The Cultural Transformation Of Cricket

2 Pages 575 Words

In the 19TH century the European missionaries invaded the Trobriand islands. The Trobriand island is located off the coast of New Papua-New Guinea. The Trobriand’s were a tribe who had a strong culture, and held warfare as a high importance. During the invasion of the Europeans the Trobriand’s were forced to set aside their “barbarous” rituals and were introduced to the game of cricket. Cricket was taught to the Trobriand’s to eliminate the conflict between two locals. Over the years the game has undergone a remarkable cultural transformation, among the people in the Trobriand islands.
The game of Cricket on the Trobraind Island is played in warfare clothing. Public covering is expected of the men and clothing is made from a coconut tree. One the day of the game at first light the players paint themselves in warfare colors to give them a new identity. Each teams enters the field dancing and chanting, taunting the other side to dare compete. The dancing is precise, vigorous, and aggresive. The game is usually played for two days, involving many innings as there are players, and no one is killed. One can gain status in the Trobriand society by organizing the game.
In a Trobraind Cricket there are many people on a team, whereas in the European Cricket the players were limited to twelve. The game is usually played by two locals, with an understanding that the home team will always win. The younger men in the tribes usually play the game and the elders in the community are usually assist the score keeper who is usually a man of importance or a man from another village. In trobriand cricket the score is kept on a palm tree leaf. The bats and balls in cricket are made of light and hard wood. The ball is thrown underhand as though the Trobrainds are throwing a spear. The Host teams prepared the ball and magic is used to control the ball. Magic is also used in the game. The centerman approaches the magaicia...