GAME BOARD PETROGLYPHS IN INDIA:

Petroglyph rock and water hole at the site. Photograph Kumar, 2021-22, Figure 1.

Over the years I have posted a number of columns about petroglyphs apparently created as game boards in various parts of the world (see the cloud index at bottom of page). This revisiting of the subject adds some petroglyphs interpreted as game boards located at Buchkewadi, Taluka Junnar, District Pune, Maharashtra India. Ajit Kumar, in a paper published in 2021 discussed new petroglyph discoveries at this site including a number of game boards.

It seems board games have been popular throughout human history. Most early games of this type are variations of moving pieces and/or possibly capturing pieces from the other player. I have previously written about game boards carved into the rock in Oman, Azerbaijan, Hawaii, Kenya, Greece, and Mexico, so we can assume that these are pretty much a world-wide phenomena.

Solah Guttiya-Guti game board (right), and possible Pallanguzhi board (left), Photograph Kumar, 2021-22, Figure 11, page 73.

 “Game boards of different nature are noticed in the Petroglyphs here. The common game board noticed is of Solah Guttiya/Guti (Sixteen soldiers or balls) which in some areas is also called Bagh Bakari.  Other game boards noticed include that of Pallanguzhi (called Mankal in some areas) and Chaupar or Pachisi. The largest Solah Guttiya board is around 70cm square. Similar game boards are also noticed on the floors of some caves at Ellora and Nasik. Though these games were prevalent in society from ancient times, the game boards in the caves were possibly engraved after they fell into disuse for religious practices. Game boards are not seen in cave sites like Ajanta or Nadsur, which remained isolated and unused for leisure activities after their abandonment. Ajanta seems to have been totally abandoned possibly around 7th - 8th CE (based on inscriptions) and Nadsur around 2nd CE (in the absence later inscriptions and Buddha sculptures).” (Kumar 2021:70-71)  Some of these game boards in Buchkewadi are considerably more complex than most of the examples we have previously seen. Particularly the Solah Gottiya board is not a simple pursue and capture type board. It has much more complicated rules suggesting a level of cultural sophistication.

Solah Guttiya-Guti Game Board. Photograph Kumar, 2021-22, Figure 13, page 74.

Solah Guttiya is played much like the game we know as checkers where pieces are moved along from node to node on the pattern on the board and can capture the opponent’s pieces by jumping over them to an empty node. The pieces should be distinguishable from the opponent’s pieces and each player starts with sixteen pieces.

Pallanguzhi game board. Photograph Kumar, 2021-22, Figure 12, page 74.

Possible pallanguzhi game board and bull petroglyphs. Photograph Kumar, 2021-22, Figure 15, page 75.

“The Pallanguzhi board has 16 cups for holding the Tamarind or similar seeds or gotis (tokens) and at times, there are also larger receptacles on the board ends or middle to keep the seeds /gotis. This game is still played in many parts of India, especially Tamil Nadu. The Solah Guttiya game board has four main squares separated in the middle and two triangular boards attached to either side. Each of these main squares are further divided into 8 segments and each player gets a total of 16 segments from the two squares. Player(s) choose differently colored gotis and arranging 16 gotis each on the board, they sit opposite to each other and make their moves. Players capturing the greatest number of gotis, thus leaving the opponent with no gotis to play with becomes the winner. This game is still vogue in some rural parts of India, though not popular with younger generations. Engraved here is also a game board of Chaupar or Pachisi. This game also has a great antiquity and continues to be still played in some pockets of India. There are also large game boards some with 40 cups, and others 24 cups and as they are close to the Solah Guttiya and other game boards, it seems that it was meant to play some modified version of the Pallanguzhi game.” (Kumar 2021:73) Pallanguzhi uses a game board much like the African Mancala game board, and the Pachisi game is known here as Parchisi, a game adopted from the Indian.

These carved game boards are associated with a considerable number of bull petroglyphs. “This is possibly for the first time that such a large number of bull figurines associated with game board(s) and Shivling/Yoni (Shiva lingam/Yoni) motif(s) have been observed on basalt rock formation(s) as petroglyphs, especially from the Maharashtra region. The motif, especially the bull(s) facing each other depicted here have similarity in style with those reported along the Western Coast. It is interesting to note that only ithyphallic bull finds (are) represented and not cows or other bovine forms. The bull represented here seems to be of the Khilar/Khilari breed, which is still vogue on this region along with other breeds like the Holstein, Friesian and others. The petroglyphs depicted here are possibly creations of shepherds who visited the area for grazing and watering livestock. From the various game boards noticed along the hillock it is apparent they also spent quality time in recreation while attending to the livestock. The Shivling/Vulva and Labyrinths/Concentric circle motifs are definitely of the religious sphere, possibly done as votive offerings.” (Kumar 2021:60)

Finding original versions of Pachisi (our modern version is Parchisi) game boards carved into rock suggests a truly immense time depth for this game. Indeed, the resemblance of the other game boards to various modern games carries the same implication of time depth. It was not until the modern addition of electronic circuitry to games that games proliferated into the huge variety we see today. For millennia, most games basically were based upon moving and/or capturing tokens. Some were more complicated than others, some were made with greater craftsmanship, or more precious materials than others, but the basic principles were the same up until the latter half of the 20^th Century.

NOTE 1: In my quotations from Kumar I have made a number of spelling corrections and some grammar changes to reflect the usages of English. No meanings have been altered in this process.

NOTE 2: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on this reports you should read the original report at the site listed below.

REFERENCES:

Kumar, Ajit, 2021, An Appraisal of Petroglyphs from Buchkewade, Taluka Junnar, District Pune, Maharashtra, Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 9, 2021-22, pp. 67-79. Accessed online 19 March 2024.