Gambling Game Piece Item Number: A17076 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
Wooden game piece stained red-brown. The stick is triangular in shape with a thicker top that tapers into a point. Carved into the top is a thunderbird in profile. The remainder of the piece has a carved scalloped edge on each side. There are two nails in the top of the stick, one just below the bird and another near the point that fasten it to a game board (A17073 a-b).
History Of Use
This game piece is part of a game called Slahal or lehal in the Chinook jargon (a trade language). In English the game is known as the bone game. It has spread all over western North America and is still very popular today at events which bring together large numbers of people, such as powwows and canoe races. Holm notes that: "Lehal is played with two pairs of bone cylinders, one of each pair plain, the other decorated with an encircling band of black or a design of lines and nucleated circles. A set of counting sticks, usually ten in number, with a specially marked eleventh now called a "kick stick," completes the equipment. The two teams, of from three to a dozen players each, kneel facing each other in parallel lines, each member holding a short baton with which to keep time on a plank that lies on the ground in front of his team. Two players on one team each handle a pair of bones, and one player on the opposing team tries to guess the positions of the two plain bones. Exuberant gambling songs are sung by the team holding the cylinders, while their opponents try to confuse them with feints. Each correct guess wins a pair of bones, each miss loses a counter. When the guesser has won both pairs, his team takes over and the other side guesses. When all the counters are on one side the game is over (1987:40)."
Cultural Context
gambling; games; social activity
Item History
- Made by Dominic Point (Maker) in Musqueam, British Columbia, Canada during 1972
- Owned by Dominic Point before July 1972
- Received from Leon & Thea Koerner Foundation (Funding source) and Dominic Point (Seller) during July 1972
What
- Name
- Gambling Game Piece
- Identification Number
- A17076
- Type of Item
- game piece
- Material
- yellow cedar wood, metal and stain
- Manufacturing Technique
- carved and stained
- Overall
- height 1.0 cm, width 31.3 cm, depth 2.4 cm
Who
- Culture
- Coast Salish: Musqueam
- Creator
- Dominic Point (Maker)
- Previous Owner
- Dominic Point
- Received from
- Leon & Thea Koerner Foundation (Funding source) and Dominic Point (Seller)
Where
- Holding Institution
- MOA: University of British Columbia
- Made in
- Musqueam, British Columbia, Canada
When
- Creation Date
- during 1972
- Ownership Date
- before July 1972
- Acquisition Date
- during July 1972
Other
- Condition
- good
- Current Location
- Case 7
- Accession Number
- 0203/0004