Songo Ewondo
From Wikinfo
| Songo Ewondo |
| Other Names: Songa, Songo |
| First Description: Günter Tessmann, 1912 |
| Cycles: One |
| Ranks: Two |
| Sowing: Single laps |
| Region: Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon |
Songo Ewondo, often just called Songo, is played by the Ekang (also known as "Fang" or "Pangwe") in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the northwest corner of the D. R. of the Congo. It is one of the most popular mancala games.
Songo is known for its rich orature of funny stories, which were recorded by the German anthropologist Günter Tessmann in 1907.
The game is a popular mindsport in Africa. Songo competitions are held every weekend in Douala, Cameroon.
The game is promoted by the minister for culture and art and the president of the Republic of Gabon, Mr Omar Bongo Ondimba. There are plans to teach Songo at all the schools of the country. Over 200 Songo masters (called "nti") attend every year a huge tournament in Libreville.
The Songo World Championship in the village of Oyop (South Cameroon) attracts famous players from many countries. The current world champion is the Gabonese Vivi Metou. Other strong players are Endelé, Lévy Megne-Masseko, Narcisse Nguema, Davy Obiang, Ta-Ndong, Moulouma, Kamsi, Romy Nguema, Zuè Allogo, and Desiré Meba Mefame.
In France, the first Songo tournament was organized in 2004 by Cameroonian migrants. Nti Serge Mbarga Owona has written several books and a strong freeware program playing the game.
Contents |
Satirical Song of the Fang
The woman who has no butt [ie. is ugly] says: "I wear a raphia skirt". - "Dumb-ass! Your daddy is full of blains". Spectators, shouldn't we tell her: "Just put the stones on the board, we'll see what happens."
Recorded by G. Tessmann (1907)
Rules
Songo is played on a mancala board of 2 x 7 holes. These holes are called "nda" ("house"). At each end there is a big store for the captured counters. Each house contains five stones called "songo" ("pebble").
A player controls the row on his side of the board.
Initial Position
On his turn a player distributes the contents of one of his holes, one by one, clockwise into the ensuing houses.
The leftmost hole of a row may only be emptied, if if contains at least three stones unless it would be the only possible move. However, the hole may be emptied, if the move results in a capture or if the opponent has (a) nothing left in his holes and (b) it isn't possible to feed him with three or more stones.
If a hole contained 14 or more stones, it is skipped and all the player's own holes that follow. The remaining stones are only sown on the opponent's side.
If the opponent has no stones left, he must be fed with at least seven stones. If this can't be done, he must get as many stones as possible.
A player must move at his turn.
If the last stone falls in an opponent's hole, which contained one, two or three stones, its contents are captured together with the last stone (ie. two, three or four stones).
If the previous-to-last stone also brought an opponent's house to two, three or four, these are captured as well, and so on.
If 14, 21 or 28 stones were sown, only the last stone can be captured, but nothing else.
When a player has only one stone in his leftmost hole, he gets this stone, but not more.
If a move would capture all the contents of the opponent's row, nothing is captured at all.
The game ends, when a player can't play.
The stones that are still on the board are won by the player who moved last.
The player who captured most counters wins.
If both players captured the same number, the game is a draw.
References
- Anonymous.
- Meba Mefame et Nguema Représentants du Haut Ogooué à la Phase Finale du Tournoi de Songo. Agence Gabonaise de Presse, Libreville (Gabon) May 21, 2005.
- Anonymous.
- Vivi Metou Remporte le Premier Prix. Agence Gabonaise de Presse, Libreville (Gabon) May 28, 2004.
- Mizony, M.
- Les Jeux Stratégiques Camerounais et Leurs Aspects Mathématiques. In: Annuaire de la Faculté des Sciences de Cameroun 1971; 6: 19-38.
- Mve-Ondo, B. M.
- L'Owani et le Songa: Deux Jeux de Calculs Africains. Découverts du Gabon. Centre Culturel Français Saint-Exupéry & Sépia Editions, Libreville (Gabon) & Paris (France) 1990.
- Murray, H. J. R.
- A History of Board-Games Other Than Chess. Oxford University Press, Oxford (England) 1951, 184-185.
- Owona, S. M.
- Le Jeu de Songo. Éditions L'Harmattan, Paris (France) 2005.
- Owona, S. M.
- Les Jeux des Calculs Africains. Éditions L'Harmattan, Paris (France) 2007.
- Powell-Cotton, P. H. G.
- A Mancala Board called Songo. In: Man: A Monthly Record of Anthropological Science 1931; 31: 123 plus Plate G.
- Russ, L.
- The Complete Mancala Games Book: How to Play the World's Oldest Board Games. Marlowe & Company, New York (USA) 2000, 14.
- Sokolsky, R.
- Structure. In: Fraser, D. (Ed.). African Art and Philosophy. New York (USA) 1974.
- Tessmann, G.
- Die Pangwe. Berlin (Germany) 1912 (Volume II), 310-315.
- Tessmann, G.
- Die Kinderspiele der Pangwe. In: Baessler-Archiv: Beiträge zur Völkerkunde. (Leipzig & Berlin, Germany) 1912; 2: 250-280.
External Links
Notes
The references section was released into the public domain by Ralf Gering on July 16, 2008.
