Kōnane: The Hawaiian Checkers Game

A kōnane board sat between two players, its surface marked with rows of shallow depressions cut into wood or stone. Black pebbles came from lava rock, and white pebbles came from pieces of coral and, at times, from chicken and human bones. Some pebbles measured 1.3 inches across and 0.6 inch thick, others were thicker, and still others were spherical. On the island of Lānaʻi, fourteen stone slabs carried between eight and fifteen rows apiece, holding anywhere from sixty-four to two hundred sixty depressions.

According to Pukui, kōnane is defined as an "ancient game resembling checkers, played with pebbles placed in even lines on a stone or wood board called papa kōnane." Andrews defines the same term as the "name of a game-like checkers."

Culin states that the black pebbles came from the lava rock and the white stones came from pieces of coral and sometimes from chicken and human bones. Buck mentions that the black pebbles were called ʻiliʻeleʻele and the white stones were referred to as ʻilikea. An excellent place where these pebbles could be found was at Holoa, a beach near Nīnole, Hawaiʻi. Buck describes kōnane pebbles located in the Bishop Museum: "Some flat, circular pebbles are 1.3 inches in diameter and 0.6 inch thick, but others are thicker, and still others are spherical."

The papamū, or board, was made of a wooden or stone slab. Captain King described one such board: "The board is about two feet long and is divided into 238 squares, of which there are 14 in a row, and they make use of black and white pebbles, which they move from square to square." Emory relates that the game was often played on a flat stone on the house platform, and that the chiefs played the game on boards marked with rows of dots placed an inch apart, with the number of rows ranging from 8 to 20. Emory counted the holes and rows in 14 stone slabs on the island of Lānaʻi: the rows ranged from 8 to 15, and the depressions in each row from 8 to 13. In 12 of those slabs the total depressions ranged from 64 to 195, and the other two held 225 and 260. An increase in holes and rows increased the length of the game.

Pukui defines the term mū as "a name for the kōnane game."

Brigham relates that the mū was an official selected to capture men for sacrifice or for the ends of justice. The papamū was the board or flat surface on which the mū captured his men.

Culin mentions that mū was played on a board or flat surface of eight by eight squares: "The men (ʻiliʻili), twelve on each side, consist of red pebbles (ʻiliʻiliʻula) and black pebbles (ʻiliʻili ʻele), which are placed on the marked squares. The play is identical with our game of draughts, except that a king (aliʻi, 'chief') can move or jump any number of squares, like the queen in chess. There are little holes, lua, in the center of the marked squares to hold the stones. A king, or aliʻi, is made by putting two stones in a hole. The squares are called hale, 'houses.'"

Captain King described a kōnane board about two feet long, divided into 238 squares, with black and white pebbles moved from square to square. If you're teaching kōnane to a class or group, Kōnane: Hawaiian Checkers is a printable teaching kit built to help you teach it with confidence.

If you'd rather sit down and play with your family today, Kōnane: Ready to Play is a short kit with a printable board, the rules, and the story of the game to read together.

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