Subject: [HM] Sainte-Lague, Delannoy, solitaire game of Tchouka
From: Paul J. Campbell (campbell@beloit.edu)
Date: Wed Sep 20 2000 - 00:31:51 EDT
In his "Geometrie de situation et jeux" (1929), Sainte-Lague cites
(p. 63) as reference 178 a work entitled Tchouka among his Manuscrits
inedits. Do you have any idea where his Nachlass may be, or if any of
it was ever published?
Similarly, I seek information about any Nachlass of H. Delannoy.
Sainte-Lague (in 1929 and in 1937), Flye Sainte-Marie, and Delannoy
(in 1895) wrote briefly about the solitaire game of Tchouka (or
Tchuka Ruma), which I analyzed* a few years ago. Delannoy says that
his article is from his correspondence with E. Lucas; the letters
sent to Lucas are probably lost, but perhaps the Delannoy Nachlass
(if there is one) has letters from Lucas (which may even treat the
game of Tchouka).
Sainte-Lague says that the game is Russian. <<This is the actual
question I am interested in.>> The contemporary French authors A.
Deledicq and A. Popova ("Wari et solo: le jeu de calculs africain,"
1977) say that it was formerly played in Russia but they "suppose"
that the name was borrowed from paleosiberian and eskimo populations.
Neither Sainte-Lague nor Deledicq-Popova cites any source for these
claims. I am very interested because on linguistic and other grounds
I believe that this solitaire game may have originated in Indonesia.
I would appreciate any light you can shed on this search of mine.
Paul J. Campbell
Chair
Mathematics and Computer Science
Beloit College
700 College St.
Beloit, WI 53511
(608) 363-2007 (ofc)
362-2805 (res)
363-2718 (fax)
campbell@beloit.edu (email)
http://cs.beloit.edu/campbell/ (www pages)
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