Isolo (also known as Isumbi ) is a traditional mancala game played by the Sukuma people in northern Tanzania . The rules of the game come in three variants, respectively for women, boys and men.
15-477: The board used to play Isolo (also known as isolo ) comprised 4 rows of 8 pits each, and 64 seeds (usually Caesalpinia bonduc seeds) are used; the equipment is thus the same as that of many other East African mancalas such as Bao and Omweso . Also as in Bao and Omweso, each player controls half of the board (two rows). Some Isolo boards feature two larger pits that are not part of the game but might be used to keep
30-494: A pantropical distribution. It typically grows near the coast, in scrub, on sand dunes and on the upper shore. It also occurs inland, in lowland secondary forest and disturbed areas near villages; this may be the result of the seed being accidentally dropped after being transported for medical purposes or for use as counters in board games. The seeds are buoyant and retain their viability in both fresh and sea water, enabling them to disperse to new coastal locations. When washed up on
45-687: A lively red, which have a very pretty effect". They were known as 'sea beans' in Scandinavia, where one has been found fossilised in a Swedish bog, and 'Molucca beans' in the Hebrides , where a visitor to Islay in 1772 wrote of them as seeds of " Dolichos wrens , Guilandina bonduc , G. bonducetta , and Mimosa scandens …natives of Jamaica ". The 1797 Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica said that they were used only for "the making of snuff-boxes out of them"; however, there
60-548: Is a species of flowering plant in the senna tribe, Caesalpinieae , that has a pantropical distribution. It is a liana that reaches a length of 6 m (20 ft) or more and scrambles over other vegetation. The stems are covered in curved spines. Guilandina bonduc grows as a climber, up to 8 m (30 ft) long or as a large sprawling shrub or small shrubby tree. The stems are irregularly covered with curved prickles. The leaves are large and bi-pinnate, up to 40 cm (16 in) long with scattered prickles on
75-602: Is also sometimes ground up to make a medicinal tea. The seeds are often found on the beach, and are also known as sea pearls or eaglestones. Guilandina and Merremia seeds sometimes drift long distances. In 1693 James Wallace referred to them being often found in Orkney : "After Storms of Westerly Wind amongst the Sea-weed, they find commonly in places expos'd to the Western-Ocean these Phaseoli . . . . [F]rom
90-622: Is that there is an "overture" phase whereby players will only use the pits from the 7 lefthand columns (i.e., they will not be able to sow from or through their rightmost pits), just as if the board was 2x7 instead of 2x8. Also, seeds from the rightmost column of each player cannot be captured. The overture phase ends when the player chooses to sow from his ng'hana (the pit holding 17 seeds). Note that each player may decide when to end his overture independent of his opponent. Caesalpinia bonduc Guilandina bonduc , commonly known as grey nicker , nicker bean , fever nut or knicker nut ,
105-559: The West-Indies, where they commonly grow, they may be thrown in on Ireland , the Western parts of Scotland and Orkney". In 1751 Erich Pontoppidan described one found on the coast of Norway : "It is of the size of a chestnut, orbicular, yet flat, or as it were compressed on both sides. Its colour is a dark brown yet in the middle, at the junction of the shells, it is varied with a circle of shining-black, and close by that another of
120-617: The common name warri tree. C. bonduc produces gray nickernuts, and C. major produces yellow. Accordingly, these species are locally known in the Caribbean as "grey nickers" and "yellow nickers". The word nicker probably derives from the Dutch word "knikker", meaning marble . In the Caribbean, nickernuts are used to play mancala games such as oware . The nickernut is marble-like and good for other uses, such as for jewellery ; it
135-417: The game. The rules for boys are much like those for women. Game setup is different, with 17 seeds in the corner pits: [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Another difference
150-533: The last seed falls in an empty pit, the turn is over. If the last seeds falls in a non empty pit of the inner row, and there are any seeds in the opponent's player's pits in the same column, those seeds are captured. The capturing player will then sow these captured seeds starting from the pit where the capturing seed was dropped. If the last seed is dropped in a non empty pit but a capture is not possible, then relay-sowing applies. The first player that cannot move (as her pits are empty or only hold one seed each) loses
165-499: The petals which are around 10 mm (0.4 in) long; the petals are yellow, sometimes with a spot of orange near the base of the keel. The unisexual flowers are followed by large, flattish, spiny green pods which later turn brown, some 9 by 4 cm (4 by 2 in), containing one or usually two, glossy, rounded, grey seeds. Its 2 cm (0.8 in) grey seeds, known as nickernuts , are buoyant and durable enough to be dispersed by ocean currents. Guilandina bonduc has
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#1732786705299180-478: The rachises and blades. There are four to eleven pairs of pinnae, 5 to 20 cm (2 to 8 in) long with five to ten pairs of pinnules. The pinnules are 15 to 40 mm (0.6 to 1.6 in) long, elliptic, oblong or ovate with acute tips and entire margins. The inflorescence is an axillary raceme, often branched, covered with short hairs and up to 15 cm (6 in) long. The jointed pedicels are up to 6 mm (0.2 in) long. The sepals are shorter than
195-480: The score. At game setup, two seeds are placed in each pit. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] At her turn, the player takes the seeds from any of her pits holding two or more seeds, and sows them counterclockwise in her two rows. If
210-424: The seeds has been used in cosmetics and for treating discharges from the ear. Tongans make the hard seeds ( talatala ‘amoa ) into leis or play with them like marbles; its spiky leaves and stems are used in fruit bat snares. Nickernut Nickernuts or nickar nuts are smooth, shiny seeds from tropical leguminous shrubs , particularly Guilandina bonduc and Guilandina major , both known by
225-634: The shore, they are sometimes known as sea pearls. Nodules on the plant's roots contain symbiotic bacteria that fix nitrogen. This is used as a nutrient by the vine and also benefits other plants growing in close proximity. It is a popular local ornamental plant in Malaysia. This plant has been used in traditional medicine . The seeds have tonic and antipyretic properties and the bark and leaves have been used likewise. The root can be pounded to remedy caterpillar stings, it can be boiled ans its broth drank to regulate menstruation . An oil extracted from
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