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(GéŸéz ékl, presumably referring to tef or related species). They did not possess horses, and their only weapons seem to have been spears and shields.

The Chronicle of Gälawdewos describes the G. and their (unspecified) neighbours as “heathen peoples” (!Bu-y g@;\#, ahzab kähadéyan; ConzGal 51) which hence could be reduced to servitude. About four decades later, however, when a large group of G. were besieged by the troops of Íärsä Déngél, they appealed to a cleric affiliated with Däbrä Libanos, but presumably living in their vicinity, for mediation to save their lives. This, and the fact that Íärsä Déngél forcefully intervened when his soldiers disobedi-ently tried to enslave the surrendering G., could indicate that at least some G. groups had become Christian by the 1590s.

Taddesse Tamrat (1988), on the basis of an alleg-edly traditional ethno-genealogy transmitted by aläqa ÷Tayyä Gäbrä Maryam, straightforwardly categorized the G. as a ÷Gafat clan. It can be shown, however, that Tayyä’s inclusion of the G. among the Gafat is not “traditional”, but a result of his misreading of evidence from the Chronicle of Susényos (Kleiner in StudAeth). An independ-ent review of the sources yields no data that unambiguously support Tayyä’s and Taddesse’s claim. Against this background it seems prema-ture to confidently assert a Gafat identity for the G., even if there is no fully conclusive evidence to the contrary, either. Yet the sheer absence of any linkage between the G. and the Gafat in all sourc-es but one (Chronicle of Íärsä Déngél – where, however, the connection is highly indirect) seems to favour the latter view. Undoubtedly, though, the G. lived in close proximity to a number of Gafat groups and in all likelihood shared several cultural traits with them.Src.: BassHist vol. 1, 303–06, vol. 2, 398–401 (tr.); BassÉt 24, 119; CRHist vol. 1, 137–40, vol. 2, 156–60 (tr.); Conz-Gal ch. 43, 46; PerChron ch. 11–13; Ignazio Guidi, “Le canzoni geez-amariña in onore di re abissini”, RRALm ser. 4a, 4, 1889, 53–66, here 63; Id., “Contributi alla storia letteraria di Abissinia. I. Il ‘SerŸata Mangest’”, ibid. ser. 5a, 21, 1922, 65–89, here 71.Lit.: HuntGeogr, s. index; PankBord, s. index; Taddesse Tamrat, “Ethnic Interaction and Integration in Ethiopian History: the Case of the Gafat”, JES 21, 1988, 121–54; Michael Kleiner, “Were the Gämbo a Gafat Group? Deliberations on a Finer Point of Ethiopian Ethnohis-tory”, in: StudAeth, 151–64 (Lit.); aläqa Tayyä Gäbrä Maryam, Y#M_1\y Bw-y K<l (Yäýityopya hézb tarik, ‘History of the People of Ethiopia’), Aímära 1914 A.M. [1921/22 A.D.], 33ff.

Michael Kleiner

GamesLike rituals and theatre performances, G. can be seen as a chain of action within a specific set of rules separated from the usefulness-oriented course of daily life but reflecting social relation-ships and cultural norms. The degree in which G. are regulated and organized can differ signifi-cantly. Many G. have a narrative structure with a clearly defined beginning and end and a “drama-turgic tension”. The main purpose of most G. is recreation or leisure. In addition, G. function as means of exercising cultural behaviour, of educa-tion as well as of generating rank or prestige (e.g., in the case of competition G.). Often the distinc-tion between ÷sports and G. involving physical activities cannot easily be drawn. G. in general offer a certain “primary liberty” (Caillois 1958:52) which makes them more open to improviza-tion and invention than sports.

As fundamental principles Caillois (1958:27ff. 113–20) proposed competition, chance, imitation and temporary social disorganization. Ethiopian and Eritrean G. can also be classified according to 1) the social position of the actors defined by gender, age [-group] and social stratum; 2) the symbolic significance of a G., e.g., shown by connection to a certain religious feast or by the presence of an audience; 3) the position of a G. within the agricultural/seasonal cycle; and 4) the rules of a G., including combinable categories: number of players, number of teams, “goal” of the G., type of G. (types such as competition-, board-, ball- or throw-G., etc.).

An early scholarly collection of Ethiopian G. was published by Mittwoch (1910). His source was aläqa ÷Tayyä Gäbrä Maryam, who de-scribed 13 children’s G. The collection includes craps-like G., “trick or treat”-like G., hide and seek G., G. including dancing as well as ball- or throw- G. such as ÷gänna and different types of AF (kwas, ‘ball’). Griaule (1935) compiled a large collection of Ethiopian G. It includes not only G. in the strict sense, but descriptions of children’s toys, many of them imitating items of the material culture of the adults, e.g., toy weapons, body decoration, miniature houses, children’s musical instruments etc. Other toys were exclusively invented for specific G., e.g., a hoop to roll on the ground and different types of balls and sticks. Griaule also describes oral G. like “narration-G.”, children’s secret language, play on words, tongue twisters and children songs (s., e.g., ÷énqoqélléš). He also documents

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playful dances and describes the imitation of dif-ferent kinds of animals and plants, some of them connected with songs.

Many G. recorded by Griaule have a fairly ag-gressive character. Such G. include insulting G. and abusive songs, as well as “G.” in which chil-dren tease others. Fighting-G. including aspects of sports and military training play a prominent role. A good example here is ÷gugs and the many variants of wrestling (Amh. MPs, tégél).

