You may have seen aged men surrounding a wooden board with incomplete holes and tossing around stones on them, and sitting under the canopies of neem trees in Juba.
Under the scorching sun heat, they are normally sipping hot tea or coffee, dropping their sweat and engaging their minds in what may look to many people as a leisure game of chess. But it is not. This is Mungulla, as it is popularly known in South Sudan.
It is a traditional board game that is popular among the elderly men in South Sudan. Arguably the oldest traditional game, Mungulla/Mancala (known as Manqalah in Arabic), has survived the test of time despite the threat of extinction due to the emergence of contemporary gaming.
A deep dive into what the game is all about shows how a sport that thrives on social attachments continues to withstand modernity.
Some top Mungulla experts fence the wooden board and are attentive while playing the game in St. Kizito, Juba. (Photo: Alex Bullen)
Most of the Mungulla players adore it for its ability to engage them psychologically.
Yaba Angello Peter, 58, who comes from Gudele II, believes the game could offer the best local activity for the youth to rely on, especially when it comes to sharpening or keeping one’s mind active in calculations.
“The game is knowledgeable in different aspects,” he stated in an interview with The City Review.
“When I say knowledgeable, I mean that the game keeps you always attentive, makes someone not to be lazy, and increases your thinking level.”
“The more you train, the more your mind grows and provides you with superior knowledge, even protecting you from committing crimes,” he claims.
Despite being adored by the older generation, there is a feeling that Mungulla may end up in the drain due to the modern games that are either computerised or watched on TV screens.
But Isaac Kenedy, a 20-year-old Munuki Mangulla cala player, is determined to upset the tide by walking in the footsteps of veteran Mungulla players and enthusiasts.
For him, the game is appropriate for young people like him; not only for the elderly. Like Peter, Kenedy maintains that playing Mungulla offers the mind an exercise that trains people how to solve problems.
“Laziness is something Manqalah despises; therefore, if you are lazy, the game will never favour you, and even if you force yourself, the expertise will not even play with you,” Kenedy explains.
When asked to define some of the game’s regulations, Garang Jok, one of Juba’s Mungulla (Manqalah) experts, says that the game has no permanent rules and that the rules can only be enforced when one faces opponents.
“One thing one understands is that Manqalah has many versions, and its rules depend on how each group plays; as such, the rules apply to a specific version; however, rules like starting this side and moving in one direction are usual rules.”
“Like in three regions of South Sudan, there are different styles even within different states,” he went on to say.
Jok, 60, rated the 24-24 variant as the best of the bunch.
“There are different types of Mancala or Manqalah, but the 24-24 version is the one that is considered a really, or as we normally call it, a men’s game, whey? Simply tell me how great your mind works, especially in mathematics.”
According to him, the Mangala game is not new; it was a game that was played by their ancestors, and people just inherited it from them.
“It keeps one attentive to calculations because if your mind is disturbed, there is a high chance of losing the game. It helps somebody like me to have a sharp mind,” he added.
One interesting fact about Mungulla, according to Jok, is that the game is not friendly to those who drink alcohol or are short-tempered.
“That is why I look at it as a game of peace,” Elder Jok stressed.
What is this game?
Manqala is a two-player turn-based strategy board game played with small stones, beans, or seeds and rows of holes or pits in the ground, a board, or other playing surfaces.
The game, whose aim is to capture your enemy’s stones, is most liked by men, especially elderly people who normally fence the board on the table to enjoy the game.
It is a valued sport among the South Sudanese people, especially among the cattle keepers in three regions of the country.
The game is also most popular across East African countries, namely: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, the Congo, Malawi, and other African countries.
The sport has been believed to have originated from the Arab world more than centuries ago.
It is one of the oldest games in the history of mankind. Back 2000 years ago, there was a traditional Manqala board game played in East African countries.
There are different types of Manqalah with different names given in different countries, but in South Sudan, the most common are the 24–24 (12) and 30–30 (15) versions.
It is commonly found in Central, Western, and Eastern Equatoria States, including greater Upper Nile Region states as well as Greater Bahr el Ghazal Region States.
St. Kizito in the Munuki area of Juba City in South Sudan is steeped in rich history, with a game locally known as Munqalah (an Arabic word) part of its heritage.
The game commonly known as Manqalah has survived through the ages and spread to other parts of the country.
Utililies
“When I say knowledgeable, I mean that the game keeps you always attentive, makes someone not to be lazy, and increases your thinking level.”- Angelo Peter
The post Mungulla: why traditional game still goes strong in face of modernity appeared first on The City Review South Sudan.
