How do you pronounce "Gebeta"?

May 23, 2009 9:12 AM

I'm a storyteller learning a story about a game that uses a Gebeta board. The game is similar to Mancala. I need to know how to pronounce the word "Gebeta", so I can be true to the story and its origins. Any ideas?
posted by hdh to writing & language (2 comments total)

This site has a link to "Listen to and read "Trouble": a story about a boy and his Gebeta board (in Amharic and English)."
posted by torquemaniac at 10:19 AM on May 23, 2009

According to the intarwebs, Mancala is the name of a large familty of games, known by 707 names in 91 countries. Mancala World has a list of names, and for Ethiopia they show (among many other names) Gabata, Gabeta, Gebeta, Gobeta. That's the only place your word shows up on the list, so it's definitely from Ethiopia. As for pronunciation... dunno.
posted by exphysicist345 at 3:23 PM on May 23, 2009