Southeast Asian mancala

[1] Southeast Asian mancalas are generally known by variations of similar cognates which are likely onomatopoeiac.

[1] Historical records show that similar games also existed in Sri Lanka (where it is known as chonka) and India.

A similar game is still found in the Maldives, where it is known as ohlvalhu (where valhu means "eight", so literally "eight holes").

[1] Other names for the game include dakon or dhakon (Javanese), kunggit (Philippines), dentuman lamban (Lampung), mokaotan, maggaleceng, aggalacang or nogarata (Sulawesi), and naranj (Maldives).

[1] The oldest mancala game boards were found in a ruined fort of Roman Egypt and date back to the 4th century AD.

[1][4][5][6] Indonesia has the largest variation of Southeast Asian mancalas and thus may be likely to be at least one of the major entry points, though this may also be just an artifact of the country's size.

[1] Southeast Asian mancalas are played by two people on carved wooden elongated boat-shaped boards with cup-shaped holes.

However, the number of holes can vary, ranging from three to nine or more (excluding the stores), and these variants (which can also differ in the rules) can coexist in one area.

[9] The rules for the most common seven-hole mancala versions in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, the Maldives, Marianas, and the Philippines are almost identical.

This prehistoric dakon stones is unrelated to the game and were probably employed in ceremonies to propitiate ancestors.