Anywoli is a traditional
mancala game played by the
Anuak people of the
Gambela province, in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, as well as in the
Akobo,
Pochalla
Pochalla (also Pochala, Pochella, Pachella) is a town in South Sudan.
Location
Pochalla is located in Pochalla County, Boma State, in eastern South Sudan, on the International border with Ethiopia. The town sits on the eastern edge of Boma Nation ...
and
Jokau regions of
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
. The name of the game means "bringing to life" ("giving birth"). Anywoli has similarities to mancalas found in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
and
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, such as
Ba-awa and
Obridjie.
Rules
The board used to play Anywoli has two rows of twelve holes each. Anuak call these holes "oto" (pl.: "udi"), meaning "house". At game setup, 4 seeds are placed in each hole. Seeds are called "nyibaré", meaning "children (sons) of the board game".
:4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
:4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
Players take turns; each owns one of the rows.
At his or her turn, the player takes all the seeds from one of his/her holes and
relay sows them counterclockwise. The sowing ends when the last seed falls in an empty hole or when a capture occurs.
Capture occurs whenever, during play, a hole holds exactly four seeds: those seeds are removed from the game, and taken by the player who owns the hole. In the special case where the last seed of a sowing is placed in a hole holding three seeds (thus forming a four-seed hole), the captured seeds are taken by the player who is moving, independent of who owns the hole. This also ends the player's turn.
When only 8 seeds are left on a board, the player who moved first at the beginning of the game captures them and the game ends. The winner is the player who captured most seeds.
References
* R. Pankhurst. ''Gabata and Related Board Games of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa''. In «Ethiopia Observer», 14 (3), 1971, p. 203.
External links
Anywoli
Traditional mancala games
Ethiopian culture
Sudanese culture