Most of the games of the Egyptians are of kinds which suit their sedate dispositions. They take great pleasure in chess (which they call “satreng”), draughts (“dámeh”), and trictrac or backgammon (“táwulah”). Their chess-men are of very simple forms; as the Muslim is forbidden, by his religion, to make an image of anything that has life. The Muslims of Egypt in general are, however, less scrupulous with regard to the prohibition of games of hazard: though some of them consider even chess and draughts as forbidden, games partly or wholly hazardous are very common among all ranks of this people: and scarcely less so is that of cards, which, being almost always played for money, or for some other stake, is particularly called, by way of distinction, “leab el-kumár,” “the game of hazard, or of gain.” Persons of the lower orders in the towns of Egypt are often seen playing at these and other games at the coffee-shops; but frequently for no greater stake than that of a few cups of coffee.

One of the games most common among the Egyptians is that of the “mankal′ah.” Two persons play at this, with a board (or two boards joined by hinges), in which are twelve hemispherical holes, called “buyoot,” or “beyts,” in two equal rows; and with seventy-two small shells, of the kind called cowries; or as many pebbles: these, whether shells or pebbles, are termed the “hasa” (in the singular, “hasweh”). To explain the game of the mankal′ah, I must distinguish the beyts of the board by letters, thus:—

The beyts marked A, B, C, D, E, F, belong to one party; and the opposite six beyts to the other. One of the parties, when they are about to play the game in the most simple manner (for there are two modes of playing it), distributes all the hasa unequally into the beyts; generally putting at least four into each beyt. If they were distributed equally, there would be six in each beyt; but this is seldom done: for, in this case, he who plays first is sure to lose. The act of distributing the hasa is called “tebweez.” When one party is dissatisfied with the other’s distribution of the hasa, he may turn the board round; and then his adversary begins the game; which is not the case otherwise. Supposing the party to whom belong the beyts A, B, C, D, E, F, commences the game, he takes the hasa from beyt F, and distributes them to the beyts a, b, c, etc., one to each beyt; and if there be enough to put in each of his adversary’s six beyts, and more remain in his hand, he proceeds in the same manner to distribute them to his own beyts, in the order A, B, C, etc.; and then, if he have still one or more remaining, to his adversary’s beyts, as before, and so on. If the last beyt into which he has put a hasweh contain but one (having been empty before he put that in; for it may have been left empty at the first), he ceases; and his adversary plays: but if it contain two or four, he takes its contents, with those of the beyt opposite; and if the last beyt contain two or four, and one or more of the preceding beyts also contain either of these numbers, no beyt with any other number intervening, he takes the contents of these preceding beyts also, with the contents of those opposite. If the last beyt into which he has put a hasweh contain (with this hasweh) three, or five, or more, he takes these out, and goes on distributing them in the same manner as before: for instance, if, in this case, the last beyt into which he has put a hasweh be D, he puts one from its contents into E, another into F, a third into a, and so on; and thus he continues, until making the last beyt to contain but one stops him, or making it to contain two or four brings him gain, and makes it his adversary’s turn to play. He always plays from beyt F, or, if that be empty, from the nearest beyt to it in his own row containing one or more haswehs. When one party has more than a single hasweh in one or more of his beyts, and the other has none, the former is obliged to put one of his into the first of his adversary’s beyts. If only one hasweh remain on one side, and none on the other, that one is the property of the person on whose side it is. When the board is completely cleared, each party counts the number of the hasa he has taken; and the one who has most reckons the excess of his above his adversary’s number as his gain. The gainer in one board begins to play the next board; his adversary having first distributed the hasa. When either party has made his successive gains amount to sixty, he has won the game.—In this manner, the game of the mankal′ah is played by young persons; and hence this mode of playing it is called “the game of the ignorant” (“leab el-ghasheem”): others generally play in a different manner, which is termed “the game of the wise, or intelligent” (“leab el-’ákil”), and which must now be described.

