It's amazing how we can watch 260 pound linemen hurling their bodies at a ball carrier with enough force to break bones, and still explain that they are "playing" football. Yet even the novice observer of the sport will recognize when "playing" stops and "fighting" begins. A person may sit moaning about having to "work" outside in the drizzle, yet he will get up at 4:00 a.m. in the cold rain to sit in an icy-cold duck blind for hours on end because that is "relaxing" (play). We could go on with accounts of how missionaries tried to introduce "playing" sports to tribal people only to have them ask to be paid at the end of the game.

Obviously "play" is culturally defined, but what significance can it have to planting a tribal church? First of all it is almost always a means of enculturation. Our children play games that are reenactments of what we have lived out before them. Rarely will we see a child eating worms as they play house. The pretend meal is always some food she observes that we eat. Another example would be the reaction of a mother to her daughter when she discovers she is pretending to be a "hooker" which she may have seen in a movie. The mother who wouldn't correct her daughter's "play" would be considered socially sick.

Second, as people play they are reinforcing cultural values and ideals...our children are often vying for individual expressions and independence as they play. Observe the competitiveness of our games... Monopoly, Risk, Agravation, etc. Can you name a game where competition is not a part of the strategy? Or complete the following... "We play to __________."

Hence, careful observation of the types, methods and attitudes of play will provide an understanding of the significant standards, ideals and values of the culture.

Consider the following:

In early contact with white school systems, the teachers were often frustrated as they tried to use competition as a means of challenging students to excel. To stand out individually and shine above your peers was looked down upon culturally. Motivation could be achieved when teachers showed how doing one's best benefited the whole group.

Like the Navajo, Zuni are non-competitive in nature. In contests of skill, like foot races, a Zuni man who always wins is barred from running. They're interested in a game that many can play with even chances, and an outstanding runner spoils the game. One example was of a 100 yard dash in school. The parents all waited till the last little butter-ball waddled across the line then they yelled "We won! We won!"

The main game the Tarahumara play is a kick-ball race, which may be just a casual game played at a "work day," or a competition between men and youths from different communities. This race may last for a few minutes, a day, or many days. The runners may take time out for rest and refreshment in the longer races. Each team has a ball, made from some convenient and workable wood. Shamans are called to insure the success of a team in a major race. The runners eat special food, and "cure" their legs with goat grease, olive oil, or boiled cedar branches. Spectators and runners alike bet on the race, and bets are collected at a celebration following the race. The runners kick their ball around the course, not touching it with their hands. Often runners try to trip each other, kick the ball of the opposing team into the bushes at night, and chew dried leaves and seeds and blow their breath into the faces of other runners, which makes them slow down and collapse within half a mile. In order to withstand the cheaters and to regain strength, the runners are bathed at stops during the longer races with a concoction made from leaves of a juniper.

Women also play a ball race, where the ball is tossed with a forked stick or a carved wooden fork with a long handle. The race course isn't as long as the men's but is just as difficult. There is no evidence that the women prepare for the race like the men do and it is claimed that women never cheat!

At pig festivals men dance in groups, singing songs about exchanging and growing food. In this dance, the men run in place for several hours.