Literature

Mancala games play a major role in some literature (including "orature"), a minor in many more works. The following lists are meant as an overview on this rather neglected field of mancala research. It includes oral and written, native and western literature, legends, proverbs, poems, children's books and novels, but no scientific publications of any kind.

Traditional Works

Oral Literature

Title	Ethnic Group	Language	Country	Type	Role	Description
A Story of Abunawas	Swahili	Swahili	Tanzania	Story	major	About a game of Bao.
"Ayo proverb"	Yoruba	Yoruba	Nigeria	Proverb	major	The proverb can be found here.
Bao naligwa	Swahili	Swahili	Kenya (Mombasa)	Poem	major	Composed by Muyaka bin Haji in the 1820s (see here).
"Bao sayings"	Swahili & Bajun	Swahili	Kenya, Tanzania	Saying	major	Several Bao sayings are listed here.
"Bao song"	Swahili	Swahili	Kenya	Song	major	The song is given here, another version.
"Darra proverb"	Hausa	Hausa	Nigeria	Proverb	major	The proverb can be found here.
Dồng dao	Vietnamese	Vietnamese	Vietnam	Song	major	Text and translation.
Elephant Beat Hare	Mòoré	Mossi	Burkina Faso	Folktale	major	Text.
"Giuthi proverb"	Gĩkũyũ	Gĩkũyũ	Kenya	Proverb	major	A Giuthi proverb is listed here.
God Leaves the Animals to Fend for Themselves	Malagasy	Bara	Madagascar	Tantara ("true story")	major	God's gifts are put into the pits of the first mancala board dug into the earth.
Golden Oware Counters	Ashante	Ashante	Ghana	Historical legend	major	The story of Ntim Gyakari, King of Denkyira, who was killed from the Juaben king Yiadom Adarkwa while playing Oware with golden counters.
Gurihoeseb	Damara	Nama	Namibia	Creation myth	minor	About the first man; Hus game between humans and animals.
Haiseb Invented the Stone Game	Damara	Nama	Namibia	myth	major	About the invention of Hus.
"Hus sayings"	Damara, Namaqua	Nama	Namibia	Saying	major	Several Hus sayings have been listed here.
Creation Myth of the Ila	Ila	Ba-Ila	Zambia	Creation myth	major	Explaining mortality of man; related to Chisolo.
Ishvara Devere	Tuluva	Tulu	India	Story (Paddana)	major	Husband and wife playing Cenne.
King Katakyie	Akan	Ashanti	Ghana	Legend	major	Explains why a popular mancala game is called Oware (text).
Kalobotry, the Sailor, and Ratrimo, the Monster	Malagasy	Sakalava	Madagascar	Myth	minor	Kalobotry teaches a monster Katro.
Koti and Chenayya	Tuluva	Tulu	India	Legend	major	Gambling for cashewnuts.
Kweku Ananse and the Wisdom Gourd	Asante	Twi	Ghana	Legend	minor	Ananse the spider won some wisdom from an old man by beating him in a game of Oware(as retold by Lisa Torres(.
"Layli Goobalay proverb"	Somali	Somali	Somalia	Proverb	major	A Layli Goobalay proverb is listed here.
"Lusolo proverb"	Lega	KiLega	Congo	Proverb	major	A Lusolo proverb is given here.
Manas, Epic of	Kyrgyz	Kyrgyz	Kyrgyztan	Epic	major	English translation of the lines mentioning Toguz Korgool.
Malumbe and Munyama	Ila	Ba-Ila	Zambia	Legend	major	Two rivals play Chisolo.
Nama Men Played the Stone Game With Diamonds	Germans	German	Namibia	Urban Legend	major	Diamonds are exchanged for marbles to be used as game counters.
"Ô Quan proverb"	Vietnamese	Vietnamese	Vietnam	Proverb	major	Text and translation.
"Omweso proverbs & sayings"	Baganda	Luganda	Uganda	Proverb & Sayings	major	Several Omweso proverbs and sayings are listed here.
"Ouri riddle"	Cape Verdean Creole	Cape Verdeans	Cape Verde	Riddle	major	One riddle is listed here.
"Oware proverbs"	Akan, Ashante	Akan, Ashante	Ghana	Proverb	major	Four Oware proverb is given here.
