The indians of north america - indian games

Lacrosse, horse racing, moccasin game, chunkey, net wheel game, game bones

Chunky

Chunkey was a game played by the Mississippi Valley Indians, which took place in special places within a city. A stone discus was rolled until it almost stopped. Then a stick with a semicircular end was thrown in such a way that the disc stopped within the curve of the stick.

Lacrosse game

The Canadians were once the namesake for this game of skill and fighting. The game of lacrosse was called the little brother of war by the Indians. It was a ball game. that was not only sporty but also religious. Almost all tribes knew the game and played it with great enthusiasm. Two teams were necessary for the execution. Fasting, praying, sweat baths and hard training prepared the players for the fight days before the game. Thousands of spectators watched the game play enthusiastically. In the heat of the mock battles, it could happen that the players of both parties actually attacked each other. Therefore, all weapons had to be delivered before the game started. The Choctaw from lower Mississippi were masters of the lacrosse game. The day before the game, the ball game dance was performed by both parties on the prepared field. The lacrosse began the next morning. The referee threw the ball high over the field and immediately the fight of both teams started. The players used one or two rackets each – was different for the trunks, the ends of which ended in a braided or covered trowel, and tried to hit or carry the ball between the high posts of their own goal. The opposing party had to prevent this from happening. To win, 100 goals on one side were necessary. The gates faced each other 200 meters away and were eight meters high. The distance was not that big considering that there were more than 100 players involved in a game. The brawls for the ball were so stubborn that there was a broken neck. The spectators cheered on the players. After the game, it could take a whole day, the Indians celebrated their game heroes. For the game, the performers wore exactly prescribed clothes with long tails. The Choctaw’s tail was wing-shaped and consisted of white horse hair.
The Iroquois, Sioux and Algonkin used one bat, while the Choctaw and Chickasaw used two. One team painted on to differentiate between the opposing parties all Body white on.

Moccasinspiel

The moccasin game is an Ojibwa game of chance. Eight men sat opposite each other and had to guess under which moccasins a ball was in a row in front of them. This game consistently hit a tire drum, which made the game a little scary as well as exciting. The rhythmic beating of the drum developed a kind of sitting dance. The faces contorted and the hands made rhythmic movements. The whole game was the same because of the recurring movements of more of a ceremony.

Netzradspiel

This game was known to all prairie Indians. You had to throw an arrow stick through a rolling wooden wheel that was tight with string nets. A main goal was scored when the arrow stick was thrown through the middle stitch.

darts

The arrow game was a typical game of the prairie Indians. The most skillful young boys for archery gathered on the prairie near the village or camp. Each participant deposited as an entry fee e.g. B. a shield, an antelope or buffalo fur, a pipe or other object. As soon as it was the turn of a teammate, he shot his arrows in the air. It came down to the fact that as many arrows as possible were in the air. Each warrior picked up 8 to 10 arrows for this game and as soon as the first had been shot down, he sent the others behind in rapid succession. The winner was the one with the most arrows in the air. He also got the use of the other teammates.

horse race

It was the most popular game among the prairie Indians. It was usually held on a sandbank on the river bank. If the horse race was held on the prairie, the racetrack had to be carefully examined for prairie dog structures and the like. The jury staked out the route and each participant had to deposit his or her assignment, such as: B. Tomahawk, animal skins, shields, etc., which then fell to the winner. The horse race of the prairie Indians hardly differed from today’s races on horse racetracks. The Comanches were the undisputed horsemen of the prairie. No other tribe had better jockeys. Horse races were also held with trappers, cowboys, fur traders and US soldiers, with their use such as sugar, flour, tobacco, powder and lead being very popular with the Indians.

Plum stone game

It was a game played by the Eastern Indians, such as the Algonkin language family and the Iroquois. The game used 4, 6 or 8 plum seeds, which were painted on one side, and a wooden bowl. The kernels were shaken in the bowl and flung up. If the cores came to rest, as many cores as possible had to lie with the painted side up.

game timber

Various toys were used by the California Indian tribes for guessing games.

Spielknöchelchen

This game of the Maidu and her neighbors was also a guessing game. One of the game bones was not marked, the other one. The opponent had to guess in which hand the player had the marked or unmarked bone. The player swapped the game bones continuously and imperceptibly.