The hasa are distributed in one or more beyts on one side, and in the corresponding beyt or beyts on the other side; commonly in four beyts on each side, leaving the two extreme beyts of each side vacant: or they are distributed in any other conventional manner; as, for instance, about half into beyt A, and the remainder in beyt a. The person who distributes the hasa does not count how many he places in a beyt; and it is at his option whether he places them only in one beyt on each side, or in all the beyts. Should the other person object to his distribution, he may turn the board round; but in that case forfeits his right of playing first. The person who plays first may begin from any one of his beyts; judging by his eye which will bring him the best fortune. He proceeds in the same manner as before described; putting one hasweh in each beyt; and taking in the same cases as in the former mode; and then the other plays. After the first gain, he counts the hasa in each of his beyts; and plays from that which will bring him the greatest advantage. One of the parties may stop the other to count the hasa which he takes out of a beyt to distribute, in order to insure his distributing them correctly. The gain of one party after finishing one board is counted, as in the former mode, by the excess of the number he has taken above the number acquired by the other; and the first who makes his successive gains to amount to sixty, wins the game.—This game is of use in practising the players in calculation. It is very commonly played at the coffee-shops; and the players generally agree, though it is unlawful to do so, that the loser shall pay for the coffee drunk by himself and his adversary and the spectators, or for a certain number of cups.

Another game very general among the lower classes in Egypt is called “táb.” In other countries of the East this is called “táb wa-dukk;” but I never hear this name given to it in Egypt. In this country it is played in the following manner:—Four small pieces of stick, of a flat form, about a span (or eight inches) in length, and two-thirds of an inch in breadth, are first prepared: they are generally formed of a piece of palm-branch; one side of which, being cut flat and smooth, is white; the other, green, or, if not fresh, of a dull yellow colour; the former side is commonly called white, and the other black. These are called the “táb.” Next, it is necessary to be provided with a “seega.” This is a board, divided into four rows of squares, called “beyts” or “dárs,” each about two inches wide; or it consists of similar rows of holes made in the ground, or in a flat stone: the beyts are usually seven, nine, eleven, thirteen, or fifteen, in each row. To show the mode of playing the game, I shall here represent a seega of nine beyts in each row; and distinguish the beyts by letters.

