Bulto
From Wikinfo
| Bulto |
| First Description: Richard Pankhurst, 1971 |
| Cycles: One |
| Ranks: Two |
| Sowing: Multiple laps |
| Region: Ethiopia, Kenya |
Bulto ("a place where you spend the night") is a mancala game of the Borana (also called Boran), a sub-group of the Oromo, in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. The Borana are cattle drovers and peasants. They number about 300,000 people.
Bulto is a pastime of the elders and sometimes by youngsters, but never of women. According to Pankhurst "(the game) is played in the open air in daytime, the players usually lying on the ground beside the board, though sometimes seated on small seats."
Rules
The mancala board for Bulto is called gombo sadéqa ("game trough") and consists of two rows, each one with 10 pits known as mona ("cattle enclosure"). Each player controls the row closest to him.
Every hole contains at the start two stones called medan sadéqa.
Initial Position
On his turn a player
The first half-move is called menager and has a special meaning. (see below)
On his turn a player sows the contents of one of his holes, which isn't a bulto (see below) conterclockwise, one at a time, into the ensuing holes.
If the last counter is dropped into a non-empty hole, which isn't a bulto, its contents are distributed in another lap.
Bulto belonging to the opponent are skipped.
The first turn (or half-move) creates 13 holes, which contain three stones.
When there are no miné left (i.e. their contents have either been sown or they contain now four or more counters), holes belonging to the opponent that can be turned into bulto (see below) must be skipped, unless they are actually turned into a bulto. After all miné have been destroyed, it is also no longer permitted to start a turn from a hole containing three stones, unless all of his holes have three counters.
If the last stone is dropped into a hole, which contains three counters, but is not a miné, it becomes a bulto.
A player can create more bulto later, but they must be to the right of (i.e. clockwise to) the preceding bulto.
A player may refuse to make a bulto, skipping the hole and then putting the last stone into the next hole.
It is possible to create multiple bulto in one move after there are no miné left, if the last two or more stones are alighted on a corresponding number of adjacent holes, each containing three counters, on the opponent's row.
The move ends, when the last stone falls into an empty hole or a bulto belonging to the player.
The game ends, when a player cannot move.
Each player counts the number of stones, which have been accumulated in his bulto and those in his row, which are not in a bulto belonging to his opponent.
The player who has more stones wins. If both players have the same number, the game is a draw.
External Links
References
- Pankhurst, R.
- Gabata and Related Board Games of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. In: Ethiopia Observer 1971; 14 (3): 195-197.
