For centuries African farmers enjoyed a game using seeds for play advancing them over rows of holes dug into the earth. They devised rules of the game that grew in complexity and popularity.. Some amongst them began to build actual game boards using available materials, mostly wood, sometimes stone with matching rows of cups to hold the seeds. Carvings were often simple and rough hewn but served to bring the game beyond the fields to tribal sites, homes and social gatherings. And as the popularity grew so did the artistry. Real carvers transformed tree blocks into elaborate carvings with people and animal forms elongating the central board. Elaborate versions found their way to Tribal Chieftains and merchants and foreign rulers.
