Indian Games and Dances with Native Songs by Alice C. (Alice Cunningham) Fletcher
page 88 of 123 (71%)
page 88 of 123 (71%)
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it up for the beginning of the actual play.
The balls used by the Indians are of different materials--buckskin stuffed with hair; formed from roots, such as the wild-grape vine; wood; bladder netted with sinew; and in a few instances, of bone or stone. Three ball games are here given. I BALL AND RACKET INTRODUCTORY NOTE.--The game in which the ball is struck with a racket is almost exclusively played by men, but there are tribes where it is played by women, and one tribe, cited by Dr. Culin, where it is played by men and women together. The form of ball game where the racket is used was less widely distributed over the country than some others. It was most frequently found among tribes living near the Atlantic Coast and in the region of the Great Lakes. It had a limited range on the Pacific. There are two forms of the Racket Ball Game, one where a single racket is used and the other where two rackets are employed to catch the ball. The latter form is peculiar to the tribes formerly living in the Southern States. The game here given is presented as it is played among the Chippewa tribes dwelling in Minnesota. _Properties_.--A ball, not too hard and the size usually employed for cricket. As many rackets as there are players. Red and yellow head-bands equally divided as to number and enough for all the players. |
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