Beautiful Bao. A challenging and traditional African strategy game. Crafted in Malawi using hand tools and timbers. Comes with native Bonduc seeds as playing pieces. Dimensions are 30cm across by 60cm long.
2 player game for ages 10 and up.
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The timber used in our board games from Malawi, one of either Ebony, Leadwood, Mahogony or white Sylinga is selected and shaped in the bush so as to retain its moisture. From there it is carved and grooved (a process known as"Kutikita") and lacquered giving it a soft, smooth finish.
Bao (Swahili for, "board") is a mancala game played in Swahili and Bajun communities in Eastern Africa, The game is also known by the Sakalava people in northwestern Madagascar as Katro.
Bao can also be found in the Swahili hinterland and is played among the Yao in Malawi. The game was first described by the French traveller Flacourt in 1658 who saw it in Madagascar. Thomas Hyde found it in 1658 on Anjouan, Comores. The Bao poem "Bao Naligwa" was written in the 1820s by the Swahili poet Muyaka bin Haji in Mombasa, Kenya.
The oldest still surviving Bao board was made in 1896 in Malawi and is kept today in the British Museum in London.
Download the rules to your left for free!
Small Parts. Choking Hazard. Not for Children under 3.
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| 09/03/2010 Julie Muir. | "I love it!... and your Customer Service is A1" |
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