _Ethiopia_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia)  in
>>> _Matara_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matara,_Eritrea)  (now in _Eritrea_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eritrea) ) and _Yeha_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeha)  (in  Ethiopia), which are dated by archaeologists to between the 6th
>>> and 7th century  AD; the game may have been mentioned by _Giyorgis of Segla_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Giyorgis_of_Segla&action=edit&redli
>>> nk=1)  in his 14th century _Ge'ez_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ge'ez_language)  text "Mysteries of Heaven and Earth", where he  refers to a game
>>> called _qarqis_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Qarqis&action=edit&redlink=1) , a term used in _Ge'ez_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ge'ez_language)  to refer to both Gebet'a (Mancala) and  Sant'araz (modern sent'erazh,
>>> Ethiopian _Chess_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess) )._[1]_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#cite_note-0)  The similarity of some aspects of the
>>> game to _agricultural_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture) activity
>>> and the absence of a need for  specialized equipment present the intriguing
>>> possibility that it could date to  the beginnings of _civilization_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization)  itself; however, there is little
>>> verifiable evidence that the game is older than about 1300 years. Some purported
>>> evidence comes from the _Kurna  temple_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurna_temple)  _graffiti_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti)  in Egypt, as
>>> reported by Parker in 1909 and  Murray in his "Board games other than
>>> chess". However, accurate dating of this  graffiti seems to be unavailable, and
>>> what designs have been found by modern  scholars generally resemble games
>>> common to the Roman world, rather than  anything like Mancala.
>>> Although the games existed in pockets in _Europe_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe) -- it is recorded as being played as early as the 17th
>>> century by merchants in  _England_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England)
>>> [_citation needed_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed) ] -- it
>>> has never gained much  popularity in most regions, except in the Baltic
>>> area, where once it was a very  popular game ("_Bohnenspiel_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Bohnenspiel) ") and Bosnia, where it is called Ban-Ban  and
>>> still played today. Mancala has also been found in Serbia[_citation needed_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed) ],
>>> Bulgaria[_citation needed_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed) ], Greece
>>> ("Mandoli",  Cyclades) and in a remote castle in southern Germany (_Schloss
>>> Weikersheim_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weikersheim_Castle) ).
>>> The _USA_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States)  has a larger
>>> mancala playing population. A  traditional mancala game called Warra was still
>>> played in Louisiana in the early  20th century. In Cape Verde, Mancala is known
>>> as "ouril". It is played in the  Islands and was brought to America by Cape
>>> Verdean immigrants. It is played to  this day in Cape Verdean communities
>>> in New England.
>>> [_edit_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mancala&action=edit&section=6)  ] Psychology
>>> Like other _board games_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_game#Psychology) , Mancala games have led to psychological  studies. Retschitzki has
>>> studied the cognitive processes used by awale  players._[2]_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#cite_note-1)  Some of Restchitzki's results on memory and
>>> problem solving have recently been simulated  by Gobet with the _CHREST_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHREST)   computer model._[3]_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#cite_note-2)  _De  Voogt_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_de_Voogt)  has studied the psychology of Bao playing._[4]_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala#cite_note-3)
>>> [_edit_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mancala&action=edit&section=7)  ] See  also
>>>   *   _List of mancala games_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mancala_games)
>>> [_edit_
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mancala&a
>> 
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> 
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