Paramale Ballal	Tuluva	Tulu	India	Story (Paddana)	major	Sung by two women, Payyu (the lead singer) and Kargi Mundaldaklu of Anjar village, Udupi Taluk.
Prince Adekanbi Breaks the Taboo	Yoruba	Yoruba	Nigeria	Story	major	The story spoken by African Gods through the Oracle of Ifa mentions Ayo.
Ruhanga's Sons	Nyoro	Nyoro	Uganda	Myth	minor	About Rusoro.
Ryangombe	Rwanda-Rundi	Hutu	Rwanda	Myth	minor	Two versions are known: "The Lion Godness" and "The Disappearance of Ryangombe"
Sankhambi and the Baboons	Venda	Venda	South Africa	Creation myth	major	Mefuvha game played between baboons and humans.
Shells along the way	(?)	(?)	(West Africa ?)	Legend	major	The legend of unknown origin was first posted on French Wikipedia (text).
Sindillo	Maasai	Maa	Tanzania	Creation myth	minor	Invention of En Gehé by Sindillo, the first son of Naiterogob (i.e. Eve).
Siri, Epic of	Tuluva	Tulu	India	Epic Poem (Paddana)	major	Numerous parts of the epic mention Cenne (excerpt from Abbaya's and Daaraya's childhood).
"Songo fun stories"	Pangwe	Songo	Cameroon	Fun story	major	Numerous Songo Ewondo stories were recorded by the German ethnologue Tessmann.
Sultan Darai	Swahili	Swahili	Zanzibar	Folk Tale	minor	Mentions Bao. Reported by Edward Steere.
Sundjata, Epic of	Mandinka	Mandinka	Mali	Epic	minor	About the founder of the Mali kingdom, mentioning Wori.
"Sungka riddles"	Filipino	Bicol, Tagalog	Philippines	Riddle	major	Two Sungka riddle can be found here.
The Bao of Masuche	Tatoga	Tatoga	Tanzania	Myth	major	Masuche tricked God in a game of Bao
The Bird Monster and the Motherbrother	Wagogo	Wagogo	Tanzania	Myth	minor	Explains why Bao is played without swallowing the stones.
The Chieftain's Sons	Bassari	O-niyan	Togo	Folk Tale	minor	Mentions Iworra, probably a variant of Oware; text.
The Fast Runner Matambo and the Cripple Jishegena	Sukuma	Sukuma	Tanzania	Folk Tale	major	Related to Isolo.
The Game Board	Nebri	(?)	Ethiopia	Folk tale	major	About a Gebeta board (story).
The Lion and the Eremite	Damara	Nama	Namibia	Creation myth	minor	The eremite and his wife play Hus.
The Origin of Livestock	Nyangatom	Nyangatom	Ethiopia	Myth	major	The complete myth, which mentions Amoru or Nikeles, and its meaning is given here.
The Son of Nimer (Fatma the Beautiful)	Arab	Arabs	Sudan	Folktale	minor	About incest. Mancala contest at the end of the tale, the stake being the removal of the loser's outer garment.
The Son of the Concubine	Arab	Arabs	Sudan	Folktale	minor	A women must be conquered by defeating her in Mangala.
The Stone Game of the Lions	Damara	Nama	Namibia	Creation myth	major	Hus game between animals.
The Story of Maiyage and Maipage	Tuluva	Tulu	India	Story (Paddana)	major	Two sisters are playing Sita ata while their parents are searching for husbands for them.
The Story of Siva	Tuluva	Tulu	India	Legend	major	About the founder of the Siri cult.
The Story of Sonne and Ginde	Tuluva	Tulu	India	Story (Paddana)	major	Women playing Cenne while their grandfather is preparing them for marriage.
The Timi of Ede	Yoruba	Yoruba	Nigeria	Poem	minor	The seeds of the Ayo game do not complain poem.
The Water Spirit	Mende	Mende	Liberia	Myth	major	About a king who was addicted to the game of Te
The Zodiac Animal	Mijikenda	Mijikenda	Kenya	Fable	major	Lion and hare play Kigogo.
"Tsoro proverb"	Shona	Shona	Zimbabwe	Proverb	major	A Tsoro proverb is given here.
Vinanaasakoni	Tamils	Tamil	India	Devotional song	major	Kriti by Saint Thygraja about male superiority featuring Pallanguzhi, sometimes misinterpreted as "chess"; translated text.
"Warri proverb"	Antiguan	English	Antigua & Barbuda	Proverb	major	A Warri proverb can be found here.

