Native American Sports & Games by Rob Staeger

Author:Rob Staeger
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Native American Sports and Games
ISBN: 9781422288634
Publisher: National Highlights Inc
Published: 2014-03-02T16:00:00+00:00

Cat’s cradle, still played today, was highly popular with the Hopi, Zuñi, and Navajo peoples of the American Southwest.

5 Games of the Southwest

Although guessing games were popular in the North, generally only a few people played them at one time. In the Southwest, however, guessing games were a spectator sport. In New Mexico, the Zuñi games were so popular that people climbed onto rooftops to watch them. Different clans often challenged one another. Everyone came out to watch and cheer the players on. In one game, a stone ball would be hidden in one of four tubes. Players from opposite clans would have to guess which tube it was in. Correct guesses scored the clan points. This was a popular game for gamblers. Many valuable items—necklaces, embroidery, silver, and livestock—were won and lost on this game. Games usually lasted well into the night.

Another popular game is cat’s cradle. This game is still played by children today. Players make patterns out of string wrapped around their fingers. This was popular throughout Native America, but particularly in the Southwest. The Navajo, Hopi, and Zuñi knew several patterns for the string. The Zuñi called the game pishkappoa, which means “netted shield.” Legend says that the Zuñi creator, Spider Grandmother, taught the game to her twin sons, the war gods.

For a while, the Navajo would not hold ball races. They believed it would bring on a stormy season.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.