In each beyt of one exterior row is usually placed a little piece of stone, or dingy brick, about the size of a walnut; and in each beyt of the other exterior row, a piece of red brick or tile. Or, sometimes, pieces are placed only in a certain number of beyts in those rows; as, for instance, in the first four. The pieces of one row must be distinguished from those in the other. They are called “kiláb” (or dogs); in the singular, “kelb.” The game is generally played by two persons. The four little sticks are thrown, all together, against a stick thrust into the ground or held in the hand with one end resting on the ground, or against a wall, or against a stick inclined against a wall. If they fall so that one only has its white side upwards, the player is said to have thrown, or brought, “táb” (plural “teeb”), or a “weled” (or child, plural “wilád”), and counts one: if there be two white, and the other two black, he counts two (“itneyn”): if there be three white, and one black, he counts three (“teláteh”): if all four be white, four (“arba’′ah”): if all four black, six (“sitteh”). When one throws táb, or four, or six, he throws again; but when he has thrown two, or three, it is then the turn of the other. To one of the players belongs the row of beyts A, B, C, etc.: to the other, that of a, b, c, etc. They first throw alternately until one has thrown táb; and he who has done this then throws again until he has brought two, or three. Supposing him, at the beginning of the game, to have thrown táb and four and two, he removes the kelb from beyt I, and places it in the seventh beyt from I, which is Q. He must always commence with the kelb in beyt I. The other party, in like manner, commences from beyt i. Neither party can remove a kelb from its original place but by throwing táb before each such removal. The kelbs before removal from their original places are called “Nasára” (or Christians, in the singular “Nasránee”); and after removal, when they are privileged to commence the contest, “Muslimeen” (or “Muslims”): when a person has made a kelb a Muslim, it is said of him “sellem kelb;” and of the kelb, “aslam.” Each time that a player throws táb, he generally makes a kelb Muslim, until he has made them all so, and thus prepared them to circulate in the beyts. Each player may have two or more kelbs in circulation at the same time. Let us suppose (to make the description more simple) that the person to whom belongs the row of beyts A, B, C, etc., is circulating a single kelb: he moves it through the two middle rows of beyts in the order of the letters by which I have distinguished them, from K to S, and from k to s; and may then either repeat the same round or enter his adversary’s row, as long as there is any kelb remaining in that row; but in the latter case, he does not continue to circulate the same kelb, excepting under circumstances which will be mentioned hereafter. Whenever a throw, or any of two or more throws, which the player has made enables him to move his kelb into a beyt occupied by one of his opponent’s kelbs, he takes the latter. For instance, if one party has a kelb in the beyt m, and the other has one in o, and another in s, and the former has thrown táb (or one) and then four, and then two, he may take the kelb in o by the throw of two; then, by the throw of four, take that in s; and, by the throw of táb, pass into a, and take a third kelb if it contain one. A player may, by means of a suitable throw, or two or more throws, move one of his kelbs into a beyt occupied by another of his own; and these two together, in like manner, he may add to a third, or he may add a third to them: thus he may unite any number of his own kelbs, and circulate them together, as if they were but one; but he cannot divide them again, and play with them separately, unless he throw táb. If he avail himself of a throw which he has made to bring them back into a row through which they have already passed (either separately or together), they become reduced to a single kelb: but he need not avail himself of such a throw: he may wait until he throws táb. Two or more kelbs thus united are called an “’eggeh.” The object of so uniting them is to place them as soon as possible in a situation of safety, as will be seen by what immediately follows. If either party pass one of his kelbs into his adversary’s row, he may leave it there in safety as long as he does not want to continue to play with it, because the latter cannot bring back a kelb into his own row. The former, however, cannot continue to circulate the kelb which has entered that row until he has no kelb remaining in his own row; or unless he have only an ’eggeh in his row, and does not throw táb, which alone enables him to divide the ’eggeh. In circulating through his adversary’s beyts, he proceeds in the order of the letters by which I have marked them. He cannot pass the same kelb again into his adversary’s row: after it has passed through that row, he circulates it through the two middle rows only, in the same manner as at first.—This game is often played by four or more persons, and without the seega. When one person throws four, he is called the Sultán. He holds a makra’′ah, which is a piece of the thick end of a palm-stick, with two or three splits made in the thicker part of it. When a player throws six, he is called the Wezeer, and holds the stick against which the táb are thrown. Whenever a person throws two, the Sultán gives him a blow, or two or more blows (as many as the Wezeer may order), on the sole of his foot, or the soles of both feet, with the makra’′ah. When a player throws twice six, he is both Sultán and Wezeer.

Many of the felláheen of Egypt also frequently amuse themselves with a game called that of the “seega,” which may be described in a few words. The seega employed in this game is different from that of the táb: it consists of a number of holes, generally made in the ground; most commonly, of five rows of five holes in each, or seven rows of seven in each, or nine rows of nine in each: the first kind is called the “khamsáwee seega;” the second, the “seb’áwee;” and the third, the “tis’áwee.” A khamsáwee seega is here represented.

