AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE STUDY OF. GAMBLING RONALD COURTNEY STUART B.A., M c G i l l U n i v e r s i t y , 1969 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF : THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE. OF < MASTER OF ARTS We aocept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming to THE' UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH' COLUMBIA • i n the Department of Anthropology the r e q u i r e d standard September, 1972 In presenting this thesis in partial fu 1 f i lment of., the requi rements for an advanced degree at the University of Br i t ish Columbia, I agree .that the Library shall make, it freely available for, ; referenee and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thes is , for scholarly purposes: may be granted by the Head, of my Department or « by his ^representative's'';;. . I t is understood that copy i ng or pub 1 i cat ion of this thesis for financial gain shall hot be allowed without my written, permission. .' Department of Anthropology The University of Br i t ish Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada ,• Date September. 1972 A B S T R A C T T h e s y s t e m a t i c s t u d y o f g a m b l i n g h a s n o t b e e n u n d e r t a k e n b y many a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s . Y e t , t h e r e e x i s t d a t a w i t h i n t h e e t h n o g r a p h i c l i t e r a t u r e o f n a t i v e N o r t h A m e r i c a t o w a r r a n t s e r i o u s c o m p a r i s o n o f g a m b l i n g p r a c t i c e s . •. T h i s t h e s i s a t t e m p t s t o f o r m u l a t e . a n a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l f r a m e w o r k , f o r t h e s t u d y o f g a m b l i n g . T h e I m p l i c a t i o n s o f a n a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l f r a m e w o r k . a r e e x a m i n e d b y i s o l a t i n g t h e v a r i a b l e s t o be c o n s i d e r e d . . G e n e r a l l y t h e y f a l l i n t o two b r o a d f i e l d s , s y m b o l s o r s y m b o l i c c o m p l e x e s a n d p o l i t i c o - e c o n o m i c I n s t i t u t i o n s o r p o w e r r e l a t i o n s . T h e p e r s p e c t i v e o f a n t h r o p o l o g y c o n c e r n s b o t h t h e s e f i e l d s a n d . t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e m . T h i s p e r s p e c t i v e i s t e r m e d h o l i s t i c a n d i t i s p r o p o s e d t o s t u d y g a m b l i n g h o l i s t i c a l l y . A d e f i n i t i o n o f g a m b l i n g i s e n u n c i a t e d . T h e p r o p e r t i e s o f g a m b l i n g a s a n i n s t i t u t i o n a r e d i s c u s s e d a n d v a r i a b l e s a r e i s o l a t e d , i n c l u d i n g t h e d i s t i n c t i o n d e e p p l a y / s h a l l o w p l a y ; . ' . T h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f t r e a t i n g g a m b l i n g a s a c u l t u r a l 1 t e x t t o be i n t e r p r e t e d i s s u g g e s t e d . ' , F i v e c a s e s o f h a n d game g a m b l i n g i n N o r t h A m e r i c a a r e e x a m i n e d i n t e r m s o f t h e f r a m e w o r k . C e r t a i n common f e a t u r e s a r e d e m o n s t r a t e d a n d t h e c o n s e q u e n c e s o f s t u d y i n g g a m b l i n g a r e c o n s i d e r e d . C o n c l u s i o n s a r e p r e s e n t e d i n o r d e r t o s u m m a r i z e t h e a n a l y s i s o f f i v e c a s e s a n d t o a s s e s s t h e a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f t h e f r a m e w o r k . ••••> J, ., . T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S I N T R O D U C T I O N . C H A P T E R O N E J A h o l i s t i c p e r s p e c t i v e ... C H A P T E R TWO«• • • Gambling v a r i a b l e s CHAPTER THREEJ, F i v e hand game c u l t u r e s .. CHAPTER FOUR r Conclusions BIBLIOGRAPHY 'y '^^ ;^^?^-^^-^ ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I V, f :: " >.' ' V ^ ' My u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f g a m b l i n g h a s i n c r e a s e d i m m e a s u r a b l y s i n c e t h e i n i t i a t i o n . o f t h e . r e s e a r c h w h i c h l e d t o t h i s t h e s i s . L a r g e l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h i s p a r t o f my e d u c a t i o n a r e n a t i v e I n d i a n a n d n o n - n a t i v e g a m b l e r s . T h e i r s k i l l , e n t h u s i a s m and. i n v o l v e m e n t d r e w a t t e n t i o n t o t h e a c t i v i t y o f g a m b l i n g a s one w h i c h d e s e r v e d s t u d y . T h e a n o n y m i t y o f t h e s e i n d i v i d u a l s o u g h t n o t t o c o n c e a l my , g r a t i t u d e . ,. V;-''.'; ^ : : '•' •• Wendy , my w i f e , , h a s p l a y e d c o n s i d e r a b l y more t h a n a s u p p o r t i v e r o l e i n t h e r e s e a r c h a n d w r i t i n g o f t h i s t h e s i s I t was h e r own i n t e r e s t i n t h e m u s i c a s s o c i a t e d w i t h s l a h a l t h a t b r o u g h t u s i n t o a p o s i t i o n t o o b s e r v e a g a m b l i n g m a t c h a n d m e e t t h e g a m b l e r s . A s t h e r e s e a r c h o n g a m b l i n g m u s i c c o n t i n u e d , o u r i n t e r e s t s d e v e l o p e d , o f t e n i n d i a l e c t i c a l f a s h i o n , y e t w i t h c o n g e n i a l r e s u l t s . I; w i s h t o a c k n o w l e d g e t h e a s s i s t a n c e o f my t h e s i s a d v i s o r , P r o f e s s o r M i c h a e l ^ A m e s , a n d my c o m m i t t e e m e m b e r s , • -P r o f e s s o r s W i l s o n D u f f a n d Y u n s h i k C h a n g , i n t h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s . - ' INTRODUCTION When I f i r s t b e g a n t o t h i n k a b o u t t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f g a m b l i n g i t o c c u r r e d t o me t h a t I c o u l d remember few-r e f e r e n c e s t o i t i n t h e . p u b l i s h e d e t h n o g r a p h i e s , and n o m e n t i o n o f t h e i n s t i t u t i o n i n a n y o f t h e t h e o r e t i c a l a r t i c l e s I k n e w . A b r i e f s e a r c h i n s e v e r a l b i b l i o g r a p h i e s r e v e a l e d o n l y a c o u p l e o f b o o k s w h i c h made e x p l i c i t r e f e r e n c e t o g a m l i n g i n t h e i r t i t l e s a n d ; s o m e s c a t t e r e d j o u r n a l a r t i c l e s t h a t a p p e a r e d t o d e a l w i t h t h e t o p i c ; A f t e r more r e s e a r c h i t a p p e a r s t h a t t h e s t u d y o f g a m b l i n g h a s o c c u p i e d o n l y t h e r e s i d u a l i n t e r e s t o f m o s t a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s . D u r i n g my i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t h e l i t e r a t u r e a v a r i e t y o f a r t i c l e s a n d b o o k s t u r n e d u p , many o f them w r i t t e n b y p s y c h o l o g i s t s , v s o c i o l o g i s t s , p s y c h i a t r i s t s a n d l e g i s l a t o r s . I n c o n t r a s t , a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l c o n c e r n w i t h g a m b l i n g , a s a n i n s