Morabaraba
Morabaraba is a traditional two-player strategy board game played in South Africa and Botswana with a slightly different variation played in Lesotho. The game is known by many names in many languages, including mlabalaba, mmela, muravava, and umlabalaba. The game is similar to twelve men's morris, a variation on the Roman board game nine men's morris.
While some believe that morabaraba was introduced to Southern Africa by British settlers, morris variants exist in many parts of the world; e.g. India, Ghana, Kenya, Somalia, Zimbabwe,Iran, the Philippines and Mongolia. It is claimed that morabaraba boards carved in rock are dated to be at least 800 years old, which would exclude a European origin. However, many rock art images do not actually show morabaraba, but the mancala-type game of moruba.
Morabaraba is today most popular amongst rural African youth in Southern Africa. In the traditional European games like nine men's morris, the counters are commonly referred to as "men", but in the South African game the counters are referred to as "cows", the game being particularly popular amongst youth who herd cattle.
According to the OxfordDictionaries.com, the term morabaraba is derived from the Southern Sotho moraba-raba, meaning 'to mill' or 'to go round in a circle'.
Gameplay
Morabaraba is accessible and easy to learn, and games can be played quickly, but the strategic and tactical aspects of the game run deep. While it may be played on specially produced boards, it is simple enough that a board can easily be scratched on a stone or into sand, with coins or pebbles used as the pieces. The description below is compatible with Mind Sports South Africa's "generally accepted rules".There are three main phases to the game:
- Placing the cows
- Moving the cows
- Flying the cows
Placing the cows
- The board is empty when the game begins. Each player has 12 pieces, known as "cows"; one player has light cows and the other has dark cows
- The player with the dark cows moves first
- Each turn consists of placing a cow on an empty intersection on the board
- The aim is to create a "mill": a row of three cows on any line drawn on the board
- If a player forms a mill, he or she may remove or "shoot" one of the opponent's cows. The shot cow is removed from the board and not placed again. A cow in a mill may not be shot unless all of the opponent's cows are in mills, in which case any cow may be shot.
- Even if a move creates more than one mill, only one cow can be shot in a single move
Moving the cows
- After all the cows have been placed, each turn consists of moving a cow to an empty adjacent intersection
- As before, completing a mill allows a player to shoot one of the opponent's cows. Again, this must be a cow which is not in a mill, unless all of the opponent's cows are in mills.
- Players are allowed to "break" their own mills
- A mill may be broken and remade repeatedly by shuffling cows back and forth. Each time the mill is remade, one of the opponent's cows is shot. Of course, by breaking the mill the player exposes the cows which were in a mill to the risk of being shot by the opponent on his or her next turn.
- In the "generally accepted rules" published by Mind Sports South Africa, a mill which is broken to form a new mill can not be formed again on the next move
Flying the cows
- When a player has only three cows remaining, desperate measures are called for. This player's cows are allowed to "fly" to any empty intersection, not just adjacent ones.
- If one player has three cows and the other player has more than three cows, only the player with three cows is allowed to fly
Finishing the game
- A win occurs if one opponent has just two cows or if there are no moves.
- If either player has only three cows and neither player shoots a cow within ten moves, the game is drawn
- If one person cheats, then the other one wins by default
- If one player picks up all cows while the play is still on, the player whose cows are on the board wins by default.
- If a player plays twice before the other player, the player who did not play wins by default.
- In some instances a chess rule "touch is a move" apply for time management. But this rule will be applied depending on the opinion of players.
''Morabaraba'' as sport
MSSA has developed amateur leagues, using different regional versions of the game, throughout the country, and has adopted a notation scoring system similar to that for nine men's morris.
The game is an official discipline of the Traditional World Games, which are held every five years. Tournaments were not just in South Africa, but also in Bangkok, Melbourne, New Orleans, Athens, and at the Epsom College in England.
World Championships
Since 1997, Morabaraba World Championships have been held, in three divisions: senior, women, and junior. Divisional winners are shown in the table below.| Year | Senior winner | Women winner | Junior winner | Location |
| 1997 | Gilbert Magabotse | Old Edwardian Society, Johannesburg, South Africa | ||
| 1999 | Amos Mavuso | The Castle, Cape Town, South Africa | ||
| 2000 | David Hlophe | Epsom College, Epsom, United Kingdom | ||
| 2001 | David Hlophe | Epsom College, Epsom, United Kingdom | ||
| 2002 | Simon Skhosana | Innocent Kubheka | Blue Waters Hotel, Durban, South Africa | |
| 2003 | Simphiwe Maphumulo | New Orleans, United States of America | ||
| 2004 | Simphiwe Maphumulo | Rome, Italy | ||
| 2005 | Medupe Sekao | Teresa Chen | Teresa Chen | University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia |
| 2006 | Thanos Taktikos | Gazza, Athens, Greece | ||
| 2007 | Moses Rannyadi | Ledile Tshwane | Innocent Kubheka | Marine Hotel, Port Elizabeth, South Africa |
| 2008 | Hanna Melkko | Hanna Melkko | Helsinki, Finland | |
| 2012 | Simphiwe Maphumulo | Zama Latha | Blue Waters Hotel, Durban, South Africa | |
| 2013 | Simphiwe Maphumulo | Pretoria Boys High, Pretoria, South Africa | ||
| 2014 | Lejone Malikoe | Victoria Hotel, Maseru, Lesotho | ||
| 2015 | Senane Gadlela | Nipho Sipnepho | Lugogo Sun, Mbabane, Swaziland |