3 Es nuestra tradicion: The Continuing Importance of Ballgames among Migrant Mixtec Communities in the United States

Abstract

The pre-Hispanic ballgame was integral in the lives of ancient Mesoamerican communities. Today, modern ballgames closely resembling their pre-Hispanic antecedents are still played in different states throughout Mexico. Here I explore the links between the modern ballgame pelota Mixteca (Mixtec ball) and ethnic identity in Mixtecan communities in Oaxaca and the United States, using data from ethnographic interviews with pelota Mixteca players. I conclude that because cultural traditions are important influences in the (re)shaping of identity, participation in Oaxacan traditions like pelota Mixteca is critical to the creation of a pan-Mixtecan identity among migrant Mixtec groups in the United States. [ballgames, ethnicity, Mixtecs, Oaxaca]

Es nuestra tradición: the archaeological implications of an ethnography on a modern ballgame in Oaxaca, Mexico

“…Teams who decline invitations to compete may find their own future invitations rejected, while those that do not show up automatically lose the match and any bets placed beforehand (Taladoire 2003:322). They are also said to lose their calidad moral or moral quality (Stoll 2015). Because the percentage of gambling bets the coimes earn are used to maintain the court, pay any government permit fees, and cover the food and drink expenses, they are affected if invited teams do not show up.…”

“…Some events may have had more rituals or sacred ceremonial tones than others (Bell 1992;Humphrey andLaidlaw 1994, 2007), in particular those games integral to elite practices, but at their core the games could always be linked back to these broader social practices (Stoll and Anderson 2017). The pelota mixteca players themselves repeatedly discussed the sense of community they derived from it, and the fun they had playing with friends and rivals in what they saw as a rich tradition integral to their identity as Oaxacans (Stoll 2015).…”

“…At the same time, there is evidence for shared ceremonial practices, suggesting that ideological pluralism was a strategic choice. Likewise, pelota mixteca players and teams come from different communities with their own local practices in other social areas, but how to play is shared (Reyna 2016;Stoll 2015).…”