| Adji Kui |
| First Description: Ruth Magalys Wilson Ferrer, 1991 |
| Cycles: One |
| Ranks: Two |
| Sowing: Multiple laps |
| Region: Cuba |
Adji Kui is the name of at least two Cuban mancala games from the area of Matanzas. It was found by Ruth Magalys Wilson Ferrer in 1991.
They games were played only by a few families of Arará origin (not to be confused with the Brazilian Arara people), whose ancestry is related to the Fon, Ewe, Mina, Popo and other peoples along the Benin and Togo coasts of Western Africa.
Here are the rules of one of them, which is is related to Hoyito.
Rules
Each player controls one row of six holes.
At the beginning there are four seeds or pebbles in ech hole.
Initial Position
On his turn a player takes the contents of any of his holes, which has at least two seeds, and sows them counterclockwise, one at a time, in the following holes. If the last counter falls in a non-empty hole, its contents are distributed in another lap until the last one is dropped into an empty hole.
If the last seed of a lap is sown in a hole of the opponent, which then contains four seeds, its contents are captured, and the move is over.
If, on his turn, a player has only empty holes, he passes his turn.
The game ends when only eight seeds remain in play. Each player takes those in his holes.
Match Rules
Once a game is over, another game is started.
- Each player fills as many holes on his side with his winnings as he can. There must be four seeds in each hole.
- If a player still has seeds left after he has filled all the holes of his side, he can "buy" holes on the opponent's side by putting four seeds into each of them. In the next game these holes are owned by him. He has the priviledge to start from them, but his opponent may capture from them.
Initial position after a game ended 32:16 for South (dark holes).
See also
References
- Wilson Ferrer, R. M.
- El maravilloso mundo de las piedras y los agujeros. Centro Cultural Africano "Fernando Ortiz", Santiago de Cuba (Cuba) 1991.
Copyright
© Wikimanqala.
By: Víktor Bautista i Roca.
Under the CC by-sa 2.5.