A time to play: Beautifully crafted olinda boards
‘Olinda Keliya’ the traditional domestic board game associated with Avurudu is a Sri Lankan version of the Mancala board game. ‘Olinda Keliya’ is primarily played by women during their leisure time and on festive occasions.
The wooden board also known as ‘Olinda Kolombuwa’ or ‘Olinda Poruwa’ has 14 holes, seven on each side with two large holes at each end. The game is played by two players with ‘Olinda beads,’ a bright red and black seed. According to an ancient Sinhala folk ballad written about ‘Olinda Keliya’ the game originated in Bangladesh. There have been many versions of ‘Olinda Keliya’ such as Colombo boards, folding Tamil boards, Mandika boards, and Arab boards. There is also evidence that it was played in the time of the Pharaohs in Egypt. In addition, ‘Olinda Keliya’ is played with the belief of evoking the blessing of goddess Pattini. In ancient times, queens and princesses used to play a version of this game called ‘Muthu Poruwa’ (Pearl board), as they used gems and pearls instead of Olinda beads. The rules of the game are simple. A total of 56 Olinda beads are placed in the 14 holes, four beads in each hole. The first player takes four beads from one hole and puts one in each hole. Thus, the players shift the beads from one hole to the other and collect the seeds found in the hole immediately after an empty one. The winner is the player who collects the largest amount of Olinda seeds.
The detailed carving on Figure One shows the Nari -Lata –Vela motif, a mythical vine of which the flower has the appearance of a woman. It grows in the Himalayas and the mythical figure of Nari- Lata, of whom the lower part of the figure is portrayed by foliage, is a common element in Kandyan wood crafts. Figure Two has a vivid carving of lotus flower (Nelun Mala). The lotus circle is always divided into even numbers and reflects the geometric skills of the ancient craftsmen.