Indonesian Sungka Congkak Kalaha Wood Set &Pieces

kalaha wood set

A beautiful wooden Congkak/Sungka/Kakahi board with real glass marbles and printed instructions.

The colour can vay in tone from the pictures.

Made from Rainwood, a Thai hardwood from Northern Thailand

The board folds in the middle on good quality hinges with a snug fit – this means its easy to carry around.

Hand crafted in Thailand , Dimensions: folded: 17 x 7.5 x 3.4cm , Unfolded: 34.5 x 7.5 x 1.7cm

This board comes flat packed to enable safe posting.

This is not a toy. Not suitable for children

Background

Congklak has its origins in either Africa or the Arab world, depending on which scholar’s theory you choose to believe. Some of the oldest evidence was found in National Old congklak boardGeographic-sponsored archaeological diggings dating back to 7,000 to 5,000 BC in present-day Jordan. Excavations of a house uncovered a limestone slab with two parallel rows of circular depressions. The layout was easily recognizable to an archaeologist on the dig as the Congklak playing board. Murray, a noted scholar, traced the origins to ancient Egypt’s Empire Age (about the 15th to 11th centuries BC). Many experts surmise that Congklak may in fact be the oldest board game ever.

The earliest recorded writings describing the game were found in references to mancala in Arab religious texts dating to the Middle Ages. Some scholars believe that the game originated in the Middle East and spread from there to Africa. Then, the game spread to Asia with Arab traders and came to the Caribbean around 1640 via the African slave trade. Other experts place the origins in Central Africa.

Girls playing on an elaborate congklak playing boardToday, the game is known by numerous names around the world. The names are taken from the local culture using words that reflect where the game is played, the manner of winning, the mode of play and the board or counters used. It is referred to in English as Count and Capture.

more info here

We have a great range of interesting ethnographic traditional games from around the world.