Selus → Italian. Selus is a generic name given to mancala games which are played on three-row boards. Apparently, the word derived from Geez selus which means "three". In 1971, Richard Pankhurst wrote an excellent 53-page article on Ethiopian mancala games, including games from Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia. He gave the rules of 103 games, of which 12 were three-row games or "Selus". In the 1970s, Selus was still played in the highlands of Eritrea and in certain regions of modern Ethiopia, notably northern Tigre, Dorzé and Kulu Konta.