Post by Okwes on Jun 29, 2007 18:55:06 GMT -5
THE PEACH BOWL GAME IROQUOIS
Wasawa Tall Trees
It is said, in the days before time, before the Hotinonshonni (Six
Nations Iroquois) knew of the Great Spirit and laws which to guide
them, a young boy was sent to them as a teacher of spirituality. He
was to teach them how to be grateful for all things.
The young boy taught them three great dances to pay respect to the
earth, the sun, the moon, the plants and animals, and to all the
forces of nature that sustain life. Then he left, as he had come, for
yet a while.
In time, he returned to teach them one more ceremony, the Great Peach
Bowl Game. He took six peach stones, ground them to approximately
half their original size, and blackened one side by burning. The
other side was left white. The stones were placed in a carved wooden
bowl. The bowl he placed on a blanket that was folded and the wooden
bowl was struck so that the peach stones began to roll about.
When the stones stopped rolling, the numbers of peach stones of one
color facing upwards . . . either blackened or white . . . were
noted. If five stones of the same color show, the person who struck
the bowl scored one point. If all six stones were of the same color,
the participant was declared a winner.
There were, the young boy/teacher told the Iroquois, no secret
meanings behind the Great Peach Bowl Game. It was to be played for
the amusement of the Great Spirit and to remind all that, "All that
which you have, is not yours. They do not belong to you. They belong
to the world."
The playing of the game, it is believed, sends a message to the
Creator that one is grateful for material belongings and, as
demonstrated by losing the game, willing to share with others.
Sometimes . . . a game is just a game, and we often lose sight of the
pleasure in seeking a deeper meaning that exists not. It is the
lesson from the Great Spirit.
Wasawa Tall Trees
It is said, in the days before time, before the Hotinonshonni (Six
Nations Iroquois) knew of the Great Spirit and laws which to guide
them, a young boy was sent to them as a teacher of spirituality. He
was to teach them how to be grateful for all things.
The young boy taught them three great dances to pay respect to the
earth, the sun, the moon, the plants and animals, and to all the
forces of nature that sustain life. Then he left, as he had come, for
yet a while.
In time, he returned to teach them one more ceremony, the Great Peach
Bowl Game. He took six peach stones, ground them to approximately
half their original size, and blackened one side by burning. The
other side was left white. The stones were placed in a carved wooden
bowl. The bowl he placed on a blanket that was folded and the wooden
bowl was struck so that the peach stones began to roll about.
When the stones stopped rolling, the numbers of peach stones of one
color facing upwards . . . either blackened or white . . . were
noted. If five stones of the same color show, the person who struck
the bowl scored one point. If all six stones were of the same color,
the participant was declared a winner.
There were, the young boy/teacher told the Iroquois, no secret
meanings behind the Great Peach Bowl Game. It was to be played for
the amusement of the Great Spirit and to remind all that, "All that
which you have, is not yours. They do not belong to you. They belong
to the world."
The playing of the game, it is believed, sends a message to the
Creator that one is grateful for material belongings and, as
demonstrated by losing the game, willing to share with others.
Sometimes . . . a game is just a game, and we often lose sight of the
pleasure in seeking a deeper meaning that exists not. It is the
lesson from the Great Spirit.