The holes are called “’oyoon” (or eyes, in the singular “’eyn”). In this seega, they are twenty-five in number. The players have each twelve “kelbs,” similar to those used in the game of the táb.^[447] One of them places two of his kelbs in the ’eyns marked a, a: the other puts two of his in those marked b, b: they then alternately place two kelbs in any of the ’eyns that they may choose, excepting the central ’eyn of the seega. All the ’eyns but the central one being thus occupied (most of the kelbs placed at random), the game is commenced. The party who begins moves one of his kelbs from a contiguous ’eyn into the central. The other party, if the ’eyn now made vacant be not next to any one of those occupied by his kelbs, desires his adversary to give him, or open to him, a way; and the latter must do so, by removing, and thus losing, one of his own kelbs. This is also done on subsequent occasions, when required by similar circumstances. The aim of each party, after the first disposal of the kelbs, is to place any one of his kelbs in such a situation that there shall be, between it and another of his, one of his adversary’s kelbs. This, by so doing, he takes; and as long as he can immediately make another capture by such means, he does so, without allowing his adversary to move.—These are the only rules of the game. It will be remarked that, though most of the kelbs are placed at random, foresight is requisite in the disposal of the remainder.—Several seegas have been cut upon the stones on the summit of the great pyramid, by Arabs who have served as guides to travellers.

Gymnastic games, or such diversions as require much bodily exertion, are very uncommon among the Egyptians. Sometimes two peasants contend with each other, for mere amusement, or for a trifling wager or reward, with “nebboots,” which are thick staves, five or six feet long: the object of each is to strike his adversary on the head. The nebboot is a formidable weapon, and is often seen in the hand of an Egyptian peasant: he often carries it when on a journey; particularly when he travels by night; which, however, is seldom the case. Wrestling-matches are also sometimes witnessed in Egypt: the combatants (who are called “musáre’een,” in the singular “musáre’”) strip themselves of all their clothing excepting their drawers, and generally oil their bodies; but their exercises are not remarkable, and are seldom performed but for remuneration, on the occasions of festivals, processions, etc.—On such occasions, too, mock combats between two men, usually clad only in their drawers, and each armed with a sabre and a small shield, are not unfrequently witnessed: neither attempts to wound his adversary: every blow is received on the shield.

The game of the “gereed,” as played by the Memlooks and Turkish soldiers, has often been described; but the manner in which it is practised by many of the peasants of Upper Egypt is much more worthy of description. It is often played by the latter on the occasion of the marriage of a person of influence, such as the sheykh of a tribe or village; or on that of a circumcision; or when a votive calf or ox or bull, which has been let loose to pasture where it will, by common consent, is about to be sacrificed at the tomb of a saint, and a public feast made with its meat. The combatants usually consist of two parties, of different villages, or of different tribes or branches of a tribe; each party about twelve or twenty or more in number; and each person mounted on a horse or mare. The two parties station themselves about five hundred feet or more apart. A person from one party gallops towards the other party, and challenges them: one of the latter, taking, in his left hand, four, five, six, or more gereeds, each six feet, or an inch or two more or less, in length, but generally equal in length to the height of a tall man, and very heavy (being the lower part of the palm-stick, freshly cut, and full of sap), pursues the challenger at full gallop: he approaches him as near as possible—often within arm’s length; and throws, at his head or back, one gereed after another, until he has none left. The gereed is blunt at both ends. It is thrown with the small end foremost, and with uplifted arm; and sometimes inflicts terrible, and even fatal, wounds.^[448] The person against whom the gereeds are thrown endeavours to catch them, or to ward them off with his arm or with a sheathed sword; or he escapes them by the superior speed of his horse. Having sustained the attack, and arrived at the station of his party, he tries his skill against the person by whom he has been pursued, in the same manner as the latter did against him.—This sport, which reminds us of the tournaments of old, and which was a game of the early Bedawees, continues for several hours. It is common only among those tribes who have not been many years, or not more than a few centuries, settled on the banks of the Nile; and who have consequently retained many Bedawee customs and habits. About the close of the period of my former visit to this country, three men and a mare were killed at this game within an hour, in the western plain of Thebes. It is seldom, however, that a man loses his life in this exercise: at least, of late, I have heard of no such occurrence taking place.—In Lower Egypt, a gereed only half the length of those above described, or little more, is used in playing this game.

Other exercises, which are less frequently performed, and only at festivals for the amusement of the spectators, will be described in subsequent pages.