t i t u t i o n , seems m i l d . ' T h e a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l l i t e r a t u r e o f g a m b l i n g c o n s i s t s l a r g e l y o f d e s c r i p t i v e a c c o u n t s o f t h e p a r a p h e r n a l i a , a n d i v c a t a l o g u e s o f t h e games w h i c h a r e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h g a m b l i n g i n d i f f e r e n t c u l t u r e s . I n t h e m o d e s t b o d y o f m o n o g r a p h i c a n d t h e o r e t i c a l m a t e r i a l o n g a m b l i n g a r e a f e w i t e m s , w h i c hy a r e g i v e n d e t a i l e d c o n s i d e r a t i o n b e l o w . ( s e e F l a n n e r y & C o o p e r , 19^6; D e s m o n d , 19521 H e l m & L u r l e , 1966; e t c . ) O u r a t t e n t i o n i s d r a w n o u t s i d e t h e a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l ; > l i t e r a t u r e q u i t e c o n s i s t e n t l y b y t h e p u b l i s h e d m a t e r i a l o n g a m b l i n g . I t i s c o n c e i v a b l e , b u t n o t a l w a y s f e a s i b l e , t o d e r i v e d a t a f r o m s o u r c e s a p a r t f r o m t h e o n e s s a n c t i o n e d b y t h e . d i s c i p l i n e ( e . g . , e t h n o g r a p h i e s ) . T h e d i f f i c u l t y a r i s e s , h o w e v e r , i n r e c o n c i l i n g t h e d i v e r s e p e r s p e c t i v e s o f p h y s i c i a n s , l a w m a k e r s a n d p s y c h o l o g i s t s , f o r e x a m p l e , w i t h t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t h e y g e n e r a t e . A n y s e r i o u s c o m p a r a t i v e , , s t u d y o f g a m b l i n g f r o m a n a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e w o u l d demand a t l e a s t a m o d i c u m o f u n i f o r m i t y i n t h e d a t a p r e s e n t e d . I f t h e o r e t i c a l v a r i a b l e s a r e t o be i s o l a t e d a n d g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s t o b e f o r m u l a t e d , s i m i l a r k i n d s , o f i n f o r m a t i o n a r e r e q u i r e d o f e a c h c a s e t h a t i s s t u d i e d . F u r t h e r m o r e , o u r c a n o n s o f ^ o b j e c t i v i t y d o n o t n e c e s s a r i l y p r e v a i l i n . o t h e r d i s c i p l i n e s , ; p o s s i b l y d i s c r e d i t i n g t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f s u c h d a t a t o a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l p r o b l e m s . T h e r e e x i s t s a s m a l l c o r e o f a r t i c l e s , c h i e f l y t h e . w o r k o f s o c i a l p s y c h o l o g i s t s , w h i c h I n v e s t i g a t e s t h e n a t u r e o f games a n d t h e i r s o c i a l f u n c t i o n s , o n t h e one h a n d , a n d s e e k s t o f o r m u l a t e a t y p o l o g y o f games a n d game c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s w h i c h c a n b e c o r r e l a t e d w i t h s o c i e t a l f e a t u r e s a n d l e v e l s o f c o m p l e x i t y on t h e o t h e r . ( s e e R o b e r t s , A r t h , . a n d B u s h , £ 1959) I n one c a s e ( R o b e r t s a n d S u t t o n - S m i t h , 1962), t h e v a r i a b l e s t o be c o r r e l a t e d a r e t y p e o f game a n d c h i l d - t r a i n i n g p r a c t i c e s . The c a t e g o r i z a t i o n h e r e o f g a m e s , b y . t h e • p r e d o m i n a n c e : o f s t r a t e g y , s k i l l , o r c h a n c e i n d e t e r m i n i n g t h e i r o u t c o m e , i s q u e s t i o n a b l e . . T h e s u b s e q u e n t c o r r e l a t i o n o f t h e s e f e a t u r e s w i t h c h i l d - r e a r i n g p r a c t i c e s r a i s e s more . q u e s t i o n s t h a n i t a n s w e r s . H o w e v e r , t h e i n a d e q u a c y o f 'these, s o u r c e s f o r t h e p r e s e n t . s tudy i s t h a t t h e y d o n o t. r. ,. p e r t a i n t o g a m b l i n g p e r s e . " G a m b l i n g c a n be s e p a r a t e d \ , . .; f r o m t h e e v e n t s o r games g a m b l e d on., b o t h c o n c r e t e l y a n d a n a l y t i c a l l y . T h e s i m i l a r i t y o f g a m b l i n g games a n d . n o n - g a m b l i n g g a m e s , a s w e l l a s r e l a t e d . p r a c t i c e s i s e x a m i n e d b r i e f l y i n t h e n e x t c h a p t e r . Some o f t h e a r t i c l e s c i t e d a b o v e may d e s e r v e more a t t e n t i o n t h a n I c a n p a y them i n t h i s c o n t e x t . T h e d e m o n s t r a t e d c o r r e l a t i o n s a r e p r o v o c a t i v e e n o u g h . F o r . e x a m p l e , i n t h e a r t i c l e "Games I n C u l t u r e " i t i s s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e p r e s e n c e o f g a m e - t y p e ( s k i l l , c h a n c e , s t r a t e g y ) i s • r e l a t e d t o t h e l e v e l o f s o c i o - p o l i t i c a l c o m p l e x i t y o f a s o c i e t y ( R o b e r t s , A r t h , B u s h , 1959) . Y e t , i s i t v a l i d , .. e v e n f o r t h e i r p u r p o s e s , t o make t h a t c o r r e l a t i o n a f t e r c a t e g o r i z i n g games ..the way t h e y d o ? Chance' 1 , s t r a t e g y a n d • s k i l l ; c l e a r l y a r e a s p e c t s ; o f a l l g a m e s . •' I f i g a m e s a r e . c o n s i d e r e d t o b e e x e r c i s e s i n m a s t e r y o f : d i f f e r e n t f e a t u r e s •*. o f t h e e n v i r o n m e n t . ^ ' p e r h a p s i t i s r e l e v a n t t o c h a r a c t e r i z e them, a c c o r d i n g , t o t h e p r e v a l e n c e ' o f t h e s e f e a t u r e s . H o w e v e r t h i s t y p o l o g y t e n d s t o i g n o r e t h e p l a y e r ' s v i e w o f t h e game, w h i c h - m a y v e r y l i k e l y d i f f e r f r o m t h e o b s e r v e r ' s . (Games o f c h a n c e ; . e . g . a r e o f t e n c o n c e i v e d o f a s b a t t l e s o f w i t o r ! s t r a t e g y i n g u e s s i n g , a n d may i n f a c t b e e x e r c i s e s i n m a s t e r y o f t h i s t y p e f o r t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s . ) I t h i n k t h a t t h e c a t e g o r i e s c h a n c e , s k i l l a n d s t r a t e g y a c t u a l l y r e p r e s e n t t h e v a r i a b l e o f c o m p l e x i t y o f g a m e s . T h i s b e i n g t h e c a s e , t h e a u t h o r s h a v e managed t o d e m o n s t r a t e t h e d i r e c t r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e c o m p l e x i t y o f games p r e s e n t i n a c u l t u r e a n d t h e c o m p l e x i t y o f t h e c u l t u r e i t s e l f . W i t h o u t • some c l a r i f i c a t i o n o f t h e t r i - p a r t i t e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f g ames , I t i s d i f f i c u l t . t o c o n c l u d e more f r o m t h e e v i d e n c e . T h e s p e c i f i c s t u d y o f games a p a r t f r o m g a m b l i n g f a l l s o u t s i d e t h e s c o p e o f t h i s p a p e r . T h u s , t h e v a l u e o f t h e a b o v e m e n t i o r i e d a r t i c l e s i n t h i s r e s e a r c h h a s b e e n m a i n l y . ' • s u g g e s t i v e . yV r '.'