Recreation took two basic forms: sporting contests and gambling. Both
were spectator sports as well as activities for the participants.
The only team sport was a game that the English observers dubbed
“football”. The ball was about the size of a handball. The game was
played on long sandy beaches, the goal posts set a mile apart. If the
rules followed the same form as those in other areas of North America
where the game was played, the object was to get the ball over the
goal without using one’s hands. The game might go on for two days
before one goal was made, in which case the spot of play was marked
at the end of the day and the game resumed there on the following
day. When one tribe played against another the goal posts were hung
with a great deal of wealth in wampum and other goods to go to the
team that won. Players left their weapons in a common heap before
play began and painted their faces as for war.[368] Before the game,
men from the opposing teams met and shook hands. If the Wampanoag
version of “football” was comparable to that in other places where
the game was played, it was rough, and broken bones were not
uncommon. In the course of a game players wrestled for possession of
the ball and might be dunked in the ocean. Despite the vigorous play,
however, tempers were seldom lost, and quarrels were rare. Great
multitudes of people gathered for these games; women and children
provided a noisy audience, calling out praises to their favorite
players. When the play had ended, all joined for a great feast.[369]
Other sporting contests matched individual skills in archery,
swimming, and running. Again, the contestants might be members
of opposing tribes and the match one of great public interest.
Marksmanship with bow and arrow was keen. The bowman held the arrow
between his thumb and forefinger. In one form of shooting match the
archer shot at his opponent, who would try, usually with success, to
dodge the arrows. This was considered good practice for war.
European observers remarked that the Indians were excellent swimmers.
Their style was designed for endurance, approximating what we would
call a side stroke.[370] Children learned to swim while very young.
Like swimming, running was a matter of balancing endurance against
speed; the runner had to be able to keep jogging along easily for a
day or more.[371]
Gambling was less active but no less competitive. Two types of
gambling games were played. One, called _Puim_, was played with 50
or 60 reeds, each about a foot long. These were shuffled and dealt
out to the players in such a way that different numbers fell to each;
whoever had the most was counted ahead. A man that was a skillful
player at this game wore some of the reeds through his ear as a
challenge to anyone who might like to try to beat him.[372]
The other game was called _Hubbub_. It involved placing five bone
dice, painted black on one side and white on the other, in a wooden
platter, hitting the platter hard on the ground to make the dice
jump up, and betting on the outcome of the color combination.[373]
When this game was a contest between communities, a special arbor
was built for the players who represented each group. Four poles of
16 to 20 feet high were set into the ground in a square to make this
structure, and it was draped with the large quantity of wampum that
was bet on the game. Hundreds of spectators would be present at an
inter-tribal contest, described as having been a solemn affair. The
spectators would chant “Hub Hub Hub” as the dice were being thrown,
and the noise carried for a quarter of a mile.[374]
Not all gambling was a great public spectacle. It was a common
activity of men at all times. It was pursued with great diligence
and for high stakes; a group of men might sit for twenty-four
hours without interruption for sleep, drink or food, until
all had systematically gambled away the totality of their
possessions—including even their moccasins.[375]
Gamblers invoked supernatural good will, sometimes by carrying a rock
crystal charm. These were thought to be pieces of thunderbolts.[376]
Gambling was usually a serious undertaking. In most cases players
parted company in peace, however occasional disputes arose which led
to violence and might ultimately result in killings.[377]