cULIN] HAND GAME 26 
Hanp Game 
This game, which I have designated by its common English name, 
is most widely distributed, having been found among 81 tribes be- 
longing to 28 different linguistic stocks. This extensive distribution 
may be partially accounted for by the fact that, as it was played 
entirely by gesture, the game could be carried on between individual 
who had only the sign language in common. 
The name is descriptive, referring to the lots being held in the hand 
during the play. The game has been designated also the grass game, 
from the custom in California of wrapping the lots in bundles of grass. 
The lots are of several kinds. The commonest consist of bone cylin- 
ders, some solid, others hollow, between 2 and 3 inches in length. 
They are made in pairs, one or two sets being used. One piece in 
each pair is distinguished from the others by having a thong or 
string tied about the middle. The unmarked bone is sometimes 
designated as the man and the marked bone as the woman. The 
object is to guess the unmarked one. Instead of bones, wooden 
cylinders, one of each pair tied with cord or having a ring of bark 
left about the center, are used. The Yankton Dakota use two small 
squared sticks, notched differently. In a degenerate form of the 
game the players use little strings of beads or a bullet. The Pima 
employ three twigs with a finger loop at one end, and among some of 
the tribes of Arizona and southern California, where the game 
receives the Spanish name of peon, the lots are attached to the wrist 
with a cord fastened to the middle. This is done to prevent the 
players from changing them. 
The four bones, two male and two female, like the sticks .in the 
four-stick game, probably represent the bows of the twin War Gods. 
The game is commonly counted with sharpened sticks, which are 
stuck in the ground between the players. These are most commonly 
twelve in number, but, five, ten, fifteen, sixteen, etc., are used. The 
arrow derivation of these sticks is illustrated in the Wichita game, 
page 276. The hand game is one for indoors*and is usually played in 
a lodge or shelter. Both men and women play, but usually quite 
apart. The number of players varies from two to any number. The 
opponents seat themselves upon the ground, facing each other, the 
stakes commonly being placed between the two lines. The side hold- 
ing the bones sing and sway their hands or bodies. The guesser 
indicates his choice by swiftly extending his hand or arm. If he 
guesses correctly, the bones go over to his side. 
The bones used in this game are frequently highly valued, being 
esteemed lucky, their owners thinking that their luck would pass to 
the person who acquired these bones. 