•. v' •'";••'•' T h e b r i e f r e v i e w o f t h e p u b l i s h e d m a t e r i a l on g a m b l i n g i s n o t I n t e n d e d t o be e x h a u s t i v e o r c o n c l u s i v e . I t i s i n t e n d e d s i m p l y t o show t h e n a t u r e a n d e x t e n t o f 1 a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l i n t e r e s t i n g a m b l i n g . A . ' c avea t e m p t o r i s i s s u e d a g a i n s t t h e i n d i s c r i m i n a t e a d o p t i o n o f e i t h e r c o n c l u s i o n s o r d a t a f r o m o t h e r s o u r c e s i n s u p p o r t o f g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s d e a l i n g w i t h a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l v a r i a b l e s . I t i s t h e p u r p o s e o f t h i s p a p e r t o d e v e l o p a n a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l f r a m e w o r k f o r t h e s t u d y o f g a m b l i n g . I n d o i n g t h i s , v a r i o u s p o i n t s o f v i e w w i l l b e c o n s i d e r e d . • T o b e e x a m i n e d i n d e t a i l a r e s e v e r a l a c c o u n t s o f g a m b l i n g i n n a t i v e N o r t h A m e r i c a n s o c i e t i e s T h e r e a s o n s f o r t h i s e t h n o g r a p h i c f o c u s w i l l be e x p l a i n e d l a t e r o n . I n f o r u m u l a t i n g a n a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l a p p r o a c h t o g a m b l i n g T ; h a v e l e a n e d h e a v i l y -f; o n two a r t i c l e s . A n e x p o s i t i o n o f t h e i d e a s c o n t a i n e d t h e r e i n w i l l p r e c e d e t h e a n a l y s i s o f t h e e t h n o g r a p h i c m a t e r i a l . " CHAPTER ONE A h o l i s t i c p e r s p e c t i v e I h a v e made s e v e r a l r e f e r e n c e s i n t h e p r e c e d i n g • >U p a g e s t o t h e a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l i n a d e q u a c y o f v a r i o u s a c c o u n t s •••;•.>•+:• o f g a m b l i n g . T h i s i n a d e q u a c y , i t was s u g g e s t e d , l a y i n t h e i r , f a i l u r e t o p r o v i d e a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l e x p l a n a t i o n s f o r t h e p r a c t i c e s d e s c r i b e d . I t w o u l d h a r d l y be r e a s o n a b l e t o e x p e c t s p e c i a l i s t s f r o m o t h e r f i e l d s t o e x p r e s s c o n c e r n f o r t h e same v a r i a b l e s a n d r e l a t i o n s h i p s w h i c h a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s h a v e s t a k e d o u t a s • t h e i r t e r r i t o r y . Y e t o u r i n t e r e s t s a r e n o t e x c l u s i v e , a n d we m u s t be c a r e f u l t o d i s t i n g u i s h t h e p e r s p e c t i v e r f r o m w h i c h ,we p r o p o s e t o l o o k a t t h e s u b j e c t . : v What makes t h e a n t h r o p o l o g i s t ' s a p p r o a c h t o b e h a v i o r u n i q u e , i n my o p i n i o n , i s t h a t i t s h o u l d be h o l i s t i c . . T h i s i s a f u n d a m e n t a l , i a n d v e r y t r a d i t i o n a l , way o f d i s t i n g u i s h i n g t h e v i e w p o i n t o f a n t h r o p o l o g y f r o m t h e o t h e r s o c i a l s c i e n c e s . M o r e n e e d s ' t o b e s a i d a b o u t t h e < t h e o r e t i c a l a n d m e t h o d o l o g i c a l c o n s e q u e n c e s o f a n a l y s i n g b e h a v i o r i n t h i s way , e s p e c i a l l y t o e l u c i d a t e t h e v a r i a b l e s : a n d r e l a t i o n s h i p s w h i c h e n t e r i n t o a " h o l i s t i c " v i e w . T h i s may a p p e a r t o be a d i g r e s s i o n f r o m t h e s t u d y o f g a m b l i n g , b u t i t I s n o t . I t i s a b s o l u t e l y c r u c i a l t o t h e s t u d y o f g a m b l i n g , f i r s t o f a l l , t o c l a r i f y w h a t i s m e a n t ^by-Van a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l f r a m e w o r k . •'•'•.• v!' ; ' ; ' : ' ' On a l i s t o f t h e c a t e g o r i e s o f b e h a v i o r t o b e s t u d i e d b y a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s . , one n o r m a l l y f i n d s a t l e a s t t h e f o l l o w i n g m i n i m u m « : e c o n o m i c , p o l i t i c a l , k i n s h i p a n d r e l i g i o u s o r r i t u a l a s p e c t s . A n a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l a c c o u n t w i l l t h e n , c o n s i s t i n some e x p l a n a t i o n w h i c h . r e l a t e s t h e s e f e a t u r e s o f . a n i n s t i t u t i o n t o t h e c u l t u r e f r o m , w h i c h I t i s d e r i v e d . T h i s i s a d m i t t e d l y s k e t c h y a n d p r o v i d e s v e r y l i t t l e i n t h e way o f a h e u r i s t i c d e v i c e i n s e e k i n g t o s t u d y a p a r t i c u l a r I n s t i t u t i o n a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l l y . : I t s a y s l i t t l e m o r e t h a n l o o k a t a l l a s p e c t s o f t h e u n i t i n q u e s t i o n a n d a l l t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n t h e s e a n d o t h e r f e a t u r e s o f t h e c u l t u r e . ' ' •.:"'/:"•:;•"': ••]''.;':'Z" I t i s p o s s i b l e t o s p e c i f y more c a r e f u l l y how : a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l c o n c e r n s w i l l be s e r v e d i n e x a m i n i n g a p a r t i c u l a r i n s t i t u t i o n . T h i s i s n o t t o be c o n s t r u e d a s a p r o p o s a l o f new d i r e c t i o n s i n a n t h r o p o l o g y , b u t m e r e l y a s t a t e m e n t o f what i s o r d i n a r i l y d o n e i n t h e f i e l d . T h e i n s p i r a t i o n f o r t h i s : s t a t e m e n t i s t w o - f o l d i f i r s t , t h e n e e d t o s p e l l o u t w h a t a n " a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l a p p r o a c h t o g a m b l i n g " w i l l d o ; . s e c o n d . , t h e d i s c o v e r y o f a l u c i d , a n d i n s i g h t f u l a r t i c l e b y A b n e r C o h e n i n t h e j o u r n a l Man w h i c h d e a l s w i t h t h e p r o b l e m a s i t a r i s e s i n a d i f f e r e n t c o n t e x t ( C o h e n , 1969). K U ' H y : . \ C o h e n t u r n s o u r a t t e n t i o n t o a r a t h e r b a s i c c l e a v a g e among t h e r e c e n t p r a c t i t i o n e r s o f a n t h r o p o l o g y . T h e r e i s a t e n t a t i v e dichotomy of a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s i n t o two camps according to the emphasis of t h e i r studies« . '•'the a c t i o n t h e o r i s t s " and: "the thought, s t r u c t u r a l i s t s . " ! This i s not a s t r i c t d i v i s i o n , as must be obvious, but i n many cases an i n c l i n a t i o n t o concentrate on one v a r i a b l e more than another, while h o l d i n g "other t h i n g s e q u a l ' The v a r i a b l e s under d i s c u s s i o n here, power r e l a t i o n s and symbolic a c t i o n , •,/.•• are a t the ro o t of a l l a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l I n q u i r y and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n according to Cohen. Furthermore, he s t a t e s that a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s have been concerned p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h /• the study of the r e l a t i o n s h i p between these two major v a r i a b l e s . How • Cohen a r r i v e s a t these, c o n c l u s i o n s and ,> what relevance they have, for . the study of. gambling are J..