Written Literature

Title	Author	Country	Place	Year	Language	Type	Role	Description
Hezār wa-Yek Shab (Kitāb Alf Layla wa-Layla)	Abu abd-Allah Muhammed el-Gahshigar (Arabic compiler and translator)	Persia	Baghdad	8th-9th century AD	Persian (translated into Arabic)	Epic	minimal	Based on orature; called Arabian Nights in Europe; mentions mancala in a game list
Kitāb al-Aghani	Ali Abul al-Faraj al-Isfahani	Persia	Baghdad	10th century	Arabic	Collection of Songs and Poems	minimal	24 volumes; brief mention of mancala

Modern Works

Note: References to mancala games are so widespread in modern works that only those are mentioned, in which the game plays a major role.

Children's Literature

Title	Author	Publisher	Place	Year	Language	Type	Description
Alarmstufe Regen	Daniela Dicker	Bischöfliche Hilfswerk Misereor e. V.	Aachen (Germany)	2009	German	Comic	Two boys from the town of Dori in Burkina Faso, Abdul and Ali, play Oware, while they are herding goats.
A Mancala Morning	(?)	School Specialty Publishing	Grand Rapids MI (USA)	1997	English	Short Story	Malaika, the high school exchange student from Africa, teaches an interesting game. (Reading for Grade 4)
The Golden Oware Counters	J. O. de Graft Hanson	Ghana Publishing Corporation	Tema (Ghana)	1991	English	Novel	About the Asante-Denkyira Wars with imaginary characters.
Trouble	Jane Kurtz	Gulliver Books	Orlando FL (USA)	1997	English	Picture book	About a boy in Ethiopia who is distracted from goat herding by a mancala game made by his father.
Sungka and Smiling Irish Eyes	Natalie Gonzales-Sullaway	Imprint Books	? (USA)	2003	English	Novel	On cultural identity.

Adult Literature

Title	Author	Publisher	Place	Year	Language	Type	Description
A Game of Bawo	Felix Mnthali	(?)	(Malawi)	(?)	English	Poem	The Poem
Chơi Ô ăn quan	Lữ Huy Nguyên	(?)	(?)	(?)	Vietnamese	Poem	Text
Hun Sen Leng Bay Khom	Yim Guechsè	(?)	(?)	2008	Khmer	Poem	Text
Matricide	Marie-Jeanne Tshilolo Kabika	L'Harmattan	Paris (France)	1966	French	Novel	Description
Memento Mori	Peter Strauss	David Philip Ltd.	Claremont (South Africa)	1983	English	Poem	Text
Pallankuzhi	Raamesh Gowri Raghavan	self-published	Mumbai (India)	2011	English	Poem	Text
The Life We Loom	Nikki Grimes	Clarion Books	New York NY (USA)	2001	English	Poem	Text
Thời gian trắng	Xuân Quỳnh	(?)	(?)	(?)	Vietnamese	Poem	Text.
We don't talk too much	Efua Sutherland	(?)	(?)	(?)	English	Poem	Text.

Miscellaneous Literature

Title	Author	Year	Language	Type	Description
Bao La Kete	AT	2011	Swahili	Song	Bao is said to be a lovable game. The singer tells that he was taught the game by his grandfather so that he doesn't play cards ... (more).
Mot Songo	Martin "Martino" Atangana	2005	Ewondo	Song	"The Songo Man" in an album containing Afro-Pop and Jazz.
Sungka	Alison M. De La Cruz (feminist poet and communication scientist)	1999	English	Performance	Analysis of societal and family-related expectations of gender-specific behavior and sexuality.

See also

• List of Mancala Proverbs

References

Agyeman-Duah, I., Appiah, A. & Appiah, P.

Bu Me Bé: Akan Proverbs. The Center for Intellectual Renewal, Accra (Ghana) 2001.

Anonymous.

A Mancala Morning. In: Spectrum Reading, Grade 4 (Spectrum Reading Series). School Specialty Publishing, Grand Rapids MI (USA) 2007, 12-13.

Appadurai, A., Korom, F. J. & Mills, M. A.

Gender, Genre, and Power in South Asian Expressive Traditions (South Asian Regional Studies and Publications of the American Folklore Society). University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia PA (USA) 1991, 168-171.

Bamboté, P. M.

Randonnées de Daba de Ouadda à Bangui. Dakar (Senegal), Paris (France) 1966, 44.

Biebuyck, D. P.

Lega Culture: Art, Initiation, and Moral Philosophy Among a Central African People. University of California Press, Berkeley CA (USA) 1973, 153.

Claus, P. J.

Mancala (Cenne) in Tulu Myth and Cult. In: Claus, P. J., Pattanayak, D. P. & Handoo, J. Indian Folklore II. Central Institute of Indian Languages Press, Mysore (India) 1987.

Claus, P. J.

Re: Cenne. E-mail to R. Gering, September 17, 2006.

Courlander, H. & Leslau, W.

The Fire on the Mountain, and Other Ethiopian Stories. Holt, New York NY (USA) 1950.

Daly, N. (Ed.)

