HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Southeast Asian mancalas are a subtype of
mancala Mancala ( ''manqalah'') is a family of two-player Turns, rounds and time-keeping systems in games, turn-based Strategy game, strategy board games played with small stones, beans, marbles or seeds and rows of holes or pits in the earth, a board ...
games predominantly found in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
. They are known as congkak in
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
; congklak ( VOS Spelling: tjongklak), congkak, congka, and dakon in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
and
Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...
; and sungkâ in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. They differ from other mancala games in that the player's store is included in the placing of the seeds. Like other mancalas, they vary widely in terms of the rules and number of holes used.


Names

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
n mancalas are generally known by variations of similar
cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...
s which are likely onomatopoeiac. The names have also come to mean the
cowrie Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails in the family Cypraeidae. Cowrie shells have held cultural, economic, and ornamental significance in various cultures. The cowrie was the shell most widely used wo ...
shells, predominantly used as the seeds of the game. These names include ''congkak'' in
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, ( VOS Spelling: ''tjongklak''; also spelled as ''tsjongklak'' in Dutch sources), , , and in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...
, and
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, and ''sungkâ'' (also spelled ''chonca'' or ''chongca'' by Spanish sources) in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. Historical records show that similar games also existed in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
(where it is known as ''chonka'') and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. In
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
, India, it is known as Pallanguzhi. A similar game is still found in the
Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...
, where it is known as ''ohlvalhu'' (where ''valhu'' means "eight", so literally "eight holes"). It has also spread to the
Marianas The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly Volcano#Dormant and reactivated, dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean ...
(where it is known as ''chongka'') and
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
via relatively recent Filipino migrations. Other names for the game include ' or ''dhakon'' ( Javanese), ''kunggit'' (Philippines), ''dentuman lamban'' (
Lampung Lampung, officially the Province of Lampung (; ), is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southern tip of the island of Sumatra. It has a short border with the province of Bengkulu to the northwest, and a longer border with the provi ...
), ''mokaotan'', ''maggaleceng'', ''aggalacang'' or ''nogarata'' (
Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...
), and ''naranj'' (Maldives).


History

The oldest
mancala Mancala ( ''manqalah'') is a family of two-player Turns, rounds and time-keeping systems in games, turn-based Strategy game, strategy board games played with small stones, beans, marbles or seeds and rows of holes or pits in the earth, a board ...
game boards were found in a ruined fort of Roman Egypt and date back to the 4th century AD. The original route of dispersal of mancalas into Southeast Asia is unknown. It may have originally entered Southeast Asia via Austronesian trading routes with
South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
. Indonesia has the largest variation of Southeast Asian mancalas and thus may be likely to be at least one of the major entry points, though this may also be just an artifact of the country's size. Where the characteristic Southeast Asian ruleset originates from is still unknown.


Description

Southeast Asian mancalas are played by two people on carved wooden elongated boat-shaped boards with cup-shaped holes. Most variants have two sets of seven holes for each player, plus two larger holes at each end which are known as the "stores" of the players. However, the number of holes can vary, ranging from three to nine or more (excluding the stores), and these variants (which can also differ in the rules) can coexist in one area. Mancala games are played with "seeds" or "counters", which are usually made from small
cowrie Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails in the family Cypraeidae. Cowrie shells have held cultural, economic, and ornamental significance in various cultures. The cowrie was the shell most widely used wo ...
shells, pebbles, or
tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this spe ...
seeds. The holes in Southeast Asian mancalas are typically deeper and larger than variants in mainland Asia and Africa, since the seeds used are larger. A total of 98 pieces are used in the seven-hole board version. In Malaysia, the holes are called ''lubang'' ("hole"), while the larger store holes are called ''rumah'' ("house"). In Indonesia, the holes are called ''anak'' ("child"), while the larger store holes are called ''indung'' ("mother"). In the Philippines, the holes are called ''bahay'' or ''balay'' ("house"), while the store hole is called ''ulo'' ("head").


Rules

The rules for the most common seven-hole mancala versions in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, the Maldives, Marianas, and the Philippines are almost identical. Each player controls the seven holes on the side of the board to their left and their score is the number of seeds in their store holes. Seven seeds are placed in each small hole except for the players' store hole. The objective of the game is to capture more seeds in the store than one's opponent. Both players begin simultaneously by scooping up all the seeds in any hole on their side. Each drops a seed into the next hole and continues clockwise depositing one seed into every hole thereafter. A player drops a seed into their store each time they pass it but does not deposit any into their opponent's store. How the game continues, depends on where the last seed of each scoop is deposited. *If the seed drops into the player’s own store: the player scoops up the seeds from any of their holes and distributes them in the holes round the board but not in their opponent's store. *If the seed drops into a hole (on either side of the board) containing seed: The player scoops up all of the seeds in that hole and continues distributing them as described above. *If the seed drops into an empty hole belonging to the player: the player is entitled to collect the seeds in their opponent's store directly opposite their own. These seeds collected from their opponent's holes together with their last seed are deposited in their own store. If the opponent's store opposite their own is empty, they deposit only their last seed in their own store. They forfeit their turn and stop playing. It is the opponent's turn now to distribute the seeds. *If the seed drops into an empty hole belonging to the opponent: the player forfeits their turn and stops playing. They also forfeit their seeds and leave it in the opponent's hole. It is the opponent's turn now to distribute the seeds. The first round ends when a player has no more seeds in their holes. The remaining seeds are awarded to their opponent. Play resumes in the second round with players redistributing seeds from their own store to their own holes. Beginning from left to right, seven seeds are placed in each hole. If a player does not have sufficient seeds to fill their own holes, the remaining holes are left empty and are considered 'burnt'. The leftover seeds are deposited into their own store. The opponent deposits excess seeds they have won into their own store. The loser gets to start the second round. Play is continued as before but players will bypass 'burnt' holes and no seeds are to be dropped into these holes. If a seed is accidentally dropped into a 'burnt' holes, it is confiscated and stored in the opponent's store. Play continues until one player loses all of their holes or concedes defeat.


Cultural significance

The game is regarded as useful for developing certain mathematical principles. The second series
Malaysian Ringgit The Malaysian ringgit (; plural: ringgit; symbol: RM; currency code: MYR; Malay name: ''Ringgit Malaysia''; formerly the Malaysian dollar) is the currency of Malaysia. Issued by the Central Bank of Malaysia, it is divided into 100 cents ( M ...
10 sen coin has a Congkak board on the reverse in recognition of the long history of congkak in Malaysia.


Dakon stones

In Java, the term "dakon stone" refers to the similarly pitmarked stones from the bronze-iron age period of Indonesia. These stones have rows of 4 or 5 cup-shaped holes (called "cupules" in archaeology) and two holes at each end, a formation which has much in common with that of ''congklak''. This prehistoric dakon stones is unrelated to the game and were probably employed in ceremonies to propitiate ancestors. Such stones can be found around Java. Similar cup-shaped depressions are also found in other Austronesian cultures, most notably in
Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...
.


See also

* Sepak takraw * Carrom


References

{{reflist


External links


A congklak page.Jeroen Donkers Dakon page.Oware/Awale and other Mancala games – an informative pageCongkak game on iPhone by Rojak Mobile EntertainmentSungka Game Information
Traditional mancala games Malay culture Culture of Malaysia Traditional games of Indonesia Philippine games Solved games tl:Sungka