-, discussed: below., • v./ , 1 ••'',.';'•!' >'•''••••.>'••'/:'>••••' In a l l the v a r i o u s kinds of work .which a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s do, there i s a common. thread, ..some, focus, which g i v e s i d e n t i t y t o the a c c r e t i o n of techniques arid ideas... According to Cohen,* the commonest element i s the attempt t o study the s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e h o l i s t i c a l l y . More s p e c i f i c a l l y , t h i s concern of s o c i a l a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s has r e s u l t e d i n . t h e i r d w e l l i n g on f o u r : broad' .areas;. of i n s t i t u t i o n s i. economic , . p o l i t i c a l , , k i n s h i p and. r i t u a l . . ' (This "averaging out" of a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l , i n t e r e s t i s based' on the r e c u r r e n t format and content of ethnographic monographs*) . Looking more c l o s e l y a t these f o u r i n s t i t u t i o n a l f i e l d s we see that p o l i t i c a l and economic i n s t i t u t i o n s . a r e i n t i m a t e l y r e l a t e d as are. k i n s h i p and r i t u a l i n s t i t u t i o n s ; : , It. i s taken f o r ' granted here t h a t these i n s t i t u t i o n a l : c a t e g o r i e s are, i n ' -f a c t , r e a l l y a s p e c t s o f a l l b e h a v i o r . A l t h o u g h s o m e t i m e s p r o b l e m a t i c , t h e a n a l y t i c s e p a r a t i o n i s common e n o u g h to • • •> ? <;''^ 'i' •-v.',. "'•'•''', ' I U : ;v';'v-v-•'• |.,y''."-'. ' .••v'-' .:,: :';''/fi''-" p e r m i t i t s a d o p t i o n h e r e . ' i •' T h e r e a s o n t h a t e c o n o m i c a n d p o l i t i c a l I n s t i t u t i o n s t e n d t o b l e n d ' t o g e t h e r u n d e r a n a l y s i s i s t h a t t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s t h a t t h e y embody a r e o f t e n o v e r l a p p i n g o r i d e n t i c a l . T h i s -c a n be s e e n b y c o n s i d e r i n g how e c o n o m i c i n s t i t u t i o n s a r e c o m p r i s e d o f r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n men a s w e l l a s t h e means o f p r o d u c t i o n o f t h e s o c i e t y . C o h e n p o i n t s b u t t h a t s u c h r e l a t i o n s a r e r e l a t i o n s o f power a n d i n t h a t s e n s e n o t u n l i k e p o l i t i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s . : . I n a n y c a s e , b y m o v i n g t o a s l i g h t l y h i g h e r l e v e l o f a b s t r a c t i o n ' , we may o b s e r v e t h e f u n d a m e n t a l s i m i l a r i t y o f e c o n o m i c a n d : p o l i t i c a l r e l a t i o n s , a n d how t h e y c a n be s u b s u m e d u n d e r t h e h e a d i n g " p o w e r r e l a t i o n s . " I n a s i m i l a r f a s h i o n i t c a n be shown t h a t k i n s h i p ; a n d r i t u a l , i n s t i t u t i o n s a r e f u n d a m e n t a l l y a l i k e a n d .may b e subsumed u n d e r t h e . h e a d i n g o f s y m b o l s o r s y m b o l i c c o m p l e x e s . . F o l l o w i n g C o h e n , b o t h k i n s h i p a n d r i t u a l I n s t i t u ' t l o n s . ' ' a r e c h a r a c t e r 1 s t i c a l l y n o r m a t i v e , c o g n i t i v e , a f f e c t i v e ( r a t h e r t h a n n e u t r a l ) a n d c o h a t i y e ( i m p e l l i n g men t o a c t i o n ) . T h e s e common c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a r e i l l u m i n a t i n g s i n c e t h e y s u g g e s t t h a t t h e s e p a r a t i o n o f k i n s h i p a n d r i t u a l I s somewhat a r b i t r a r y , a n d f o r p r e s e n t p u r p o s e s , u n n e c e s s a r y . ' T h e t e r m " s y m b o l " a s i t i s u s e d i n C o h e n ' s a n a l y s i s i s • i n t e r c h a n g e a b l e w i t h " c u s t o m . " T h u s we a r e , l e f t w i t h two .'• b r o a d a r e a s w h i c h c o n c e r n s o c i a l a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s , n a m e l y '•.•>:• 9 symbol systems and. power r e l a t i o n s . • Cohen proceeds to d i s t i n g u i s h between symbolic forms and symbolic f u n c t i o n s . . We are a l e r t e d . t o the f a c t that ; d i f f e r e n t forms may perform s i m i l a r f u n c t i o n s . I b e l i e v e t h i s awareness In general Is acute among a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s , who have the advantage; of comparative ethnography to a s s i s t the development of general p r i n c i p l e s . Nevertheless, the. i h t e r c h a n g e a b i l l t y of k i n s h i p and r i t u a l symbols i n a r t i c u l a t i n g e s s e n t i a l l y p o l i t i c a l groupings i s w e l l demonstrated i n the l i t e r a t u r e . : Many of the recent s t u d i e s of the .process of a c c u l t u r a t i o n t r a c e the s u b s t i t u t i o n of symbolic complexes f o r one another while trie symbolic ' f u n c t i o n of a r t i c u i a t i n g groups w i t h i n t h e / s o c i e t y i n ques t i o n i s unchanged. : The converse i s e q u a l l y p o s s i b l e , however, and symbolic forms may, be adapted to new purposes ( f u n c t i o n s ) i n s i t u a t i o n s of change. ; ;; ; S o c i a l a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s analyse symbolic , forms i n order t o d i s c o v e r t h e i r symbolic • , ' : ; f u n c t i o n s . One of the most important of these f u n c t i o n s i s t r i e ; o b j e c t i f i c a t i o n of . .; r e l a t i o n s h i p s between i n d i v i d u a l s and ; • groups. We can observe i n d i v i d u a l s . . -}'.• o b j e c t i v e l y i n concrete r e a l i t y , but the ;V ; ; r e l a t i o n s h i p s between triem are a b s t r a c t i o n s t h a t can be observed only through t h e i r symbolism. Values, norms, r u l e s and; a b s t r a c t concepts l i k e honor, p r e s t i g e , rank, J u s t i c e , good and e v i l are made, • t a n g i b l e through symbolism, and men i n . s o c i e t y are thus helped to be aware of t h e i r e x i s t e n c e , to comprehend them and to r e l a t e them t o t h e i r d a i l y l i f e . * : (Cohen, 19^9. p. 220) : A n a l y s i s i n a n t h r o p o l o g y i s d i s t i n g u i s h e d f r o m •ii<^i J..,!. , d e s c r i p t i o n . . The f o r m e r i s c o n c e r n e d w i t h I n t e r d e p e n d e n c e /'i'^:%['iyJ. o r t h e d i a l e c t i c a l i n t e r a c t i o n b e t w e e n t h e two b r o a d v a r i a b l e s o f s y m b o l i s m a n d power r e l a t i o n s ^ : D e s c r i p t i o n ; -v' ' , • i s u s u a l l y a c h i e v e d b y a c o n c e n t r a t i o n o n one 1 v a r i a b l e o r t h e o t h e r . . H o w e v e r , t h e s e two e n t e r p r i s e s a r e n o t q u a l i t a t i v e l y d i s t i n c t b u t