Pallanguzhi

Pallanguzhi, also spelled Pallanguli or Pallankuli, is a traditional mancala game played across South India, especially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and known under related names in several regional languages including Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Odia, and Marathi. The game is played on a rectangular wooden board carved with fourteen shallow cups, seven in a row facing each of the two players, using small counters such as cowrie shells, tamarind seeds, or pebbles that are sown one by one around the cups in a set direction. Players capture counters by emptying a cup so that the following cup ends with a set number of pieces, and the player who has collected the most counters once the board is exhausted wins the game. Traditionally played by two people, often women and children in domestic settings, Pallanguzhi is one of many regional mancala variants found across South Asia and has spread beyond its original home to parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia, remaining a living folk game rather than a purely historical curiosity.