Handcrafted Wood Oware Game, "Dua Korkor"

A tasteful example of the talent of Kofi "Tall" Aguduawu, this oware table set is made of sapele wood. The Fanti name Dua Korkor refers to the beautiful color of this local material.

Patiently carved, it is finished with linseed oil and wax. The game board is complemented with shiny beads made of recycled, non-toxic light-weight plastic.

Oware is a game of skill and strategy designed for two players, challenging mental agility and alertness. The objective can be briefly described as "counting and capturing beads" and there are no chance factors in it. The player's strategy entirely depends upon the ability for reasoning and counting.

Oware is one of the oldest games in the world. The earliest records describing the game were found in Arab religious texts dating to the Middle Ages, believing the game originated in the Middle East and spread from there to Africa, then to Asia with Arab traders, and to the Caribbean around 1640 via the African slave trade. Other experts place its origins in Central Africa; the Masai state that oware was invented by Sindillo, the son of the first man, Maitoumbe, and was originally called geshe.

In Arab countries, the most common name for this game is mancala (Arabic word meaning "to move"). In some West African countries the depressions in the board are referred to as warri or wwari, which means houses, thus name owari. In Nigeria it is known as adi, which is also the name of the seeds used to play it; and in South Africa it is called ohoro. With different and exotic names such as congklak, dakon, aggalacang and nogarata it has also been played in Asia long before the Portuguese rounded the southern tip of Africa.

Today, Mancala represents the diversity of Africa, as some version of it is played in nearly every African country. Legend relates that Shyaam aMbul aNgoong, founder of the Kuba kingdom of Central Africa taught the game to his people to encourage foresight and calculation.

Having transcended the passing of the centuries, Mancala has been enjoyed as a family game, a ceremonial right of passage, or as a form of recreation among friends. It would be hard to find a greater challenge of ethnomathematics, or a more attractive introduction to arithmetic!

The set includes a detailed playing manual.

Care instructions: The piece should be cleaned with a soft, dry cloth.