Fig. 11.
BOARD FOR GABATTÀ (MANCALA).
Abyssinia.
From a figure in the “Sacred City of the Ethiopians,” by J. T. Bent.
In the narrative of the Portuguese embassy of Alvarez to Abyssinia (1520-1527) reference is made to “Mancal” as an unknown game, antiquated in the reign of Don Manuel. Bent has recently described it as still existing in Abyssinia under the name of Gabattà.[2] ([Fig. 11].) Dr. George Schweinfurth states that it is played by the Niam-Niam, and is constantly played by all the people of the entire Gazelle district, although perhaps not known to the Moubuttoo. The Niam-Niam call the board, which has sixteen cavities, with two at the end for the reception of the cowrie shells, Abangah, ([fig. 12]) and the Bongo name for the board is Toee. He also says that it is found among the Peulhs, the Foolahs, the Toloofs, and the Mandingos in the Senegal countries, who devote a great portion of their time to this amusement. Rohlfs found it among the Kadje, between the Tsad and the Benue.[3] It also occurs among the Biafren and the Kimbunda. Héli Chatelain, who lived for some time at Angola, described the game to me under the name Mbau, and said that cavities are cut in the rock for this game at the stations where the porters halt. A board collected by him at Elmina, now in the U. S. National Museum, Washington, D. C., has twelve holes in two rows, with large holes at the ends. ([Pl. 3.])
[2] Speaking of the peasants of Sallaba, he says: “These primitive people are perfect artists in cow dung. With this material they make big jars in which to keep their grain, drinking goblets, and boards for the universal game, which the better class make of wood. I brought one of these away with me to show how universal this game is among the Abyssinians, from the chief to the peasant, and it reached the British Museum unbroken. This game is called Gabattà, and the wooden boards made by the better class contain eighteen holes, nine for each person. There are three balls, called chachtma, for each hole, and the game is played by a series of passing, which seemed to us very intricate, and which we could not learn; the holes they call their toukouls, or huts, and they get very excited over it. It closely resembles the game we saw played by the negroes in Mashonaland, and is generally found in one form or another in the countries where Arab influence has at one time or another been felt.” (“The Sacred City of the Ethiopians,” London, 1873, pp. 72-73.)
[3] Richard Andree, “Ethnographische Parallelen,” neue folge, Leipzig, 1889, p. 102.
Fig. 12.
BOARD FOR ABANGAH (MANCALA) USED BY THE NIAM-NIAM.
From a figure in “Artes Africanæ,” by George Schweinfurth.
Plate 3.
Board for Mbau (Mancala).
Elmina, Africa.
Collected by W. H. Brown. Cat. No. 151128, U. S. N. M.
Plate 4.