Wooden Footballs 2
date: label: Accession Date
content: 14 Feb 1895
name: label: Collector
content: William J. McGee
label: Donor Name
content: Bureau Of American Ethnology
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "THE GAME OF FOOTBALL AMONG THE PAPAGO IS PLAYED BY TWO OR MORE PLAYERS, EACH POSSESSING AN INDIVIDUAL BALL. THE GAME IS ESSENTIALLY A RUNNING MATCH OVER A GIVEN COURSE, AND RETURN TO THE STARTING POINT, CARRYING THE BALL WITH THEM BY INSERTING THE TOES UNDER IT AND THROWING IT FORWARD BY POWERFUL KICKS. GREAT DEXTERITY IS ACQUIRED BY THE BEST PLAYERS, WHO PICK UP THE BALL WITH THE TOES WHILE AT TOP SPEED AND HURL IT STRAIGHT ALONG THE COURSE ALMOST AS FAR AS IT COULD BE THROWN BY THE ARM. EACH RUNNER STRIPES HIS LEGS WITH ADOBE MUD BEFORE THE RACE BEGINS, WHICH HE IMAGINES MAKES HIM FLEETER OF FOOT. THIS IS THE CHIEF GAMBLING GAME AMONG THE PAPAGO (THOUGH THE GAME IS RAPIDLY ON THE WANE TO-DAY) AND YEARLY THERE ARE INTERVILLAGE CONTESTS, WHERE THE MOST RENOWNED PLAYERS OF EACH VILLAGE RENDEZVOUS, AND STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY; THE FORTUNATE VILLAGE POSSESSING THE FASTEST SPINTER COMMONLY WINS MUCH OF THE CATTLE AND HORSE STOCK AND MOST OF THE PERSONAL EFFECTS OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE LESS AGILE CONTESTANTS."
label: Record Last Modified
content: 30 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 2
place: label: Place
content: Not Given, San Xavier Reservation / Pima County, Arizona, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Papago (Tohono O'odham)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 029025
label: USNM Number
content: E174520-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Ball