Shagai
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Shagai (Mongolian: Шагай) is the Mongolian word for the cuboid bone of the ankle of a sheep. The shagai are collected and used for traditional Mongolian games and fortunetelling. They are often painted bright colours. Such bones were used by many ancient cultures, and were the first forms of dice.
Shagai games are especially popular during the Mongolian summer holiday of Naadam. In shagai dice, the rolled shagai generally land on one of four sides: horse, camel, sheep or goat. A fifth side, cow, is possible on uneven ground.
Mongolians still exchange shagai today as tokens of friendship. The shagai are kept in a little pouch.
In fortunetelling, four shagai are rolled on the ground; the two convex sides, horse and sheep, are considered lucky, with horse being the luckiest. The sides with concave indents, goat and camel, are deemed unlucky; rolling all four sides on one throw is considered indicative of very good fortune.
The following table indicates fortunes told by combinations of shagai rolls:
| Horse | Camel | Sheep | Goat | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | The best combination possible: Good luck, happiness, and good health | |||
| 4 | All your wishes will come true | |||
| 4 | Everlasting luck | |||
| 4 | Others might try to harm you, better be careful | |||
| 3 | 1 | One will come or arrive soon | ||
| 3 | 1 | There are no obstacles on your way | ||
| 3 | 1 | Everything is evenly successful | ||
| 2 | 1 | 1 | Happiness | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | Good luck | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | Your business will show to be fruitful in the short run | |
| 2 | 2 | Your work will be successful | ||
| 2 | 2 | Your goals will be fulfilled | ||
| 2 | 2 | Some obstacles will come | ||
| 1 | 3 | Long-lasting happiness | ||
| 1 | 3 | Your side is safe | ||
| 1 | 3 | Gossips and quarrels | ||
| 1 | 2 | 1 | More gossips and bad quarrels | |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | Someone else will benefit from your work | |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | Good health and happiness | |
| 1 | 2 | 1 | No difficulties | |
| 1 | 2 | 1 | You will get good news | |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Very good |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | It's not clear that everything will be successful | |
| 2 | 2 | Things are on your side, but not completely | ||
| 2 | 2 | No problems | ||
| 1 | 2 | 1 | Unsuccessful | |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | Everything is on others' side | |
| 1 | 3 | Misfortune | ||
| 1 | 3 | Outside force will influence you | ||
| 3 | 1 | Your business will be successful most of the time | ||
| 2 | 2 | Success | ||
| 1 | 3 | Bad luck |
The shagai are also used to play other games, especially a Mongolian variation of marbles, in which the goal is to capture more shagai than your opponents do.
[edit] References
"Anklebone Fortune Telling" instruction sheet accompanying pouch of shagai purchased at State Department Store in Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia
