Aw-li On-nam Ot-tjin
Encyclopedia
Aw-li On-nam Ot-tjin is a traditional mancala
game played by the Penihing people of Borneo
. The first transcription of the rules of the game is due to norwegian
ethnographist
Carl Sofus Lumholtz
. Despite its origin, Otjin is similar to africa
n mancalas such as Ba-awa
(Ghana
) and quite different from most Asia
n mancalas.
At his or her turn, the player takes all the seeds from one of his holes and relay sows them counterclockwise. If the last seed is sown in a hole such that, after sowing, the number of seeds in the hole is equal to the number of seeds per hole at the beginning of the game (e.g., 3), the player captures those seeds and removes them from the game. Capture is traditionally called "fishing
".
When one of the players cannot play anymore, his or her opponent captures all the seeds that are left on the board, and the game ends. The winner of the game is the player who captured most seeds.
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 Penihing people of Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
. The first transcription of the rules of the game is due to norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
ethnographist
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
Carl Sofus Lumholtz
Carl Sofus Lumholtz
Carl Sofus Lumholtz was a Norwegian explorer and ethnographer, best known for his meticulous field research and ethnographic publications on indigenous cultures of Australia and Mesoamerican central Mexico.-Biography:...
. Despite its origin, Otjin is similar 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 Ba-awa
Ba-awa
Ba-awa is a mancala from Ghana. Although played in some of the same regions as Oware, it is simpler and in traditional societies is considered a game for women and children. Ba-awa is related to games j'erin and obridjie played in Nigeria...
(Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
) and quite different from most Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n mancalas.
Rules
The Otjin board comprises two rows of 9 holes each. Each player owns a row of holes. At game setup, each of smaller holes holds an equal number of seeds, usually 3 (but 2 to 5 are admissible).At his or her turn, the player takes all the seeds from one of his holes and relay sows them counterclockwise. If the last seed is sown in a hole such that, after sowing, the number of seeds in the hole is equal to the number of seeds per hole at the beginning of the game (e.g., 3), the player captures those seeds and removes them from the game. Capture is traditionally called "fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
".
When one of the players cannot play anymore, his or her opponent captures all the seeds that are left on the board, and the game ends. The winner of the game is the player who captured most seeds.