According to Gennaro Finamore, the term morra may refer to an ear of wheat or other grasses (mórre), a flock (mòrre), or the game itself (mòrre, mòra). The word is traditionally used to define a precise and limited quantity of sheep, a morra of sheep, or even a morra of maize, as morra player Italo Saputelli recalls; some morristi therefore suggest that the term may be used more generally to indicate a numerically identifiable quantity, which in the specific case of the game corresponds to the ten fingers of two hands, the morra: “perhaps morra is a group of fingers, the highest number,” says Roberto Saputelli. According to some scholars, the word may derive from the Latin murris, meaning “heap” or “pile of stones”, where shepherds would sit and play while watching over their flocks; or from the Mediterranean term morra, meaning brawl, confusion, uproar, in reference to the excitement and loudness of the game.

In the hamlets of the municipality of Castelli, such as Befaro and Colledoro, as throughout northern Abruzzo, morra is frequently played in continuous and unbroken matches, often accompanied by the drinking of wine and by a specific variant of passatella, played only as a consequence of the outcome of the morra itself. Apart from the occasional tournaments or competitions organised by local committees and Pro Loco associations, the game is mostly played spontaneously in front of bars or during private social gatherings. In the past, morra was also played in stables, while waiting for a cow to give birth, or during pig slaughtering, while waiting for the meal: it was an opportunity to be with friends and spend time together in the evenings.

“Morra is played with ten numbers, of course using both hands,” explains Roberto Saputelli; “the lowest possible score is two, since the smallest numbers are one and one, and the highest score is ten, which is precisely the morra.” The game aims to guess the total sum of the hands thrown against each other. When played two against two, the match usually follows the system of jì and ‘rvenì, up to twelve jì and ‘rvenì, that is, twelve points “going” and “returning”; play continues up to twelve, and then another round begins. In case of a tie, there is la bella (a deciding round), as in any other card game. The numbers are called out loud and played with the hand, with the arm extended towards the opponent.

The winner, or a skilled morrista, is often compared to a “seer”. Morra is, in fact, considered a mental game, based on intuition and memory; for the experienced player, Nazareno Ciotti, its fundamental elements are the “brain” and the “mouth”, that is, the speed of thought and speech working together. The techniques of the game take shape within what is known as the passata — defeating all members of the opposing team and then starting again from the first — which allows for close observation of the opponent. From passata to passata, the experienced morrista watches in silence, deliberately loses a few hands, understands the opponent and eventually neutralises them; as explained by Italo Cilli, a morrista from Colledoro: “you can win the first game, the second, then the third — he watches you, and after that you don’t win anymore. That’s just how it is, there are four or five of them… they read your mind!”

According to the classification proposed by the anthropologist Vittorio Lanternari, morra can be defined as a competitive positional game, combining both chance and strategy, in which luck and calculation are equally present, as stated by the players themselves. At the same time, morra displays certain features typical of non-competitive ceremonial games, such as choreographic and performative elements. The game appears, in every respect, as a form of sublimated combat, whose instruments are the hand and the voice. “Morra is a game of words”, “it is above all a challenge of words”, say Donato Carlini and Italo Cilli from Colledoro; numbers are not simply spoken but shouted, and the tone of voice becomes a means of assertion and intimidation.

The rhythmic element is a constitutive aspect of morra: players tend to place themselves within a continuous flow that must not be interrupted, except when a point is won, when the course of the game is momentarily altered and suspended. The verbal, sonic and bodily challenge becomes a ritualised struggle between two or more personalities, where what is at stake is social prestige. For Tito Carlini, “the satisfaction lies in defeating the opponent”, as it does for Nazareno Ciotti from Befaro: “I like it because when you win, you feel a sense of satisfaction — it’s all about the brain, about passion”; it is the recognition of mental ability, mastery and character, in a state of perfect balance between concentration, skill and chance.