[Aztlan] Yokes and the Mesoamerican ballgame

[Justin Kerr]

To All,
>From a Mexican anthropologist who worked in Oaxaca in the 1940's; (personal
communication) "the ball was very hard and every Sunday someone had a broken
head or shoulder". Ted J. J. Leyenaar also reported seeing the Oaxaca game,
but does not mention it in his 1988 book, "ULAMA". Gordon Ekholm believed
that the Basque game of Jai-Alai was derived from the Oaxaca game. The glove
evolving into the basket that is used today. However, he found no history to
support this theory.
Justin

-----Original Message-----
From: aztlan-bounces at lists.famsi.org [mailto:aztlan-bounces at lists.famsi.org]
On Behalf Of huehueteot at aol.com
Sent: Monday, June 05, 2006 12:23 AM
To: Institute at csumb.edu; Samuel.Y.Edgerton at williams.edu
Cc: aztlan at lists.famsi.org
Subject: Re: [Aztlan] Yokes and the Mesoamerican ballgame

Ruben, Sam et. al:

  I have seen modern "knuckle dusters" that are used in the current form 
of the Ball Game in Oaxaca in the very early 70's. These were wooden 
glove like contraptions with decorative studs covering the business 
end. Some kind of decorative carpet tack I think. They looked quite 
intimidating, but were just used to protect the hand, according to the 
owner, from the ball which is quite large and not very soft. Being a 
large mass of rubber both heavy and sort of hard. I saw these in either 
1969 or 1970 in a small Mixe village up behind Mitla near the 
fossilized agricultural terraces that Kent Flannery reported in his 
early Valley of Oaxaca work.

 Cheers,

 Hugh G. "Sam" Ball

 And remember:

 "This too Shall Pass!

n