Gabata

Gabata (also spelled "Gebeta") is the generic term for mancala games played in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is used for many two-row games, but also for several three-rank mancala games. A wide-spread three-rank gabata is Abalala'e (Tigrinya for "eating"), which is played in the highlands of Eritrea. A quote from the Mancala World Wiki (http://mancala.wikia.com/wiki/Abalala%27e): "[The game] was first described as Abalalà by Harold Courlander in 1943. The ethiopist Richard Pankhurst learned the same game in 1971 from Abba Pawlos Tzadua of Serae, Abba Zacharias of Akala Guzay, Michael Yacob of Akala Guzay and Gabra Sellasé Gabra Amlak of Serae. All these players were Christians who either served at the Catholic Cathedral of Addis Abbaba or were students at the Haile Seilassie I University. (...) [It] is played by males and females, usually in holes in the ground, particularly in the period of marriages largely after the harvest season from November to January." The first move is played simultaneously in a racing manner until both players have reached an empty hole. Rules of play and demeanor can be found on the aforementioned site.