CHESS AND PLAYING-CARDS. 



807 



ground or against a wall, or against a stick inclined against a wall. 

 The throws count as follows : 



1 wbite side up, called Uib, or iveled, " child" = 1. 



2 white sides up = 2. 



3 white sides up =3. 



4 white sides up =4. 

 4 blaclc sides up =6. 



A throw of 4 or 6 entitles the player to throw agaiu.i 



The name of the board in this game, seega, appears to be an Araba- 

 cized form of the Indian word saj, "teak." According to native lexi- 

 cographers it is applied to wood, black and heavy and made in pieces 

 of oblong form or squared, brought from India. In the sense of board 

 it was originally applied to the tablet made of sqj wood. The name 

 given to the men, "dogs," is the same as that applied to the men in the 

 game of Kawade lelia (Ko. 37) iu Oeylon. These facts would seem to 



rig. 121. 



CANES FOR GAME. 



Length, 8^ inches. 

 Singapore, Straits Settlements. 



Cat. No. 175222, U.S.N. M. 



indicate an Asiatic origin for the game of Tab. According to Dr. Hyde 

 it was known to the Persians under the name of Bazi kamish, that is, 

 the "Eeed game." 



The following game, No. 5, from Singapore, affords an illustration of 

 its wide distribution in Asia: 

 5. Game Sticks.- Singapore, Straits Settlements. 



Set of four bamboo staves about 8J inches in length, painted black 

 witli Chinese ink on one side (fig. 121). Evidently intended for a game 

 like Tab. 



In closing this account of the use of the tossed staves in divination 

 and gambling in the Old World it is fitting to mention the references 

 to similar customs by the classical authors. Thus Tacitus'^ describes 

 the Germans as "cutting a twig from a fruit ^ tree and dividing it into 



'For a further account of the method of play, consult Edward William Lane, 

 Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians, II, p. 4i). 



- (Cat. No. 175222, U.S.N.M.) Collected by Hon. Eounsevelle Wildman, U. S. Cou- 

 sul-General, Singapore. 



^Germania, X. 



■•Dr. O. Schrader, "Oak, beech,'' Prehistoric Antiquities of the Aryau Peojdes, 

 London, 1890, p. 279. 



