Path: typhoon.sonic.net!not-for-mail Newsgroups: alt.divination,alt.magick.tyagi,alt.chess,rec.games.chess.misc Subject: Games and Divination (was Chess Divination ...) References: <3c8625f8.2480479@news.ed.shawcable.net> From: nagasiva Reply-To: spam@yronwode.com User-Agent: nn/6.6.0 Lines: 35 Message-ID: Date: Thu, 07 Mar 2002 01:30:18 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 208.201.242.18 X-Complaints-To: abuse@sonic.net X-Trace: typhoon.sonic.net 1015464618 208.201.242.18 (Wed, 06 Mar 2002 17:30:18 PST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 06 Mar 2002 17:30:18 PST Xref: typhoon.sonic.net alt.divination:18914 alt.magick.tyagi:31105 rec.games.chess.misc:146035 50020306 VI! jsavard@ecn.aSBLOKb.caNADA.invalid (John Savard): > ...information available anywhere on the use of the game "Fanorona" > in Madagascar for divination... Parlett has a couple of notes about this game: * the game Fanorona derives from Alquerque and uses a board from this latter game for its play; * the games historian Murray, at the turn of the 20th century, was assured by an informant that during the storming of the capital [of the Malagasy Republic] by the French in 1895 the Queen and her people founded their hopes for victory less on their armed forces than on the outcome of the official game being played to that end by the ritual professionals. ------------------------------------------------------- David Parlett, "The Oxford History of Board Games," Oxford University Press, 1999; p. 248. ============================================================= of course his focus is games, so he doesn't go much into the story that he mentions, but the game was apparently used for divinatory purposes, as have many games been, or they originated as such and became games. Alquerque appears to be a relative of Merels and a competitor for its cultural survival with the game of Draughts (per Parlett elsewhere). if I find anything more on this, I'll post it to alt.divination and related forums. good luck. nagasiva