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84 INDIAN GAMES AND DANCES |
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IV Hiding the Disks
Introductory Note. — This game, known under a variety of names, is a favorite among the Indian tribes living on the North Pacific Coast. The disks, always of an uneven number, are made of wood and ornamented with designs composed of segments of circles with groupings of dots. Some of the markings are regarded as cabalistic, and there are men who claim to have a knowledge of spells that will bring luck to the disks they ornament and treat; such disks are considered valuable and often command a high price. All of the disks in a set that is used in this game are ornamented alike except one; this must be different from the others. It may be decorated with red, for the sun, or with a dark color almost black, for the night. This disk is frequently called the "chief," and the aim of the game is to guess in which pile of disks the "chief" is hidden.
Properties. — A mat on which the game is played; a small mat on which the counting or tally-sticks are put; a board that is to serve as a drum; four drum-sticks; nine wooden disks about two and a half inches in diameter. The designs on the nine disks, the twenty tally-sticks and the four drum-sticks should be in color or burned into the wood. Eight of the disks should be decorated alike; the ninth must be different and have either red or brown as the predominating color; this disk is the "chief." A bundle of excelsior is to be the substitute for the fiber of cedar bark which is used by the Indians of the Northwest Coast when playing this game; |
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