Philippines Native products

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Sungka Philippine (Mancala game)

Sungka (pronounced SOONG-kah) is a game played on a solid wooden block with two rows of seven circular holes and two large holes at both ends called "head".

At each turn a player empties one of his small pits and then distributes its contents in a counterclockwise direction, one by one, into the following pits including his own store, but passing the opponents store.

If the last stone falls into a non-empty small pit, its contents are lifted and distributed in another lap.
If the last stone is dropped into the player's own store, the player gets a bonus move.
If the last stone is dropped into an empty, the move ends.
- If the move ends by dropping the last stone into one of your own small pits you capture the stones in the opponent's pit directly across the board and your own stone. The captured stones are deposited in your store. However, if the opponent's pit is empty, nothing is captured.

The first move is played simultaneously. After that play is alternately. The first player to finish the first move may start the second move. However, in face-to-face play one player might start shortly after his opponent so that he could choose a response which would give him an advantage. There is no rule that actually could prevent such a tactic. So, in fact, the decision-making may be non-simultaneous.
You must move if you can. If you can't a player must pass until he can move again.
The game ends when no stones are left in the small pits.
The player who captures most stones wins the game.

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The (Abaniko) fan

The Abaniko refers to the native fan from the Philippines, which is made from the stems and leaves of an ornamental plant of the same name -- the abaniko (belamcanda chinensis). The traditional abaniko is a fan woven into the shape of a paddle, but the use of the term is also applied to the folding (Spanish) fan. Traditionally, the latter was used as part of the Filipina garment. Different ways of holding the fan signified different meanings -- an open abaniko which covers the chest area symbolizes modesty, while rapid fan movements showed displeasure.