Tlie National Game of Skill of Africa. 
63' 
Tschuha . 
The game of Tschuha* ^Xd^jQd by the Thouga or Shangaaiis, who occupy 
a vast extent of country along the east coast of South Africa between 
St. Lucia Bay (lat. S. 28°) and the Ehodesian Sabi River, is also practically 
the same as Maruha. Indeed, it only differs from Maruha in the manner in 
which the pieces are arranged at the commencement of a game, two pieces 
being placed in each of the holes of both the outer and inner rows (Fig. 6,1). 
This involves a great deal of preliminary moving of pieces on the part of 
the first player. Thus assuming that Q starts (Fig. 6, II 1). He 
takes two pieces out of c-6 and distrilmtes them in c-b and c-4 ; takes the 
three pieces in c-4 and drops them in c-3, c-2 and c-1 ; takes three pieces 
out of c-1 and drops them into d-1, cl-2, and c^-3 ; takes three pieces out of 
/ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 /0 // 
/ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 /O // 
Fig. 7. 
d-Z and drops them into (?-4, c/-5 and c? 6 ; takes three pieces out of d-Q and 
drops them into c/-7, f?-8 and c-8 (Fig. 6, II 1) ; takes three pieces out of 
c-8 and drops them in c-7, c-(3 and c-5; takes four pieces out of c-5 and 
drops them in c-4, c-3, c-2 and c-1. The dropping of a single stone into 
the now empty hole c-1 entitles him to capture {hu tlia) the four pieces in 
h-\ and a-\ and to " kill " (dlaya) the pieces contained in any other hole. 
He selects and removes all six pieces from the l)oard, the position at the 
end of his move being shown in Fig. 6, II 3. It will be noted that, as 
compared with Bapedi and Bawenda usage, the terms "capture" and "kill" 
are interchanged. 
There is also another form of Tschuba, which differs from the one just 
described in that a player on capturing the contents of one or two holes, as 
the case may be, is entitled to " kill " all the pieces in any pair of his 
adversaries' holes. For exam})le, in the game above dealt with, Q on 
* An admirable desci-iption of the game of Tschuha is given by Henri A. Junod in 
The Life of a South African Trihe, vol. i, pp. 314-318. 
