Traditional games of Mexico

Mexico has some traditional games and activities.

History

See also: History of sport in Mexico

In the aftermath of the 1910s Mexican Revolution, indigenous sports and physical culture practices were included in some governmental programs meant to bring the various groups of Mexico together. However, such programs mostly faded away, with a minor resurgence of them toward the turn of the 21st century.[1]

Traditional games

Arranca cebollitas

Arranca cebollitas is a game where participants form a line, with each one standing behind a fellow participant and holding that participant's waist. One opponent attempts to pull the participant at the back of the line away from the rest of the line; if successful, the opponent repeats this until they can remove all players from the line.[2]

La víbora de la mar

This section is an excerpt from La víbora de la mar.[edit]
LA VÍBORA DE LA MAR (lit. The sea snake) is a traditional singing game originating in Mexico. Participants hold hands creating the “snake” and they run around the playground. It is a popular children's game in Mexico and Latin America, and also in Spain where it is known as "pasemisí". This game has become a tradition at Mexican weddings. The bride and groom stand up high on chairs and are encircled and held by family members representing the family union and support towards them. Meanwhile, other participants will form the “snake” and dance and bump against them, trying to knock them off the chairs, representing all the obstacles and problems that may try to bring them down. Family and friends try to keep the couple standing on their chairs, symbolizing that they will keep the couple together and support them through adversity.

Lotería

This section is an excerpt from Lotería.[edit]
Lotería (Spanish word meaning "lottery") is a traditional Mexican board game of chance, similar to bingo, but played with a deck of cards instead of numbered balls. Each card has an image of an everyday object, its name, and a number, although the number is usually ignored. Each player has at least one tabla, a board with a randomly created 4 × 4 grid selected from the card images. Players choose a tabla ("board") to play with, from a variety of previously created tablas, each with a different selection of images.

Ball games

Mesoamerican ballgame

See also: Ulama (game)
This section is an excerpt from Mesoamerican ballgame.[edit]
The Mesoamerican ballgame (Nahuatl languages: ōllamalīztli, Nahuatl pronunciation: [oːlːamaˈlistɬi], Mayan languages: pitz) was a sport with ritual associations played since at least 1650 BC[3] by the pre-Columbian people of Ancient Mesoamerica. The sport had different versions in different places during the millennia, and a modernized version of the game, ulama, is still played by the indigenous populations in some places.[4]

Pelota mixteca

Pelota mixteca is a game somewhat like tennis in which participants strike the ball using a hitting surface attached to their gloved hand.[5]

Pelota purépecha

Pelota purépecha is a hockey-like game played with a ball that is on fire.[6]

Timbomba

Timbomba or Kimbomba is a game about hitting a short stick as far as possible using a longer stick held in the hand.[7]

Animal events

Bullfighting

Bullfighting is an activity introduced to Mexico by the Spanish.[8]

Charrería

Charrería involves participants going through several equestrian events.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Berger, Martin E. (2016-01-01). "The Importance of Tradition? Analyzing the Struggle for Survival of Pelota mixteca, an Indigenous Mexican Game". Native America Indigenous Self-Representation in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
  2. ^ "10 traditional Mexican games with rules and instructions". FYI. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  3. ^ Jeffrey P. Blomster and Víctor E. Salazar Chávez. “Origins of the Mesoamerican ballgame: Earliest ballcourt from the highlands found at Etlatongo, Oaxaca, Mexico”, “Science Advances”, 13 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  4. ^ Fox, John (2012). The ball: discovering the object of the game", 1st ed., New York: Harper. ISBN 9780061881794. Cf. Chapter 4: "Sudden Death in the New World" about the Ulama game.
  5. ^ Taladoire, Eric (2003). "COULD WE SPEAK OF THE SUPER BOWL AT FLUSHING MEADOWS?: La pelota mixteca, a third pre-Hispanic ballgame, and its possible architectural context". Ancient Mesoamerica. 14 (2): 319–342. doi:10.1017/S0956536103132142. ISSN 1469-1787. S2CID 162558994.
  6. ^ "Mexico revives ancient games - USATODAY.com". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  7. ^ "Juegos Tradicionales Mayas". Yucatan Today (in European Spanish). 2021-05-07. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  8. ^ "Bullfighting in Mexico - Mexican Bullfighting - don Quijote". www.donquijote.org. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  9. ^ "UNESCO - Intangible Heritage Home". ich.unesco.org. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
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