ay and night always follow each other; the winds play gently or rend with
force; the rains descend in showers or fall in floods; flowers and trees
spring up, come to maturity and then die. Therefore, when man has
questioned Nature as to the why and the wherefore of life, similar answers
have come from all parts of the earth; so it happens that man's games,
which often sportively reflect his serious thoughts, show a strange
similarity.

Indian games that depend upon chance, according to Dr. Culin, may be
divided "into those in which the hazard depends upon the random fall of
certain implements employed, like dice, and those in which it depends upon
the guess or choice of the player; one is objective, the other subjective."
Games of the first or objective class are generally played in silence,
while those of the second or subjective class, called guessing games, are
accompanied by singing. (Ibid., p. 44.)

In a game where the two sides contest, as in a ball game, the sides were
frequently played by two different tribes or by two villages in the same
tribe. In such cases the players often went through a course of training in
order to prepare them for the contest. Bathing, exercise and diet had to be
followed according to prescribed custom. Among the Cherokee the partaking
of rabbit was forbidden, because the animal is "timid, easily alarmed and
liable to lose its wits"; so if the player ate of this dish, he might
become infected with like characteristics. Mystic rites were sometimes
performed to prepare the player so that he would be successful. (Ibid.,
p. 575.)

According to the Indian belief, the pleasure of games was not restricted to
mankind but was enjoyed by birds and animals. The following story from the
Cherokee is told by Mr. James Mooney and quoted by Dr. Culin (Ibid., pp.
578, 579):

"The animals once challenged the birds to a great ball play. The wager was
accepted, the preliminaries were arranged, and at last the contestants
assembled at the appointed spot--the animals on the ground, while the birds
took position in the tree-tops to await the throwing up of the ball. On the
side of the animals were the bear, whose ponderous weight bore down all
opposition; the deer, who excelled all others in running; and the terrapin,
who was invulnerable to the stoutest blows. On the side of the birds were
the eagle, the hawk and the great Tlaniwa--all noted for their
swiftness and power of flight. While the latter were p