Note 26 — Chapter VIII

Note 26. By the play-bone and the ṭáb-stick an allusion is conveyed to two games common among the Arabs. The play-bones are used in the same manner as dice, of which they are probably the origin; and both bear the same name in the Arabic, in the singular "kaạb" or "kaạbeh," that is, "a cube." Of the game of ṭáb I have given a full account in my work on the Modern Egyptians (vol. ii. ch. iv.). I need only mention here, that the ṭáb-stick is of a flat form, about a span (or eight inches) in length, and two-thirds of an inch in breadth, generally formed of a piece of a palm-branch; one side of which, being cut flat and smooth, is white; the other, green, or, if not fresh, of a dull yellow colour. Four such sticks are used in playing the game.