r a t h e r a m a t t e r o f / d e g r e e . T h i s [S 'X ; ' v . b r i n g s u s t o C o h e n ' s d i c h o t o m y o f a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l t r e n d s . -\ i n t o t h e " a c t i o n t h e o r i s t " and : t h e " t h o u g h t s t r u c t u r a l l s t " , , A s c h o o l s . ' "/,][•• :'f r : . A c t i o n t h e o r i s t s a r e a p p a r e n t l y c o n c e r e n e d w i t h ; d e s c r i b i n g t h e m a n i p u l a t i o n s o f i n d i v i d u a l s , w i t h i n t h e . .; > / s o c i a l s y s t e m , i n t h e i r q u e s t f o r p o w e r . T h e : s y m b o l i c c o m p l e x e s w h i c h g o v e r n t h e b e h a v i o r o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l s i s k e p t o u t s i d e ; t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h e s e t h e o r i s t s . C o h e n • ,.:•[ a r g u e s t h a t t h e s e a c c o u n t s a r e s u g g e s t i v e b u t n o t e x p l a n a t o r y ; b e c a u s e t h e y f a i l t o c o n s i d e r t h e d y n a m i c i n v o l v e m e n t o f s y m b o l i s m i n b o t h t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l s a n d t h e f o r m a t i o n a n d m a i n t e n a n c e o f g r o u p s . T h e s o - c a l l e d " t h o u g h t > ' s t r u c t u r a l i s t s " i n C o h e n * s v i e w h a v e o p t e d t o i g n o r e s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s a l m o s t c o m p l e t e l y w h i l e s e a r c h i n g f o r t h e i n h e r e n t l o g i c i n s y m b o l i s m . F o l l o w i n g L e v i - S t r a u s s , t h e i r • p r e - o c c u p a t i o n i s w i t h t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f s y m b o l s among 'vV; ;}••:' th a t the symbolic order i s not j u s t a mechanical r e l f e c t l o n or an epiphenomenon, .': of the p o l i t i c a l order, but i s a f a c t - . having an exis t e n c e of i t s own, i n i t s . . . own r i g h t . , •. , (Cohen, 1969» p. 225) Let me summarize Cohen's argument as i t has impressed . me. A n t h r o p o l o g i s t s are engaged i n the common e n t e r p r i s e of • J. studying the s o c i a l , s t r u c t u r e h o l i s t i c a l l y . . . T h i s i s accomplished by the d e s c r i p t i o n and I s o l a t i o n of two major v a r i a b l e s i n our data, symbolism or symbolic complexes and , p o l i t i c a l or power r e l a t i o n s . Subsequently, our a n a l y s i s c o n s i s t s of the working out of the r e l a t i o n s h i p between these two v a r i a b l e s . These concerns d i c t a t e the format - and content of our su b s t a n t i v e work, the ethnographic monographs. -They have a l s o dominated bur t h e o r e t i c a l p a p e r s . H o w e v e r , recent, trends i n d i c a t e a tendency by d i f f e r e n t schools to d w e l l on one v a r i a b l e t o the n e g l e c t of the other, admittedly a matter of emphasis, but n e v e r t h e l e s s undermining the unique p e r s p e c t i v e of s o c i a l anthropology. We must r e - o r i e n t ourselves to the e x p l o r a t i o n of the c e n t r a l t h e o r e t i c a l problem i n anthropology, namely the interdependence of symbolism and power r e l a t i o n s . The f o l l o w i n g comment i l l u s t r a t e s t h i s need !.• . . . . ••13 • '/'This' i s noticeable' i n some .'. •.';•'."'' . - v : K \ ; - ; . post-graduate work of recent years • .;-.f':';V'MiZ:\:y^r / which.tends t o concentrate on one v a r i a b l e ; t o the^ri.eglect of the' other.- ' - ,'' . The main reason why t h i s one-sidedness ••'•v^ V; "ZZV • appeals t o beginners i s th a t i t r e q u i r e s -3; •hy\;': l i t t l e a n a l y t i c a l ••effort.., I t solves for.' •'v' them the irksome problem of having to 'V •'-...• ••rtJ>-Z ',;•'•' find, a.'problem' f o r the a n a l y s i s , of • ethnographical data. To concentrate \-\ '!.-';-on the study of e i t h e r power r e l a t i o n s h i p s ''V.;%y ••'.•/':.• : ;-or of symbolism does not i n v o l v e a great ;'-^'\ d e a l of a n a l y t i c a l e f f o r t ; i t poses : '.. " mainly, problems of unldlmensional •%•/•.:' d e s c r i p t i o n . An account of how •' tV'"' i n d i v i d u a l s s t r u g g l e f o r power, or of how : !yy^-'-• people behave s y m b o l i c a l l y , i s a •• '•',//• • ''.;•*•. v;'; c a t e g o r i c a l d e s c r i p t i o n of f a c t s which • "'•:••• can be e i t h e r t r u e or f a l s e . I t i s only •'•., "': by posing problems I n v o l v i n g the y : i n v e s t i g a t i o n of s o c i o l o g i c a l r e l a t i o n s , f or of d i a l e c t i c a l i n t e r a c t i o n , between XyW ,. d i f f e r e n t s e t s of f a c t or i n v a r i a b l e s , t h a t • s i g n i f i c a n t a n a l y s i s can be undertaken. •". :' •;Zr:\(Cohen, 1969., P.22?) ^y. I wish t o take up one l a s t p o i n t before going on t o .. .•y • / r e l a t e t h i s paradigm of anthropology to gambling. Cohen does" not make i t e x p l i c i t , but I f e e l t h a t h i s recommendat1ons f o r •y;.'-the'' p u r s u i t of a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l i n q u i r y can r e c o n c i l e two /.;',•;•: f u r t h e r trends i n the f 1 e l d , namely the; part i c u i a r i s t i c .y'..'•;'.'.•;'•'.:versus t h e g e n e r a l i z i n g or comparative. In most ethnographies the author attempts to gi v e a t o t a l p i c t u r e of the s o c i e t y i n i | q u e s t i o n . Depending on his . own a f f i l i a t i o n he may emphasize . ;,';::y)-J the: symbolic or the power r e l a t i o n s . Yet, as a r u l e , there i s an.'attempt made a t an a n a l y s i s i n Cohen's sense, i . e . of /""V y the interdependence of these two. v a r i a b l e s . Perhaps' ethnographies are the most f a i t h f u l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of the : e s p r i t of a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l research. However, papers or i'"':-'• monographs devoted to the e x p l o r a t i o n of t h e o r e t i c a l Issues .1; 14 and comparative s t u d i e s may represent the f i e l d l e s s f a v o r a b l y . Such works tend to.become more c o n t r o v e r s i a l without any marked: improvement i n t h e i r q u a l i t y . .The dictum, that we concern ourselves w i t h the symbolism of power r e l a t i o n s ' i s v a l i d outside the p a r t i c u l a r i s t i c t r a d i t i o n o f ' ethnography. . Comparative and general s t u d i e s can be aimed at the e l u c i d a t i o n of t h i s t h e o r e t i c a l problem*. I hope that the study of gambling which f o l l o w s w i l l be judged as p o s i t i v e - e v i d e n c e of t h i s p o s s i b i l i t y . ' \ CHAPTER TWO Gambling v a r i a b l e s : . : One of my f i r s t impressions of gambling as an a c t i v i t y i s t h a t i t tends to evoke strong responses i n i t s . p a r t i c i p a n t s .and even i n n o n - p a r t i c i p a n t observers.. I am judging, of course, from a l i m i t e d number of gambling experiences; but ones