An account of the manners and customs of the modern Egyptians

by Edward William Lane

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│ S │ R │ Q │ P │ O │ N │ M │ L │ K │

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│ A │ B │ C │ D │ E │ F │ G │ H │ I │

└───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┘

In each beyt of one exterior row is usually placed a little piece of stone, or dingy brick, about the size of a walnut; and in each beyt of the other exterior row, a piece of red brick or tile. Or, sometimes, pieces are placed only in a certain number of beyts in those rows; as, for instance, in the first four. The pieces of one row must be distinguished from those in the other. They are called “kiláb” (or dogs); in the singular, “kelb.” The game is generally played by two persons. The four little sticks are thrown, all together, against a stick thrust into the ground or held in the hand with one end resting on the ground, or against a wall, or against a stick inclined against a wall. If they fall so that one only has its white side upwards, the player is said to have thrown, or brought, “táb” (plural “teeb”), or a “weled” (or child, plural “wilád”), and counts one: if there be two white, and the other two black, he counts two (“itneyn”): if there be three white, and one black, he counts three (“teláteh”): if all four be white, four (“arba’′ah”): if all four black, six (“sitteh”). When one throws táb, or four, or six, he throws again; but when he has thrown two, or three, it is then the turn of the other. To one of the players belongs the row of beyts A, B, C, etc.: to the other, that of a, b, c, etc. They first throw alternately until one has thrown táb; and he who has done this then throws again until he has brought two, or three. Supposing him, at the beginning of the game, to have thrown táb and four and two, he removes the kelb from beyt I, and places it in the seventh beyt from I, which is Q. He must always commence with the kelb in beyt I. The other party, in like manner, commences from beyt i. Neither party can remove a kelb from its original place but by throwing táb before each such removal. The kelbs before removal from their original places are called “Nasára” (or Christians, in the singular “Nasránee”); and after removal, when they are privileged to commence the contest, “Muslimeen” (or “Muslims”): when a person has made a kelb a Muslim, it is said of him “sellem kelb;” and of the kelb, “aslam.” Each time that a player throws táb, he generally makes a kelb Muslim, until he has made them all so, and thus prepared them to circulate in the beyts. Each player may have two or more kelbs in circulation at the same time. Let us suppose (to make the description more simple) that the person to whom belongs the row of beyts A, B, C, etc., is circulating a single kelb: he moves it through the two middle rows of beyts in the order of the letters by which I have distinguished them, from K to S, and from k to s; and may then either repeat the same round or enter his adversary’s row, as long as there is any kelb remaining in that row; but in the latter case, he does not continue to circulate the same kelb, excepting under circumstances which will be mentioned hereafter. Whenever a throw, or any of two or more throws, which the player has made enables him to move his kelb into a beyt occupied by one of his opponent’s kelbs, he takes the latter. For instance, if one party has a kelb in the beyt m, and the other has one in o, and another in s, and the former has thrown táb (or one) and then four, and then two, he may take the kelb in o by the throw of two; then, by the throw of four, take that in s; and, by the throw of táb, pass into a, and take a third kelb if it contain one. A player may, by means of a suitable throw, or two or more throws, move one of his kelbs into a beyt occupied by another of his own; and these two together, in like manner, he may add to a third, or he may add a third to them: thus he may unite any number of his own kelbs, and circulate them together, as if they were but one; but he cannot divide them again, and play with them separately, unless he throw táb. If he avail himself of a throw which he has made to bring them back into a row through which they have already passed (either separately or together), they become reduced to a single kelb: but he need not avail himself of such a throw: he may wait until he throws táb. Two or more kelbs thus united are called an “’eggeh.” The object of so uniting them is to place them as soon as possible in a situation of safety, as will be seen by what immediately follows. If either party pass one of his kelbs into his adversary’s row, he may leave it there in safety as long as he does not want to continue to play with it, because the latter cannot bring back a kelb into his own row. The former, however, cannot continue to circulate the kelb which has entered that row until he has no kelb remaining in his own row; or unless he have only an ’eggeh in his row, and does not throw táb, which alone enables him to divide the ’eggeh. In circulating through his adversary’s beyts, he proceeds in the order of the letters by which I have marked them. He cannot pass the same kelb again into his adversary’s row: after it has passed through that row, he circulates it through the two middle rows only, in the same manner as at first.—This game is often played by four or more persons, and without the seega. When one person throws four, he is called the Sultán. He holds a makra’′ah, which is a piece of the thick end of a palm-stick, with two or three splits made in the thicker part of it. When a player throws six, he is called the Wezeer, and holds the stick against which the táb are thrown. Whenever a person throws two, the Sultán gives him a blow, or two or more blows (as many as the Wezeer may order), on the sole of his foot, or the soles of both feet, with the makra’′ah. When a player throws twice six, he is both Sultán and Wezeer.

SEEGA.

Many of the felláheen of Egypt also frequently amuse themselves with a game called that of the “seega,” which may be described in a few words. The seega employed in this game is different from that of the táb: it consists of a number of holes, generally made in the ground; most commonly, of five rows of five holes in each, or seven rows of seven in each, or nine rows of nine in each: the first kind is called the “khamsáwee seega;” the second, the “seb’áwee;” and the third, the “tis’áwee.” A khamsáwee seega is here represented.

The holes are called “’oyoon” (or eyes, in the singular “’eyn”). In this seega, they are twenty-five in number. The players have each twelve “kelbs,” similar to those used in the game of the táb.[^[447]] One of them places two of his kelbs in the ’eyns marked a, a: the other puts two of his in those marked b, b: they then alternately place two kelbs in any of the ’eyns that they may choose, excepting the central ’eyn of the seega. All the ’eyns but the central one being thus occupied (most of the kelbs placed at random), the game is commenced. The party who begins moves one of his kelbs from a contiguous ’eyn into the central. The other party, if the ’eyn now made vacant be not next to any one of those occupied by his kelbs, desires his adversary to give him, or open to him, a way; and the latter must do so, by removing, and thus losing, one of his own kelbs. This is also done on subsequent occasions, when required by similar circumstances. The aim of each party, after the first disposal of the kelbs, is to place any one of his kelbs in such a situation that there shall be, between it and another of his, one of his adversary’s kelbs. This, by so doing, he takes; and as long as he can immediately make another capture by such means, he does so, without allowing his adversary to move.—These are the only rules of the game. It will be remarked that, though most of the kelbs are placed at random, foresight is requisite in the disposal of the remainder.—Several seegas have been cut upon the stones on the summit of the great pyramid, by Arabs who have served as guides to travellers.