Games and Sports
Sḵwxwú7mesh daily life included an array of games and sports. One of the most well known game played is bone game or slahal. The game is played with two opposing teams. There are two sets of "bones", and two sets of sticks, numbering from 7-11 for each team. When a game is in play, one of the two teams will have two sets of "bones", shown above. When your team is guessing, you objective is to get the right bone, the one without the stripe. When you have the bones, your objective is to make sure the other team guesses wrong on the bones set. When the other team guesses wrong, you gain a point. When a team has the two sets of bones, two individuals will hide the bones and swap them around from hand to hand. Eventually the bones are brought forward, but are concealed as to now show the other team what one has a stripe on it. The game is usually accompanied by drumming and singing used to boost morale of the team. The side that has the bone sings, while the other tries to guess. The musical accompaniment is also sometimes used to taunt the other team. Gambling could be done by players, or spectators of a match. Placing bets on teams, or individual matches within the game between one guess and the other teams bone hiders.
Other games included some played by children, and some played specifically by the warriors to prepare and train themselves. Some sports are similar to modern day lacrosse, rugby, and soccer.
The Sḵwxwú7mesh game called tk'7kw'ala, similar to lacrosse was played in villages. A smooth oval stone, weighing about three pounds, would be used by teams of two, around 6 on each team. There were no sticks or nets on open spaces. The goal posts were six feet apart on each side of an open space.
In the last few decades, canoe racing has become popular among Coast Salish. It's done with specifically designed canoes, called War Canoes or Racing Canoes. They are based on the more traditional canoe styles, but it is quite modern design. The canoe is usually a foot or two above water level, with enough width for one man. Different races include single, double, or 11-man races. The races themselves are held in the summertime.
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Famous quotes containing the words games and, games and/or sports:
“In 1600 the specialization of games and pastimes did not extend beyond infancy; after the age of three or four it decreased and disappeared. From then on the child played the same games as the adult, either with other children or with adults. . . . Conversely, adults used to play games which today only children play.”
—Philippe Ariés (20th century)
“The rules of drinking games are taken more serious than the rules of war.”
—Chinese proverb.
“Sweet smiling village, loveliest of the lawn,
Thy sports are fled and all thy charms withdrawn;
Amidst thy bowers the tyrant’s hand is seen,
And desolation saddens all thy green;
One only master grasps the whole domain,
And half a tillage stints thy smiling plain;”
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730?–1774)