which belong to at l e a s t 1 t w o d i f f e r e n t c u l t u r e s , namely the Euro-American and the contemporary n a t i v e Indian. ], Without much persuasion I t h i n k niost -\, observers or p l a y e r s themselves would agree that whatever dynamic f a c t o r s are present i n the gambling r e f e r r e d t o above, the a f f e c t i v e aspect of behavior i s overwhelmingly represented. No doubt any gambling experiences the reader may have w i l l c orroborate t h i s common-sense d e s c r i p t i o n . I t i s important that the expressive nature of gambling be made immediately apparent. I do not deny the p o s s i b i l i t y of t r e a t i n g gambling as a form of economic t r a n s a c t i o n . Indeed, t h i s has been I done by game t h e o r i s t s and those I n t e r e s t e d i n questions of s u b j e c t i v e p r o b a b i l i t y , e t c . (see e.g. Cohen and Hansel, 1956; J Cohen1, i960; B e r g l e r , 1970) Such accounts are not r e l e v a n t to the present study, however. The treatment of gambling there i s formal and o f t e n mathematical and eschews the examination of the v a r i a b l e s which dominate our i n t e r e s t . That gambling has a strong a f f e c t i v e component and that i t provides expressive o u t l e t s f o r : p a r t i c i p a n t s need not be a source of c o n t e n t i o n . I t w i l l be u s e f u l , however, to look a t gambling as an a b s t r a c t i o n and to s t a t e c l e a r l y what i t i s we mean to study and thus provide some b a s i c d e f i n i t i o n s . As a beginning I c i t e the f o l l o w i n g d e f i n i t i o n provided by Devereux i n h i s e x t r a o r d i n a r i l y lengthy and d e t a i l e d study of gambling i n the United States t • . . an a c t i v i t y i n which two or more • /. . persons engage, under c e r t a i n r u l e s ' I •• ; and c o n d i t i o n s s p e c i f i e d in. advance,' I '•['>. to make a t r a n s f e r of any s p e c i f i e d '. amount of property contingent upon the outcome of a f u t u r e and u n c e r t a i n . J • :4 event. . (Devereux, 19^91 p. 28) I f we consider t h i s d e f i n i t i o n f o r a moment i t i s p o s s i b l e t o i s o l a t e a few b a s i c .elements which c o n s t i t u t e gambling i n a formal sense. : These a r e i the gamblers, the wager ( i n c l u d i n g both the bet or stake and the terms) and the event. As' a minimum, these elements must be present i n order t o c o n s t i t u t e gambling. Games, i t can be seen, l a c k the wager element and i n themselves cannot .be considered gambling. There are, of -.-<; course, r u l e s and c o n d i t i o n s s p e c i f i e d ^ i n p l a y i n g games, but the absence of,an agreement f o r t h e . t r a n s f e r of property d i s t i n g u i s h e s them from gambling. I wish to d i g r e s s f o r a moment to elaborate the d i s t i n c t i o n between games and gambling and t o r a i s e the i n t e r e s t i n g q u e s tion of d i v i n a t i o n \ as i t r e l a t e s to the above. v-\' .j - I t may be. shown now t h a t an a l t e r n a t i v e way of d i s t i n g u i s h i n g gambling from games i s t o note t h a t the i former c o n s i s t s of the m o b i l i z a t i o n of e m p i r i c a l means to e m p i r i c a l ends. That i s , one gambles i n order to win property and t h i s understanding i s fundamental t o the e n t e r p r i s e . One plays games to win, presumably, but the reward i s . i r i t a h g i b l e and non-empiricalj. Thus a game i n . t h i s sense i s comprised of the use of e m p i r i c a l means :: (1. e. the agreed upon r u l e s and c o n d i t i o n s ) - t o non-empirical ends. At t h i s p o i n t the p s y c h o l o g i s t s Jump i n t o provide : • explanations of game-playing and i t s s o c i a l s i g n i f i c a n c e , •. (see Roberts, A r t h , and Bush, 1959, above). F o l l o w i n g t h i s l i n e of a n a l y s i s we can consider the-frequently-noted s i m i l a r i t y of: c e r t a i n games.and the p r a c t i c e of d i v i n a t i o n , (see e.g. Moore, 1957s Lesser, 1933) In d i v i n a t i o n the d i v i n e r attempts t o a s c e r t a i n c e r t a i n i n f o r m a t i o n , e.g. the l o c a t i o n of animals or water by means of c e r t a i n techniques • e.g. the examination and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ; of'the cracks in' , j burnt 1 shoulder .blades of a n i m a l s . Both ends arid means are' : e m p i r i c a l , however there i s no s c i e n t i f i c connection between ] them. ^Certain games appear t o be adaptable tp d l v i n a t o r y purposes and v i c e versa * ..' This i n t ere hangeabi i i t y suggests the s i m i l a r i t y i n the symbolic' forms of such customs d e s p i t e ' the d i s c r e p a n c i e s i n symbolic f u n c t i o n s . - ; Consider b r i e f l y the i m p l i c a t i o n s of the d e f i n i t i o n of gambling I propose t o adopt. ; This may be done i n the way of a s t r u c t u r a l a n a l y s I s of the p r o p e r t l e s ; o f .gambling as they have been described thus f a r . Gambling i s f i r s t of a l l a form of I n t e r a c t i o n among the p l a y e r / p a r t i c i p a n t s . The nature of t h i s i n t e r a c t i o n i s q u i t e v a r i a b l e , , as I s h a l l demonstrate below, but presupposes a means of communication. T h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n r e f e r r e d t o h e e d n o t be v e r b a l a s t h e . c a s e o f t h e handgame i n N o r t h A m e r i c a I l l u s t r a t e s . H o w e v e r , some m i n i m a l c u l t u r a l s h a r i n g ) i s n e c e s s a r y s i n c e ^ \ ; t h e g a m b l i n g , r e q u i r e s t h e o o m p r e h e n s i o n a n d . . a c c e p t a n c e o f • i t e m s I n t h e w a g e r . T h i s f e a t u r e o f g a m b l i n g , i n d e e d o f n e a r l y a n y k i n d o f i n t e r c o u r s e s h o r t o f o p e n v i o l e n c e , i s o f . . . u t m o s t s o c i o l o g i c a l i m p o r t a n c e . . I n c o n c e p t u a l i z i n g t h e s e t t i n g f o r g a m b l i n g we m u s t i m m e d i a t e l y a c k n o w l e d g e t h e p r e s e n c e o f s h a r e d i n s t i t u t i o n s , a t l e a s t a s p e r t a i n s t o t h e y | w a g e r i n g i t s e l f . I t c a n be c o n s i d e r e d p r o b l e m a t i c , a n d •} made a f o c u s o f i n q u i r y , t o what d e g r e e s h a r e d I n s t i t u t i o n s e x i s t b e t w e e n g a m b l e r s o f g a m b l i n g g r o u p s . . . K b r e o v e r , t h e s i m i l a r i t y o f g a m b l i n g a n d o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s a s i n t e r a c t i o n b e t w e e n i n d i v i d u a l s and. g r o u p s c a n be c o m p a r e d and . c o n t r a s t e d * T h e s e and r e l a t e d q u e s t i o n s w i l l be a d d r e s s e d l a t e r o n , i n r e c o m m e n d i n g a r e a s o f r e s e a r c h o n g a m b l i n g . : • ' " ••'J • ; • D e v e r e u x n o t e s t h a t " R u l e s v a r y \ ( i n g a m b l i n g ) b u t ^ I n v o l v e p r o c e d u r e s f o r d e t e r m i n i n g who h a s l o s t and who h a s w o n . " ( o p . c i t . , p . 