Awale i jocs Mancala - Oware and Mancala games
MANCALA GAMES: A FAMILY WITH MANY NAMES
by Jordi Climent [How should we name these games?
Maybe mancala board games?, sow and harvest games?, holes and seeds games?, or count and capture games?
For some reasons non-African writers and researchers have always lumped the african board games together under the generic name "mancala". Some authors also call them "manqala", "mankala" or "mankaleh". "Mancala" is usually the generic name for all 'sow and harvest' games amongst academics.
And why "Mancala"?
The majority of authors believe that the word “mancala” comes from the Arabic term “naqala” which means: to move. But there are other opinions as mancala is actually a corruption of the word 'mankaleh' meaning the game of intelligence. It is hard to find the use of this name by African ethnic groups. 'Mankaleh' is derived from Swahili a hybrid language that has a great deal of Arabic influence. Hence the name itself is at best a terminology adopted by Arabic traders to the continent.
What are the local names for mancala games as used in the ethnic groups where each game is played or originates?
Mancala games are known by great variety of names, which may refer to the playing pieces, the moves, the material of the board, the sound of play,… according to the countries. The words "Wari" and "Solo" are the most common names for two-row and four-row mancala games in Africa. 'Solo' game is well-known as 'Chisolo', 'Luzolo' and 'Soro'.
Someone said that a great confusion has been created along the years all over the world with the different names of mancala games. And that it is difficult to establish the true origin of any name. Some of these names are distinct terms, but others represent differences in transcription or cognates in other languages. "Ubao" and "Mbao" are Swahili terms. The first means: board. The second one means: wood. "Solo" is both a Pemba Swahili word for the playing seeds and a general word for the game in other African languages.
But who is confused?
It is true that Internet is full of many lists of names of mancala games and there is no difficulty in finding them but there is not too many efforts to organise and relate them to their origins. Similar to the confusion of names for the games, there is also an apparent 'confusion' of rules by authors. However, there are no confusions in the minds and experiences of African owners of the games. The names are unique to regions and ethnic groups and each ethnic group has adhered to those names for centuries. Although 'Bao', known as 'Ambao', 'Bau', 'Mbao', 'Mbau' or 'Mbo' has spread over the main part of the east African coast; the 'Conka', also known as 'Congka', 'Congkak', 'Congklak', 'Sunka', 'Dakon' o 'Ohvalhu', is well known in Asia and has perhaps spread farther in the world than any other mancala game. The name "Chanka", or variations of it, is used in India and the Philippines.
The word "mancala", or variations of it ("Al-manqala", "mangala", "mankala", or "manqala") is also a specific name used in Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Zaire and Malawi. However, the local rules are not always the same.
At present, of all the mancala games, Oware is it the most widespread and the best studied. Oware is one of the names of the shrub caesalpinia bonduc that produces these small fruits of green color, hard and smooth that they are not consumed either by the men or by the animals. Their only known utility is that of being used as pieces for playing. But they can be used as a diuretic, for diabetes, for hypertension, and were formerly used as quinine in treating malaria.