Hawalis
Encyclopedia
Hawalis is a traditional mancala
game played in Oman
as well as Zanzibar
, where it is known as Bao la Kiarabu, with slightly different rules. It is closely related to Africa
n mancalas such as Bao
(Tanzania
, Malawi
, Kenya
), Njomba (Mozambique
and Malawi
), Lela (DR Congo), Mulabalaba (Zambia
), Muvalavala (Angola
) and Tschuba (South Africa
, Mozambique).
At his or her turn, the player takes all seeds from a hole and relay-sows them counterclockwise. If there are holes with more than one seed, then the player must sow starting from one such hole. If the last seeds fall in a hole of the inner row and the opposite hole in the opponent's half board is not empty, its contents are captured and removed from the game. If both the opposite hole and that behind it in the opponent's half board are non empty, all seeds are captured from both of them. The game ends when one of the players is left without any seed in his rows.
The winner of the game is the player who captures most seeds.
). This also differs from Hawalis in that sowing goes clockwise, and that seeds from a hole in the outer row are captured even if the corresponding hole in the inner row is empty.
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 in Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
as well as Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
, where it is known as Bao la Kiarabu, with slightly different rules. It is closely related to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n mancalas such as Bao
Bao (mancala game)
Bao is a traditional mancala board game played in most of East Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Comoros, Malawi, as well as some areas of DR Congo and Burundi. It is most popular among the Swahili people of Tanzania and Kenya; the name itself "Bao" is the Swahili word for "board" or "board game"...
(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...
, Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
, 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...
), Njomba (Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
and Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
), Lela (DR Congo), Mulabalaba (Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
), Muvalavala (Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
) and Tschuba (South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Mozambique).
Rules (Oman)
Hawalis boards in Oman are composed by 4 rows of 7 holes. At game setup, two seeds are placed in each hole. Each player owns half of the board (2 rows) of the board.At his or her turn, the player takes all seeds from a hole and relay-sows them counterclockwise. If there are holes with more than one seed, then the player must sow starting from one such hole. If the last seeds fall in a hole of the inner row and the opposite hole in the opponent's half board is not empty, its contents are captured and removed from the game. If both the opposite hole and that behind it in the opponent's half board are non empty, all seeds are captured from both of them. The game ends when one of the players is left without any seed in his rows.
The winner of the game is the player who captures most seeds.
Rules (Zanzibar)
The rules of Bao la Kiarabu were originally transcripted by W. H. Ingrams, who described two variants of the game. One of them is exactly the same as Oman's Hawalis. The other one uses a different board, with 2 rows of 8 holes each (the same board used for BaoBao (mancala game)
Bao is a traditional mancala board game played in most of East Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Comoros, Malawi, as well as some areas of DR Congo and Burundi. It is most popular among the Swahili people of Tanzania and Kenya; the name itself "Bao" is the Swahili word for "board" or "board game"...
). This also differs from Hawalis in that sowing goes clockwise, and that seeds from a hole in the outer row are captured even if the corresponding hole in the inner row is empty.