Pasuckuakohowog is a
Native American game similar to
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
.
The term literally translates to "they gather to play ball with the foot" and was described by
Roger Williams
Roger Williams (21 September 1603between 27 January and 15 March 1683) was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation ...
.
There are records that show it was played in the 17th century. The game was played on
beaches
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...
with goals about a half-mile-wide and set one mile apart. Up to 500 people usually played Pasuckuakohowog at one time, while many games had up to 1000 players.
Pasuckuakohowog was a dangerous game and was played almost like a
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
. Players would often have to quit due to broken bones or other serious injuries. Pasuckuakohowog players wore ornaments and
war paint to disguise themselves from retaliation after the game. The game would often last for hours and sometimes carry over to the next day. After each match there would be a large celebratory
feast
A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...
, including both teams.
See also
*
Mesoamerican ballgame
The Mesoamerican ballgame ( nah, ōllamalīztli, , myn, pitz) was a sport with ritual associations played since at least 1650 BC by the pre-Columbian people of Mesoamerica, Ancient Mesoamerica. The sport had different versions in different pl ...
*
Soccer in the United States
Soccer in the United States is run by different organizations. The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) governs most levels of soccer in the country, including the national teams, professional leagues, and amateur leagues, being the highest ...
References
External links
* http://www.footballnetwork.org/dev/historyoffootball/earlierhistory_1.asp
* http://www.expertfootball.com/history/soccer_history_america.php
* http://national.soccerhall.org/history/origins.htm
Ball games
Native American sports and games
{{US-hist-stub