African-themed Cafe Au Lait invades M-Shop
February 22, 2006
Many college students spend their free time playing video games, surfing the Web or talking to friends via instant messenger. 3,000 years ago, without these kinds of modern luxuries, people played games such as Mancala, a traditional African game that required only seeds and holes in the ground to play.
Despite all of our technological advances, many people still enjoy playing Mancala today.
The game is played using beads or stones and a board with 14 cups.
There are many variations of the rules, but the goal is to drop the pieces one by one into the cups in a counter-clockwise fashion, trying to get as many as possible into your “home cup.” Although the game is easy to learn, it requires strategy and can be quite difficult to master.
FASTTRAK
What: How to play Mancala:
Zingula said the tournament will be played with two rows of six pits, with a goal on each end.
The object is to capture the most pieces in your goal, or kalaha – the large bin to each player’s right.
To start the game, 48 pieces are distributed evenly into the smaller pits, and each player selects one side to play on.
The player to move first chooses one of their bins and removes the pieces.
They then begin to distribute, or sow, their pieces around the board in a counter-clockwise motion, dropping one piece into each consecutive small pit and, if they reach it, their own goal.
If the last remaining piece is dropped into their own goal, the player may sow another bin. If the last piece is dropped into an empty space on the active player’s side of the board, the pieces in the bin directly opposite are captured and moved into the player’s goal. After this, it is the other player’s turn.
The game ends when one player has completely emptied their side of the board. Any remaining pieces are moved to the opponents goal, and each player tallies their total.
The player with the highest number of pieces wins.
Mancala will be the main event at a special African-themed Cafe Au Lait, a monthly multicultural celebration held by the Student Union Board.
The festivities will include a Mancala tournament, as well as traditional African music and an open mic.
The event is free and will begin at 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Maintenance Shop of the Memorial Union.
There will be prizes awarded, including a T-shirt for the tournament’s winner.
“It’s not just your typical college thing,” said Brian Zingula, freshman in art and design and multicultural subcommittee member. “It’s purpose is to introduce facets of different cultures into our lives.”
He describes the event as having an “educational, worldly feel.”
“It will be a really relaxed atmosphere,” said Erin Hughes, junior in anthropology and SUB multicultural director.
Hughes said that this month’s Cafe Au Lait will not be as performance-based as in the past.
“The open mic allows people to bring in performances of their own,” said Hughes, who expects to hear improvisational and slam poetry, among other types of performances.
Cafe Au Lait is an ongoing ISU tradition that not only provides cheap entertainment for students, but also shines light on the different cultures and tastes that make up the diverse student population. Past events have featured Turkish, Thai and Latino themes.
The event has, in the past, provided unique experiences for those who want to learn about customs and traditions outside of their own – and many that have roots in ancient history.
“Mancala is one of the oldest games in the world,” Zingula said. “There are many, many forms of it, but we’re going to play a specific, more popular form on Wednesday.”
Although Zingula doesn’t expect a huge turnout, he hopes to at least fill the M-Shop on Wednesday night.
“Some of the charm of the event is in a smaller group,” Zingula said.
“Generally they are fairly small events, but actually there’s a surprising amount of fun . most people aren’t aware of it, it’s kind of too bad.”