Why Sun and Moon Live in the Sky: An African Legend and Other Folktales. Lothrop Lee & Shepard, New York (USA) 1995, 47-52.

Devlieger, P. J.

Frames of Reference in African Proverbs on Disability. In: International Journal of Disability, Development and Education 1999; 46 (4): 439 - 451.

Frobenius, L.

Schwarze Sonne Afrika: Mythen, Märchen und Magie. Diederichs, Düsseldorf (Germany) 1980

Handelman, D. & Shulman, D. D.

God Inside Out: Śiva's Game of Dice. Oxford University Press, New York (USA) & Oxford (UK) 1997, 107-109.

Haring, L.

Indian Ocean Folktales: Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles. National Folklore Support Centre, Chennai (India) 2002.

Honko, L. (Ed.)

The Siri Epic as Performed by Gopala Naika. Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia / Academia Scientiarum Fennica, Helsinki (Finland) 1998.

Hurreiz, S. H.

Ja`aliyyin Folktales: An Interplay of African, Arabian, and Islamic Elements. University Press, Bloomington IN (USA) 1977, 83-85 & 137-139 & 161.

Jama Musse Jama

Layli Goobalay: Variante Somala del Gioco Nazionale Africano. Redsea-Online Publishing Group, Pisa (Italy) 2002.

Klobah, M.

Sowing the Seeds of Knowledge in Children's Literature: Sociocultural Values in J. O. de Graft Hanson's The Golden Oware Counters. In: Children's Literature Association Quarterly 2005; 30 (2): 152-163.

Knappert, K.

A Survey of Swahili Songs With English Translations. Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston NY (USA) 2004, 285.

Le Quellec, J.-L.

À propos d'un mythe Nyangatom d'origine du bétail. In: Cahiers Caribéens d'Egyptologie 2002; 3/4 (February/ March): 179-199.

Mapanje, J.

Gathering Seaweed: African Prison Writing. Heinemann International, London (UK) 2002.

Menzel, B.

Goldgewichte aus Ghana. Museum für Völkerkunde, Westberlin (Germany) 1968.

Merrick, G.

Hausa Proverbs. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co. Ltd., London (UK) 1905.

Owomoyela, O.

Preservation or Mummification? The Implications of Subjecting Traditional Texts to Modern Processes. In: Research in African Literatures 2007; 38 (3): 170-182.

Owusu, M.

The Sudden Return. Heinemann Educational Books Ltd, London (UK) 1973.

Perani, J. & Smith, F. T.

The Visual Arts of Africa: Gender, Power, and Life Cycle Rituals. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River NJ (USA) 1998, 119.

Quartey, K.

Trokosi: Wife of the Gods. Random House, New York NY (USA), 2009.

Schmidt, S.

Einige Bemerkungen zum "Loch"-Spiel (Mankala) in Südwestafrika. In: Journal - SWA Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft / Scientific Society (Windhoek, Namibia) 1974/75; 29: 67-77.

Shackell, R. S.

Mweso: The Board Game. In: Uganda Journal (Kampala, Uganda) 1934; 2 (July): 14-20.

Shackell, R. S.

More about Mweso. In: Uganda Journal (Kampala, Uganda) 1935; 3 (July): 119-129.

Staewen, C. & Schönber, F.

Ifa - Das Wort der Götter: Orakeltexte der Yoruba in Nigeria. Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden (Germany) 1982, 64-65.

Starr, F.

A Little Book of Filipino Riddles. World Book Co. Yonkers, New York 1909, 145.

Stayt, H. A.

The BaVenda. Oxford University Press, Oxford (England) 1931, 310+355-356+364-367.

Steere, E.

Swahili Tales, As Told by Natives of Zanzibar: With an English Translation. Bell & Daldy, London (England), 1870, 29 & 37.

Strauss, P.

Bishop Bernward's Door, and Other Poems. David Philip, Publisher (Pty) Ltd, Claremont (South Africa) 1983.

Tessmann, G.

Die Pangwe. Ernst Wasmuth A.-G., Berlin (Germany) 1912 (Volume 2): 310-315.

Townshend, P.

Bao (Mankala): The Swahili Ethic in African Idiom. In: Paideuma 1982; 28: 175-191.

Tshilolo Kabika, M.-J.

Matricide (review). L'Harmattan, Paris (France) 2008.

Voogt, A. J. de.

Limits of the Mind: Towards a Characterisation of Bao Mastership. CNWS Publications: Leiden (Netherlands) 1995.

Voogt, A. J. de.

Muyaka's Poetry in the History of Bao. In: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 2003; 66: 61-65.

Copyright

© Wikimanqala.
By: Ralf Gering
Under the CC by-sa 2.5 license.