Mancala, Bhaja Cave Complex
Item
- Title (dcterms:title)
- Mancala, Bhaja Cave Complex
- Description (dcterms:description)
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This etched or incised board is located in the main chaitya griha of the Bhaja cave complex (Cave number 12).
The game of Mancala is considered to be one of the oldest games of the world, while its place of origin and the timeline is debatable. The earliest textual reference as stated by scholars comes from Kitab al-Aghani, or Book of Songs which does not directly mention mancala but refers to a similar game. These rows of cupules have been excavated in ancient sites like Jordan and many others including megalithic sites in India but their link as to being Mancala is debatable. This game has many variants all across the world and is popular in Africa, Asia, and parts of Eastern Europe. In India, Mancala is known by many names. The rules and variants of the game keep changing based on its region and according to the communities who play them. The number of holes in mancala differ along with the number of rows as well. In some variants the board is hand-drawn on a surface as circles with chalk or even cut holes on the soil to play the game. It is played with local seeds, stones or anything which is easily available as pieces to place inside the pits. The number of pieces per pit also vary from four to even twelve in some variants. This game is popularly a two player game but some variants also show three players or even one in some case.
In Bhaja Caves and in many other caves in western Deccan the evidence of mancala board depressions or carvings are present. This is an example of one such game board.
This is an 11 hole mancala with 2 rows. The approximate length of the board is 35cm. the width is uneven and approximately measured at 6cm. The diametre of the holes are uniform and measured as 3cm.
This mancala board lies on the left hand side of the chaitya griha facing the stupa lying beside the chaupar board at the same cave.
Etched games or games inscribed have been documented by scholars and board game researchers from many sites of India, both at religious and secular spaces. From sites like Lothal (Indus Valley) to game pieces found at Mohenjodaro, to reference of scholars at books like Sedentary Games and The Boardgame complied by the Anthropological Survey of India, etchings of game boards have been found on stone slabs of places where people gathered, in temple porches or floors of temples and stupa complex.
- Alternative Title (dcterms:alternative)
- Mow korkatia / Longbeuacha (Assamese ), Sat-gol (Hindi), Ali Guli Mane (Kannada), Vai Lung Thlan (Mizo), Kanji guti (Odia), Khutka boia (Punjabi ), Pallanguzhi/ Pallankuli (Tamil), Vamana Guntalu (Telugu), Chenna Maaney (Tulu), Pachgarhwa (Urdu), Til-goti, Chal goti (Mundari), Sat Gharoa (Bihar), Bakri (Chattisgarh)
- Rules (dcterms:instructionalMethod)
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Rules of Mancala
How to play Mancala
Goal: The object of the game is to capture the most Stones/Seeds in your Mancala or on your side. It starts with equal number of stones or seeds on each hole or houses (5 or 6) The game ends when one player has no remaining Stones in any of their Houses.
How Players Move: The active player picks up all the stones or seeds in any of their Houses or Holes.
Moving counter-clockwise around the board, they place one stone in each of the next Houses, including their own Mancala.
Game Play:
Extra turns: When the active player places their last Stone in their own Mancala, that player immediately gets another turn.
Capturing Stones: If the active player places their last Stone in one of their own empty Houses, they get all the Stones from the opponent’s House directly across from the House where the active player placed the Stone. All captured Stones are placed in the active player’s Mancala.
Changing turns: When the active player places their last Stone in one of their opponents empty Houses or places their last Stone in any House that already contains Stones, the active player’s turn ends and it is now their opponent’s turn to be the active player. Players take turns until, after taking a move, all of either player’s Houses are empty. Any remaining Stones in a player’s
Houses go into their Mancala. When this happens, the game ends and the players count their Stones. The player with the most Stones or Seeds in their Mancala is the winner. - How to play Mancala
- Creator (dcterms:creator)
- Unknown
- Contributor (dcterms:contributor)
- Souvik Mukherjee and Adrija Mukherjee
- Rights (dcterms:rights)
- Creative Commons
- Format (dcterms:format)
- Graffiti Board game
- Medium (dcterms:medium)
- Boardgame engraved or excavated on basalt rock
- References (dcterms:references)
- Mancala/Mankala by The Digital Ludemi Project
- Temporal Coverage (dcterms:temporal)
- Bhaja Caves are dated to roughly 2nd century BCE by scholars.
- Spatial Coverage (dcterms:spatial)
- Bhaja Caves, Maharashtra
- Variants (dcterms:isVersionOf)
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Cenne Mane
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Khutki Boia
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Sat Gol Game
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Gud Phale
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Pachgharwa (five spaces/homes)
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Düzalé
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Kasadi
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Interview with Professor Priya Sangameswaran (CSSSC): On Playing Pallanguzhi/Pallangudi in Palakkad
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Rules of Pallankuzhi
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Sat- Gharoa
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Mawkar Katiya
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Mancala, Pataleshwar (7)
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Mancala, Pataleshawar (8)
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Incomplete Mancala, Pataleshwar (6)
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Mancala, Pataleshwar (4)
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Mancala, Pataleshwar (5)
- Date (dcterms:date)
- 31st January 2025
- Entered by (dcterms:accrualMethod)
- Adrija Mukherjee
- Notes (foaf:status)
- Starting from the reference of Bhaja Caves in the travelogue of George Annesley, to the works of John Wilson, James Fergusson, Burgess, S Nagaraju, and many others later who have worked on documenting the inscriptions, sculptures and the architecture of the caves of Bhaja it is our contention that the focus on these gameboards have been neglected. Although in some other caves some of these games have been documented and identified, more precise work needs to be done and further questions need to be raised for example geotagged locations, identification of play patterns etc.
