(Photos Courtesy of the Jane Wright Collection in t)
In Part 1 we looked into games our Ancestors have passed down to us for times of great gatherings. In part 2 we will look at games that would have been played at a more local village level or played between neighboring villages. Competitive Games were an essential part of down time for the Puyallups and a great reward for a hard day's work. These games were often used as entertainment similar to the sports we sit and watch today. These games were also a way to resolve disputes between two individuals or parties. When disputes could not be resolved, often those disputing or someone representing them, were the main performers of the sporting activity. Other times however, the young athletic Tribal members split into teams and competed in a spirited yet friendly competition. Here are just a sample of the games that would have been played by our Ancestors.
Archery
An archery match usually consisted of four or five individuals. The knot of a tree was used as a target or a target about the size of a potato was made from tule wound together and fastened in a rather compact mass. The tule was set on the ground and shot at by each player in turn, using his own bow and arrows. The preferred distance for the archery games was a distance of about 20 to 30 feet. Each player would take have two shots at the target, taken during their turn. The player who was able to land both arrows in the target, won. When only one arrow hit the target by all the players, the play was repeated, with all of the original players getting another chance. This continued until only one had succeeded in placing both arrows on the target. It can be seen that among good marksmen it might take some time to play off the contest.
Hoop and pole
This game was played by the young people, both male and female. This game seems to have been a feature of meetings between separate groups. The hoop was rolled back and forth between two men, the object being for the contestants to throw a pole through the moving hoop so that it stood fast in the ground with the hoop encircling the pole. Each contestant threw two poles at each turn. The score was the number of successful throws. The hoop movers were also the score keepers. A certain score, frequently 10 was set before the contest started and the first to reach this mark was the winner. The hoop was about a foot in diameter and was called spabe the bearing the same name. The pole was an eight foot branch, sharpened and pointed on one end, known as tcetcai.
Racing
Before the arrival of White settlers, racing was simply between two individuals. Distances of the races were short and were one way (point A to point B). At the finish line were stationed two judges, one representing each contestant, who stood so that they had a sidewise view f the racers as they crossed the line at full speed. Dispute arose when the races were too close to call. In the event of a perceived "tie", the two participants would repeat the race until a winner was declared. Foot races as described by the salt water villages were 150, 200 or 300 yards along the beaches. An alternate to the beaches were open spaces of land located more inland. The inland Puyallup villages (ie Tribal villages near Orting, Puyallup, Federal Way, Sumner, etc) spoke of 400 yard dashes. Marian Smith, an Ethnographer in the early 1900's and Author of the book "Puyallup-Nisqually" mentioned, "These inland villages also had cross country style races. Men from distant villages or Tribes would run races which covered the stretch between the two villages. Each man started from his own village and raced to that of his opponent. A representative of the opponent's group was present to witness the start. The course was not laid out, each racer choosing the one he knew and considered best. No food was taken along the way but time for drinking was allowed". One historic race was between the Chehalis and a village of the Upper Puyallup (perhaps Spanaway, Eatonville, Graham village areas). The distance in this case could be covered in perhaps twenty hours of steady travel (Marian Smith). The Puyallup runner in this race was Taxaidek. He went on to win this race as well as became an intricle part of Indian wars of 1856 as a messenger for Chief Leschi. He was said to run so fast "the cedar bark strings of his headdress lay out straight in the wind" (Marian Smith).
Canoe racing also occurred, most commonly at the Tribe's Salt Water villages. Canoe races were for 300-400 yards and the canoes were not beached until the race had been run and the canoes had returned to the start.
Shinny
Shinny was played by two teams of eleven men, women usually didn't play this game because the game was dangerously rough. Goal lines were set at opposite ends of a straight, open space. The Teams lined up midway between the goal lines with the men facing each other. The lineup was not face to face like football but at right angles to the goal lines, or shoulder to shoulder. The men in the center of the opposing lines dropped the ball and each player had a stick called a shinny stick with which would be used to get the the ball across the goal line. The sticks were made of wood with a natural curve smoothed to work so that the striking side of the curve had a one inch flat surface. The sticks were used not only to hit the ball but to trip up the opponents. A predetermined number of goals were set, and the first to reach this number would be considered the winner. The "ball" was actually a wooden cylinder about three inches long.
Tug-of-war- there were three types of the tug-of-war, each of which was played by grown men. The first is most common to what would come to mind when this game is mentioned. Two groups of several men would each grab an opposite end of a rope who tried to pull their opponents over a goal situated on the ground at the mid-point of the rope. The rope usually broke so this game was not used as an indicator of strength however; the snapping of the rope produced plenty of laughter for the observers. In a second type of Tug-of-war a young fir pole about 14 feet long was used instead of a rope. There were 12 or 14 men on each side who stood facing one another across the pole. The pole was held at chest height, each man grasping it. Two judges formed an imaginary line in the middle and the object was to push upon the pole with greater strength than the opponents, forcing them back from the line. The judges declared the winning team. The third type of tug-of-war pitted two men against each other. The opponents sat upon the ground with the flats of their feet together. A three foot pole was held between them, their hands, palms down, were alternated, with the left hand of each at the outer edge of the pole. The purpose was to pull upon the pole and raise the other off the ground to his feet. To do ths the winner must be practically flat on his back at the finish. To make things difficult the pole had to maintain its horizontal position or the match would start over. The match was usually quick, but if two men had similar strength, they could last hours and it became an endurance game.
