Togyzqumalaq

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????????????Togyzqumalaq
A Central Asian Mancala Game
Víktor Bautista i Roca
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????????????

• Togyzqumalaq is a traditional mancala game played
  in Central Asia
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Tajikistan
• Uzbekistan
• Turkmenistan
• parts of Russia(Altay, Khakassia, Tuva,
  Karachay-Cherkessia)?
• Western Mongolia
• in China in regions close to the aforementioned
  countries

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Where is it played
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Names

• ???????????? (Kazakh)?
• Togizqumalaq, toghyzqumalaq or togyzqumalaq
  (Kazakh, different transliterations)?
• Togus kumalak (German sources)?
• ????? ??????? (Russian)?
• Toguz kumalak, togyz kumalak (English sources)?
• Dokuz kumalak (Turkish)?
• Toguz korgool (Kyrgyz)?
• ????? ??????? (Kyrgyz, cyrillic script)?
• Dokuz korgol (Turkish)?

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Origin

• Some Kazakh people say
• Mongol origin, from the Golden Horde
• The book Laws of Togyzkumalak
• According to archaeologists the game was
  invented about 4000 years ago by our ancestors
  who highlighted the intellectual development of a
  growing generation along with a physical
  training.
• My guess
• through silk road and / or
• with Islam (8th century, central Asia, 14th
  century, Golden Horde)?

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Golden Horde
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Old stone board

• This board is said to be older than 500 years

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Prestige

• In Kazakhstan it is considered the national game
• It is promoted by the Ministry of Tourism and
  Sports (Comitee of Sports Affairs)?
• There is an official Togyzqumalaq Federation

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Tournaments

• Kazakhstan
• Aktau, Aktobe, Almaty, Arys, Astana, Kostanai,
  Kyzylorda, Pavlodar, Shymkent, Stepnogorsk,
  Taldyqorgan, Taraz, Türkistan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Bishkek, Cholpan-Ata
• Russia (Altay, Khakassia, Chelyabinsk, Tuva,
  Tatarstan)
• Uzbekistan (Karakalpakstan)
• Mongolia
• China

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Kazakhstan tournaments

• From 1974, individual championship of the
  Republic of Kazakhstan
• The ministry of Tourism and Sports holds yearly
  individual, team, junior and senior championships
  of the Republic of Kazakhstan
• From 1998, Cup of the President of the Republic
  of Kazakhstan.
• International competition, with participants from
  Mongolia, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan
• Festival Middle Asia and Kazakhstan

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Tournaments - Images
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Titles and degrees

• 5 sports degrees
• 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and candidate Master of Sports
• 2 titles
• Master of Sports of International class
• Master of Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan
• Elo system

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Rules The orda board

• 2 rows, 9 holes (otau) per row
• Each player owns a row
• 2 deposits (kazan)?
• Each player owns one
• 9 balls (qumalaq) per hole

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Rules - Moving

• The player takes all the balls of a hole on his
  side, and distribute them anticlockwise, one per
  hole, on the following holes, starting from the
  very same hole he took them from.

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Rules Moving a singleton

• If the movement is done from a hole with just a
  single ball, it is moved to the next hole. It is
  the only case the starting hole becomes empty.

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Rules Capturing

• If the last ball falls into a hole on the other
  side, and the contents of this hole become an
  even number of balls, these are captured and
  stored on the player's kazan.

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Rules - Tuzdyq

• If the last ball falls into a hole on the
  opponent's side, and the contents of this hole
  number then three balls, the hole becomes your
  ?????? (tuzdyq) and it is marked as such.

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Rules About the tuzdyq

• Only a tuzdyq per player can be made
• A tuzdyq cannot be done on the opponent's last
  hole (9th, the one on his right).
• A tuzdyq cannot be done if it is symmetrical to
  the opponent's one
• When a tuzdyq cannot be done, we can finish a
  movement there, but the hole does not become a
  tuzdyq
• A movement cannot begin from a tuzdyq
• The balls that fall into a tuzdyq are captured by
  its owner.

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Rules End of the game

• The game ends when a player cannot move at his
  turn (atsyrau)?
• Both players add the contents of their tuzdyq to
  their kazan
• The player who has still balls on his side gets
  them and adds them to his kazan
• The winner is the player with more balls at the
  end of the game. If both players have captured 81
  balls, the game is a draw
• The game can also end if a player has captured
  more than 81 balls

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Related games

• ???????? (bestemshe or bestemshshi)
• togyzqumalaq played in a 2x5 board, with 5 balls
  per hole
• ??????? (kozdatu)?
• togyzqumalaq played in a 2x7 board, with 7 balls
  per hole

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Similar games

• Adji-boto (Surinam, Herskovits 1929, 1932)?
• Same sowing
• Tihbat (Morocco, Kinast 2007)?
• Same sowing capturing 2, 4, 6 or 8 on any side
• Um dyar (Western Sahara, Mauritania, Béart 1955,
  Pinto Cebrián 1999)?
• Same sowing capturing even numbers, not greater
  than the initial ammount, any side.
• Zacoc / Hefari (Morocco, Bautista i Roca)?
• Same sowing capturing even numbers, any side
• Piç (Turkey, Metin And 1979)?
• Same sowing capturing holes by 3s

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Board design

• Section numbers
• Ten balls mark
• Odd / even

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The board Initial position

• Initial position

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The board Possible moves

• South
• 12
• 23
• 36x (13)?
• 42
• 52
• 89
• 91 (12)?

• North
• 12
• 28 (27)?
• 31 (27)?
• 46
• 54
• 67
• 79
• 81
• 92

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Thanks

• I'd like to thank
• Maksat Shotayev (?????? ??????)?
• Aynur Jhakapbayeva
• Khakimjan Eleusinov
• Asel Dalyeva

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That's all, foks!

• Any question?

• Let's play!