Enkeshui is a traditional mancala

Mancala

Mancala is a family of board games played around the world, sometimes called "sowing" games, or "count-and-capture" games, which describes the game-play. Mancala games play a role in many African and some Asian societies comparable to that of chess in the West, or the game of Go in Eastern Asia...

 game played by the Maasai of both Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

 and Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

. It is a rather complex mancala game, and bears some similarities to the Layli Goobalay

Layli Goobalay

Layli Goobalay is a traditional mancala of Somaliland. The name of the game means "to exercise with circles". It is quite similar to the Enkeshui mancala played by the Maasai...

 mancala played in Somaliland

Somaliland

Somaliland is an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent for a few days in 1960 as the State of...

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Equipment and gamesetup

Enkeshui can be play using mancala board of different sizes, as long as they have two rows of pits (i.e., it is a "Mancala II" game). The number of pits in each row may vary; it is usually 8, 10 or 12. 48 seeds are used. As for many traditional mancala games, it is unclear whether the initial setup is fixed or if it may be chosen by an agreement between the players. Anyway, some of the most typical setups for 2x12 and 2x18 boards are like this:

3 3 0 3 3 0 3 3 0 3 3 0

0 3 3 0 3 3 0 3 3 0 3 3

4 4 4 4 4 4 0 0

0 0 4 4 4 4 4 4

0 0 4 4 4 4 4 4

4 4 4 4 4 4 0 0

Initial race

To choose which player will move first, an initial "sowing race" takes place. Both players take all the seeds from one of their pits and relay-sow them concurrently. The first player who finishes sowing will be the first to play in the remainder of the game. Notice that since the initial race is concurrent, its outcome is quite unpredictable. Thus, each game will actually begin (after the race) with a different initial setup.

General play

After the initial race, players will take turns. At his turn, the player takes all the seeds from one of his pits and sows them counterclockwise. Depending on where the last seed of the sowing is dropped, the following rules may apply:

• if the last seed is dropped in one of the opponent's pits, and this pit is empty, the turn is over;
• if the last seed is dropped in a non-empty pit, the sowing will generally go on in a relay-sowing style, with some exceptions related to the "bulls" (see below). If the initial sowing causes a relay sowing, the player will not be able to capture (see below) for the remainder of the turn.
• if the last seed is dropped in an empty pit of the player's row, and the opposite pit is non empty, all seeds in this pit are captured as well as the seed that caused the capture; all captured seeds are removed from the game. Also, if the pit where the last seed was dropped is followed (counterclockwise) by a line of empty pits, each facing a non empty pit in the opponent's row, then all the seeds in those opponent's pits are captured as well.
• if the last seed is dropped in an empty pit of the player's row, and the opposite pit is empty, the turn is over.

A couple of additional rules also apply:

• if in an individual (not relay) sowing the player moves across all of the opponent's row (i.e., drops a seed in each of the opponent's pits), he gains the right to choose whether any further relay-sowing will be done clockwise instead of counterclockwise; this privilege only lasts until the player's move is finished;
• sometimes, a player may be allowed to make a "special" move that consists in taking all the seeds from two of his pits and distributing them freely in his row. This will not cause or imply any sowing.

Bulls

Some pits may become "bulls". If the last seed of a sowing is dropped in a pit holding 3 seeds, the pit becomes a "bull" belonging to this player. Also, if the last two seeds in a sowing are dropped in two pits that hold 2 and 3 seeds, or 3 and 2 seeds, both pits become bulls of this player. Seeds in a bull can never be removed. Every time a sowing ends up with the last seed being dropped in a bull, the player's turn is over. Every time a sowing ends up in such a way to cause a capture (see above), but the seeds that should be captured are in a bull, the capture does not take place and the turn is over.

End of the game

Game ends when one of the players cannot move anymore, because he has no seeds in his row or because he only has seeds in bull pits. The opponent then captures all the seeds in his row, except for those in bull pits; seeds in bull pits will be captured by the player owning the bull. The player who captured most seeds wins the game.

Enkeshui in Maasai culture

There are several symbolic elements in Enkeshui rules. The total number of seeds, "48" (the number of seeds), is considered of good auspice in Maasai culture. The number of pits per row is always even; this is related to the fact that even numbers are considered "feminine". Most of the game's terminology is based on metaphor

Metaphor

A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...

s that are related to cattle farming: seeds are cows, pits are enclosures, and some pits are "bulls". Note that the same cattle-based metaphors are used for mancalas found in completely unrelated (but also pastoral) cultures, such as the Mongolia

Mongolia

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

n game Unee tugaluulax

Unee tugaluulax

- External links :*...

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Enkeshui games are a social events in Maasai's villages. Usually, the game is played by teams; while an individual player must be selected from each team to actually move, the team maintains the right to deny its support to this player (and replace him) and even withdraw his move if there is no consensus over it. Since the rules are quite complex, and Maasais usually play as fast as possible, illegal moves may occur either as a result of a player's mistake or his actual intent to cheat; in either case, it is the opponents' responsibility to detect the illegal move and withdraw it. Non-playing people may also intervene, and often bet on the winner. The system of social rules defining "good manners" in relation to Enkeshui (both for players and observers) is quite complex and difficult to grasp for young people as well as strangers.