Mancala Game Board
1 of 3
Object Label
Mancala is one of the world's oldest games and is widely played in Africa. This board, like most, has twelve holes and two large cups to hold each player's game pieces. The figurative carvings, however, are rare, and the board's boat shape reflects the importance of canoes to the Bidjogo. Mancala reflects ideas about how society is organized: the board may represent either the village or the universe; the holes are called "houses" or "villages"; and the playing pieces, which are moved around the board, are called "men," "wives," "children," or "cattle."
Caption
Possibly Bullom. Mancala Game Board, 19th century. Wood, 8 1/4 x 23 1/4 x 5 1/8 in. (21 x 59.1 x 13 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.239. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.239_SL1.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Mancala Game Board
Date
19th century
Geography
Place made: Guinea-Bissau
Medium
Wood
Classification
Dimensions
8 1/4 x 23 1/4 x 5 1/8 in. (21 x 59.1 x 13 cm)
Credit Line
Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund
Accession Number
22.239
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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