A more sporty competition-G. among Oromo children is korbo (‘circle’). The G. is named after a circle on the ground which serves as a target. The G. is played by boys, all equipped with sharpened sticks. One of them is the “master”. He stands on a higher place and gives the order to throw the “spears” from a defined distance. The boys who miss the circle have to carry the winners. The best becomes the “master” for the next round (per-sonal communication with Kebede Hordofa).

A G. with some similar features is reported from Goggam: two boys fitted with sticks agree upon who should start the G. The first boy throws his stick, then the other tries to throw his stick on to the first. If he succeeds in hitting the first stick, he is to be carried on the shoulders of his fellow up to where the sticks lie. From there the G. can start again (personal communication from Getie Gelaye).

The reflection of adult behaviour in playing terms finds a partly sexual quality in the huge number of G. which perform the interplay of the

male and the female. In the G. !b?F (Tgn. awérs, ‘inherit’) in Tégray documented by Griaule (1935:246) a young couple dances parallel to each other along the two sides of a line drawn on the ground. They almost touch one another and perform dif-ferent figures. If by chance the two dancers reach a front-to-front position, the young man is al-lowed to kiss his female counterpart.

Ethiopian and Eritrean children’s G. show a functioning self-organization of the children – sometimes led by older children – and a great creativity in the making of toys, as well as the innovation of new or modified G. Modern schooling supported the practice of Western/“Olympic” G. and sports, on the one hand, while, on the other, children have less leisure time and are more watched than in the times of Mittwoch and Griaule.

Board-gamesThe most popular board-G. is ÷gäbäta (also mankala). This G. has many variants but in general is played on a wooden board containing two rows of six or more holes (“houses”) and a bigger hole (“bank or storage”) at each end. Seeds, pebbles or beans serve as tokens. The two players compete in capturing the tokens until the opponent is unable to make a move (for the rules of capture s. Natsoulas in PICES 11) There also exist various types of board-G. with simi-larities to draughts (cp., e.g. Griaule 1935:177ff.; Pankhurst 1971:154).

Hamär children with a toy village, little stones desig-nating livestock; photo 1950/52 by Elisabeth Pauli, courtesy of the Frobenius Institut, Frankfurt am Main (23–Pa046–7a)

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“Ethiopian chess” or A#/:A (säntäräï, according to DillLex ‘going back to Sanskrit’) was probably introduced into the region by Arabs and shares some rules with Oriental chess. It is reported that ase Lébnä Déngél (r. 1508–40) already played chess and also cards with a visitor from Venice (Pankhurst 1971:149). Chess was largely a G. of the royal court and the nobility. For the clergy, however, it was forbidden by the ÷Fäws mänfäsawi, while the ÷Fétha nägäít opposes any “amusement” (3?5F, qärqis) to clerics. Chess is documented at the court of ras Mikaýel Séhul of Tégray in the second half of the 18th cent. From Henry Salt a description of säntäräï at the courts of ras Wäldä Íéllase of Tégray and néguí Íahlä Íéllase of Šäwa in the first half of the 19th cent. is extant. It was also played by the courtiers of ase Ménilék II (Pankhurst 1971:150–58).

Ethiopian chessboards traditionally were made of leather or skin, were coloured in red with black or blue lines of square (F?, sér, ‘vein’) and consisted of eight by eight squares. The chessmen, defined by different colours, were made of ivory,

horn or wood. While the arrangement of the chessmen was almost as in Europe, their names and the moves of some were different: #LT (néguí, ‘King’); I?w (férz, ‘minister’ [from Arab. firzan], i.e. ‘Queen’ – a single diagonal step), fiýl (‘elephant’ [from Arab. fil] or Amh. A(, säbä, i.e, ‘Bishop’ – two squares diagonally, jumping being possible, moves not more than three steps), D:F (färäs, ‘horse’, i.e. ‘Knight’), ;? (dér, ‘house, castle’ [from Arab.], i.e. ‘Rook’) and y:8 (medeq, ‘Pawn’ [from Arab.]). The G. starts with a phase of mobilization, during which both players can move freely without waiting for the move of the other. This phase ends with the first capture, after which the moves are carried out alternately (for details s. Pankhurst 1971:158–70).Src.: personal communication of Kebede Hordofa, Addis Abäba, and Getie Gelaye, Hamburg; internet sources.Lit.: Eugen Mittwoch, “Abessinische Kinderspiele”, Mit-teilungen des Seminars für Orientalische Sprachen [Berlin] 13, 2, 1910, 107–40; Marcel Griaule, Jeux et divertisse-ments abyssins, Paris 1935, passim; Marcel Cohen, “Jeux abyssins”, JA 1911, 31; Roger Caillois, Les jeux et les hommes – Le masque et le vertige, Paris 1958, 14f., 23, 27ff., 52, 113–20; Gundolf Krüger, “Spiel”, in: Wörterbuch der Völkerkunde, Berlin 1999, 350; Anthula Natsoulas “The Game of Mancala, with Reference to Commodalities among the Peoples of Ethiopia and in Comparison to Oth-er African Peoples: Rules and Strategies”, in: PICES 11, 653–63 (Lit.); Richard Pankhurst, “History and Princi-ples of Ethiopian Chess”, JES 9, 2, 1971, 149–72; Harold J. Murray, A History of Chess, Oxford 1913, 359, 363.

Dirk Bustorf

GämgämG. (CzCz) is a high mountainous area dominating the basins of the Dawwaa, Gannaalee

Yäm, initiation game (javelin competition); photo by Hel-mut Straube, courtesy of the Frobenius Institut, Frankfurt am Main (027-Str572-12)

Konso, gureila ball game; photo by Elisabeth Pauli, courtesy of the Frobenius Institut, Frankfurt am Main (023-Pa083-22a)