Palin (game)
The palín (from Mapudungun: palin 'ball fight') or game de la chueca is a traditional Mapuche activity for religious or sporting purposes that bears some resemblance to the Spanish game of la chueca and is a predecessor of the international sport field hockey, created in the 19th century. It is recognized as the main indigenous sport of South America.
History
The native origin
In the 19th century, Barros Arana supported the theory that the palín would have been introduced in Chile by the Spanish conquistadors, based on the existence of the chueca, an ancient popular game of the farmers of Castilla, which is still practiced in some towns in that region. In fact, even in recent times it is possible to find Spanish authors who confuse both games (Castilian and Mapuche) as one.
But, in light of the information now available, it is much more accurate to think that the Spanish only called "chueca" to the indigenous game in memory of the competition they knew in their own land. For this conclusion it would suffice to consider the notable differences between the dynamics of both games. Or that the early colonial chronicles, already known by Barros Arana, speak of the enormous diffusion and roots of the Mapuche palín among the population of Chile. Not to mention that the palín was practiced especially deep in the indigenous territory, which remained independent of Spanish rule as long as it lasted in Chile. As well as that the game had a central role within the culture of the ethnic group: as a social environment and preamble to political councils, physical instruction of the young and warrior simulation.
The coup de grace to Barros Arana's theory would come with the publication in 1966 of the chronicle by Jerónimo de Vivar, preserved by chance in the Newberry Library (Illinois, USA). The manuscript, which dates back to 1558 and is the work of a witness to the first Spanish campaign of conquest against the Mapuches (1550), devotes a chapter to describing indigenous customs. There, Vivar points out that the Mapuches were "very great players of crooked" when the conquistadors arrived. It goes without saying that this passage is even older than the first description of the Spanish game of crooked, recently published in 1593.
Currently, the authors who study the palín consider it an autochthonous Mapuche game of ancestral origins. There are even essayists who place it within the same American tradition of ball games, which would have evolved in its different variants: Maya, Aymará and Mapuche.
First information
The palín was practiced in various ways, as a highly competitive sport in which they gambled, as a war simulation, to end conflicts between communities, to call an assembly, or as a tournament and even during funeral ceremonies in honor of to the deceased Due to the violence sometimes incurred by the players or their supporters, the authorities prohibited it from 1626, applying severe penalties.[citation required]
Forbidden by the Catholic Church
In 1764 during the synod of Santiago de Chile, presided over by Bishop Manuel de Alday, the church denounced the palin as a game that gave rise to the promiscuity of the sexes, since it was played by both men as women, having been prohibited in the Synod of Santiago de Chile in 1688. However, at the end of the 19th century, it was still practiced from Santiago to the Isla Grande de Chiloé.[citation required ]
Description
Number of players
Consists of two teams of 5 to 15 players each. Each team is distributed linearly along the pitch, with each player (palife, "ball player") facing their competitor (kon), with whom he will measure his strength, skill and cunning. It will be the one with whom he will share the meal after the game and who he will attend as an illustrious visitor. It is the way to strengthen the relationship between communities.
Sports field
It is a rectangular court (paliwe) approximately 200 meters long by 12 meters wide, in which there is a hole in the center of the field where the ball is placed before starting the match.
Game implements
The players compete for a ball called pali or fungul a ball made of wood or leather with a wool center, tightly packed.
Canes known as wiño are used, made of native wood, with a natural curvature. They can be boldo, hazelnut or meli.
Purpose of the game
The objective is to carry this ball using the sticks towards a goal (tripalwe, "start") which is symbolized by the opposing team's end line obtaining a point or < i>triple.
The center of the court is marked by a hole from where the ball is hit by the wiño and sent to the side where the own team is, who must take it out of the respective bottom line or limit.
The maneuvers consisted of hitting the ball at ground level or from a height (witrulon), dominating the ball in the air (malkotun) and the malkokantun which consisted of controlling the ball in the air without letting it fall until passing it to another player.
Player Roles
Each player on a team has a specific role in the game based on their position on the field, but in general they are called palife, kudefe ("player") and kona ("mocetón"), the player who led the team was known as Diñilfe and fulfilled a function similar to the captain of a soccer team.
Chañatufe: player with greater skills
Punctuation
The game ends when one of the two teams scores 4 points to 0. A scored point is canceled if the opposing team scores one afterward.
News
Today the palín is practiced both in Santiago and in some communities from the Province of Los Angeles to Osorno, preferably from December to March. In the province of Osorno, periodic palín tournaments devoid of religious content are held and in 2005 the first palín championship was held in Santiago, after having been recognized as a national sport by the Chilean government on June 24, 2004, which allowed the gestation of clubs that accessed public funds as is done in other sports practiced in the country. Today there are more than 140 clubs in Chile.