29 ) T h e r e i s t h u s a d e t e r m i n a t e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e o u t c o m e ; o f e v e n t s w a g e r e d o n a n d t h e s e l e c t i o n o f a w i n n e r , i . e t h e r e c i p i e n t o f t h e p r o p e r t y t r a n s f e r . T h e g a m b l e r s a r e , i n e f f e c t , r e l y i n g o n a d e c i s i o n w h i c h i s e x t e r n a l t o t h e m s e l v e s b u t n o t o u t s i d e t h e i r s p h e r e o f i n f l u e n c e I n a l l c a s e s . To what d e g r e e c o n t r o l o v e r t h e : o u t c o m e o f e v e n t s i s a v a i l a b l e t o t h e p l a y e r s a n d t h e n a t u r e ' o f t h a t c o n t r o l i s t h e v a r i a b l e w h i c h c h a r a c t e r i z e s t h e e v e n t s o r games w h i c h p l a y e r s g a m b l e o n . " ( R e c a l l t h e t y p o l o g y o f games b a s e d o n t h e p r e d o m i n a n c e o f p h y s i c a l s k i l l , c h a n c e , o r s t r a t e g y ) A l s o - i n D e v e r e u x (1949, l o c . c i t . ) i s t h e s t a t e m e n t « .' G a m b l i n g t h u s i n v o l v e s t h e a d d i t i o n . o f a n a r t i f i c i a l i n t e r e s t i n t h e o u t c o m e o f a n u n c e r t a i n e v e n t , a n . • i n t e r e s t w h i c h d i d n o t e x i s t p r i o r - to ' or . i n d e p e n d e n t l y of; t h e w a g e r . ..; T h i s may be s t a t e d i n a d i f f e r e n t way w h i c h i s c o n s o n a n t w i t h a n e a r l i e r r e f e r e n c e i n t h i s p a p e r t o C o h e n . G a m b l i n g i s ( v c o g n i t i v e a n d a f f e c t i v e i n t h a t i t d i r e c t s t h e a t t e n t i o n o f t h e p l a y e r s s e l e c t i v e l y a n d p r e d i s p o s e s them n e g a t i v e l y o r : p o s i t i v e l y , b u t n o t n e u t r a l l y , t o w a r d t h e e v e n t . F o l l o w i n g C o h e n , we a r e a l e r t e d t o t h e i n h e r e n t . s y m b o l i c n a t u r e o f • g a m b l i n g . T h i s f e a t u r e w i l l b e d i s c u s s e d more f u l l y b e l o w . We may r e t u r n f o r a moment t o c o n s i d e r some f u r t h e r -. s o c i o l o g i c a l - i m p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f g a m b l i n g . T h e e x i s t e n c e o f the . w a g e r a s a c r u c i a l e l e m e n t o f g a m b l i n g p r e s u p p o s e s b o t h t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f p r o p e r t y t o s t a k e a n d a : means f o r d e t e r m i n i n g v a l u e i n o r d e r t o c o n c l u d e t h e b e t . w a g e r a b l e p r o p e r t y may be v a r i o u s l y d e f i n e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e g a m b l e r s a n d t h e c u l t u r e i n q u e s t i o n . H o w e v e r , t h e c o n c e p t , ; o f p r o p e r t y m i n i m a l l y s u g g e s t s a n e c o n o m i c s y s t e m i n w h i c h p r o p e r t y i s c r e a t e d a n d a p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m b y w h i c h i t i s ~ c o n t r o l l e d . T h i s h o l d s t r u e w h e t h e r t h e r e a r e s i m p l y two g a m b l e r s o f a c o m p l e x s e t o f t e a m s o r s i d e s . T h e n o t i o n o f v a l u e r a i s e s a g a i n t h e q u e s t i o n o f s h a r e d c u l t u r a l t r a i t s . The: a s s e s s m e n t o f v a l u e c a n be p a r t i c u l a r l y p r o b l e m a t i c i n / . . t h e absence of a code or currency. Yet, i n order to gamble, at a l l , the;value.of the :wagered property must be recognized by the p l a y e r s , however they accomplish i t . I mentioned above that gambling c o n s t i t u t e d a t r a n s a c t i o n of s o r t s , ,. and. that point may be elaborated. Devereux s t a t e s t h a t , " . . . the gambling t r a n s a c t i o n i s zero-sumV that i s , the : winnings are. e x a c t l y equal to the l o s s e s . " (op".clt. p. 29) • Whether or not there Is the i n t r o d u c t i o n .or removal of • property (the inverse of a zero-sum t r a n s a c t i o n , as I V,,'' und .er stand i t ) , there i s a t l e a s t the c i r c u l a t i o n of property c;-'':yImplied by the wager. Thus, the p l a y e r s are i m p l i c a t e d i n ' an economic system t h a t r e g u l a t e s the production, and a p o l i t i c a l system that regulates; the flow, of property. ^ y • -As a preliminary' to the p r e s e n t a t i o n of Geertz• s m a t e r i a l I would l i k e to examine some symb o l i c aspects of gambling i n the abstract...; . Regardless of; the event wagered ' • / ' on, there Is a d e f i n i t e assignment. of the I d e n t i t i e s of •'; winner arid of l o s e r to the gamblers. This q u a l i t y i s ".;.; i n a l i e n a b l e from .arid c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of gambling although not e x c l u s i v e to i t (games, e.g. have means f o r determining \ the winner and the l o s e r ) . P l a y e r s are thus. engaged de ••• f a c t o i n a competition f o r the scarce, status, of winner. ; ; The. degree of competition .and . c o n f l i c t i s h i g h l y v a r i a b l e among gamblers as we s h a l l see from a d i s c u s s i o n of Geertz's paper. However, the competitive s i t u a t i o n i s never absent from gambling d e s p i t e the streng t h of commitment of the p l a y e r s to the I d e n t i t i e s the wager assigns them. It.must be obvious, as w e l l , t h a t the determination of v i c t o r y or f a i l u r e i n gambling,is more s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d , more black and . white, than i n most everyday l i f e s i t u a t i o n s . The nature . of gambling, that i s , the wagering of something of value on . the u n c e r t a i n outcome of events, make i t analogous to many r e a l - l i f e s i t u a t i o n s of the p l a y e r s . This i s a c r u c i a l s i m i l a r i t y , one. which w i l l be shown.to c h a r a c t e r i z e the -a c t i v i t y i n the minds of the playe r s as w e l l as the observers A b r i e f summary i s i n order to refocus our view of > gambling- so -far..- In the,realm of symbols and symbolic . complexes we have shown that gambling a •:; • - has s t r o n g , a f f e c t i v e j c o g n i t i v e and conative • : components i n terms of Cohen's f o r m u l a t i o n •;•. •"•;^:,v- comprises a purposeful competitive s i t u a t i o n par excellence - assigns an i d e n t i t y to p a r t i c i p a n t s , namely the s t a t u s of winner and of l o s e r ••i - c o n s t i t u t e s a dramatic r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of •;, . everyday l i f e f o r the p l a y e r s With regard t o the v a r i a b l e of power r e l a t i o n s , gamblingi - i s a form of i n t e r a c t i o n and thus r e q u i r e s a minimum of shared c u l t u r e to communicate -'presupposes: an economic system which generates property and a p o l i t i c a l . system which c o n t r o l s access to i t r requires- common values towards property '/';;>;;;,-of i t s p a r t i c i p a n t s and by i m p l i c a t i o n , . v.; mutual p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n a system of '•;•'_ • exchange .'