El Juego del Palillo (ra’chuela)
by Brooke Kantor
Saturday June 5, 5:30 p.m.
After what seems an eternity in the hot, mid-afternoon sun, the palillo finally gets underway around 4 pm. All participants and spectators walk a quarter of a mile down the hill on the road to San Rafael, to an open field, for perhaps the most anticipated event of the fiesta. There is still more waiting, once we are all gathered, however.
After the last club is placed, the chokeame buries the ball in the center of the field, the players retrieve their sticks, the captains come forward. and after a wait of a few seconds, the action begins. For someone watching this for the first time, the game has many similarities to lacrosse, but over a much larger and rugged expanse, and without any protective gear. After watching the action in the following videos, you can read the following in depth article to learn more about about El Juego del Palillo(ra’chuela).
The ball eventually finds its way back into the original field, the action goes back-and-forth there for a while, till the ball is flung to the hillside on the other side of the road, where Raramuri women are watching the action, purportedly from a safe distance that is no longer safe. The action continues on the hillside, till the ball again lands in the field.
This time, a runner flings it over the barb-wired fence to the accompanying field. All runners hop the fence to pursue the action, while spectators lag behind. The action heats up at this point, where the ball is advanced from field-to-arroyo-to neighboring field-to arroyo-to neighboring field. Spectators are falling farther and farther behind the action, but can hear and see the runners several hundred meters ahead. After another half hour, everyone is on the road, slowly walking back to Cuiteco. The race is over as the ball has been advanced across the distant goal.
Please Donate to Norawas de Rarámuri to help keep these things happening