.'.;.': •'. • : j- •.• •.•..:-::Ky. These c h a r a c t e r i s e s are d e r i v e d i n d u c t i v e l y , so t o speak, by an examination of the e s s e n t i a l elements of gambling according t o our d e f i n i t i o n . Further'on, s i m i l a r kinds of c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s w i l l be suggested based bri a comparative a n a l y s i s of gambling p r a c t i c e s i n s e v e r a l s o c i e t i e s . We now t u r n to Geertz and h i s : d i s t i n c t i o n deep pl&y/shallow •.play:. '';.'.,.''f,;".'; ("'[••• _••;'•.;>• '.'••{• '' - •"] ;• • '.}:;• •''• :;' ^ Geertz's c o n t r i b u t i o n to the study of gambling stems from h i s i n t e r e s t i n the c o c k f i g h t and i t s s i g n i f i c a n c e t o \ the B a l i n e s e . : (Geertz, 1972) During a p e r i o d of f i e l d w o r k : i n B a l l he d i scovered the remarkable involvement of h i s subjects i n the b e t t i n g and f i g h t i n g of cocks. The s p e c i f i c ways i r i which c o c k f i g h t i n g r e f l e c t s B a l i n e s e c u l t u r e need not concern us here. However, he came to c e r t a i n c o n c l u s i o n s about.;gambling, and the a t t i t u d e s of gamblers whom he observed, that are very i l l u m i n a t i n g . F i r s t of a l l , he notes t h a t 'up to a point one can e x p l a i n the m o t i v a t i o n of gamblers i n terms; of the economic rewards of winning the wager:.- * In the .: case of bets of r e l a t i v e l y small value v i s a v i s the economic resources of the gambler, the marginal u t i l i t y of winning i s apparent. However, Geertz c o n s i s t e n t l y observed that gamblers were b e t t i n g enormous sums i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e i r resources and: that the marginal d i s u t i l i t y of l o s i n g f a r surpassed! - the b e n e f i t s of v i c t o r y . , In order t o r e c o n c i l e t h i s seeming i n c o n s i s t e n c y , he borrows the d i s t i n c t i o n "deep : play/shallow p l a y " from Bentham.. Deep play occurs when the ; economic u t i l i t y of the amount wagered i s l e s s than the d i s u t i l i t y ; the gambler i s Vin over h i s head!". Shallow p l a y i s - t h e converse of deep play and i s not;discussed .much f u r t h e r , s i n c e i t c h a r a c t e r i z e s : gambling of minor s o c i o l o g i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e . I t i s c l e a r that s t r i c t l y economic or r a t i o n a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of deep play are Inadequate, 'The e x p l a n a t i o n as Geertz p o i n t s . o u t , i s r e a l l y simple; '' P l a c i n g a wager on the outcome of any event creates i n t e r e s t i n t h a t event (see Devereux above). P l a c i n g a l a r g e bet c r e a t e s c o n s i d e r a b l e •; i n t e r e s t and an "excessive" bet makes the contest meaningful indeed. And, the meaning here i s not d i f f i c u l t to l o c a t e , given the i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of B a l i n e s e men and the cocks they- A bet on.. The c o c k f i g h t , 1 * 6 . t h e "deep" c o c k f i g h t , i s a symbolic b a t t l e to the death of the cock-owners, and t h e i r : • s t a t u s , t h e i r p r e s t i g e , i s a t ;stake. '•'•'It i s i n l a r g e part because the marginal •. -'/^yKiZ. • d i s u t i l i t y of l o s s i s so great at the higher '-yZZy^Z •• l e v e l s of b e t t i n g that to engage i n such b e t t i n g i s to l a y one's p u b l i c s e l f , a l l u s i v e l y and Z/' m e t a p h o r i c a l l y ,^ through, the medium of one's ^ cock, on the l i n e . And though to a Benthamite ' • J... t h i s might seem merely to increase the . • . i r r a t i o n a l i t y of the e n t e r p r i s e t h a t i. much further,, to the Ba l i n e s e what i t ; mainly increases i s the meaningfulness ... '• , o f i t a l l . . iVnd as (to f o l l o w Weber , -rather than.Bentham) the i m p o s i t i o n of :•:; '.-;•;'" : meaning on l i f e : ' i s the major end and • . primary c o n d i t i o n of human e x i s t e n c e , . ' that access of s i g n i f i c a n c e more than; compensates f o r the economic c o s t s '-. . i n v o l v e d . (Geertz, 1972, ,p. 16) : Having thus narrowed h i s f i e l d of i n q u i r y , Geertz proceeds to examine thefesymbblism of the deep c o c k f i g h t as. i t r e l a t e s to Bal i n e s e s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e through the mechanism of " s t a t u s . gambling." :He demonstrates \ that the symbolic i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of cocks and ,men i s pervasive i n . t h e f o l k l o r e , mythology and l i t e r a t u r e of B a l l . Furthermore, jthe r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f ; everyday s t a t u s concerns m e t a p h o r i c a l l y i n the c o c k f i g h t i s : 1 ; shown w i t h reference to anecdotes and cllche's. The behavior • of B a l i n e s e men i n the care and breeding of cocks i s ' " / c h a r a c t e r i z e d by symbols and symbolic complexes., • What then ;; i s the p a r t i c u l a r importance of the gambling' p r a c t i c e s i n r e i n t e r p r e t i n g the c o c k f i g h t ? Geertz answersi '.; What makes . B a l i n e s e c o c k f i g h t i n g deep i s thus not money i n i t s e l f , but. what, the 'more of i t that i s i n v o l v e d the more so, money causes to happen: the m i g r a t i o n .. ^ of the Ba l i n e s e s t a t u s hierarchy, Into the body of the c o c k f i g h t . - ( p p . c i t . , p. 17) The c r i t i c a l f e a t u r e of deep gambling i s the endowment of meaning, through symbolic complexes, on the e n t e r p r i s e . The s o c i o l o g i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e of gambling i n the B a l i n e s e s e t t i n g i s the a c t i v a t i o n of a symbolic f i e l d i n which the p a r t i c i p a n t s act out i n mutually i n t e l l i g i b l e ways t h e i r concerns i n everyday l i f e . ', f f.'' • . -^i v' Cohen s t a t e s t h a t , "Symbolic forms are the products of c r e a t i v e work. '. T h e i r i n t e r n a l s t r u c t u r e i s a dramatic s t r u c t u r e and t h e i r study i s p a r t l y a study i n the s o c i o l o g y of a r t . " ( p p . c i t . , p, 2 2 0)i In Geertz we f i n d , "As any art-form — f o r t h a t , f i n a l l y , i s whatj we afe d e a l i n g w i t h -the c o c k f i g h t renders everyday, o r d i n a r y experience comprehensible i n terms of a c t s and objects which have had; t h e i r p r a c t i c a l consequences removed, and been .reduced (or, i f you p r e f e r , r a i s e d ) t o the l e v e l of sheer appearances, where t h e i r meaning can be more po w e r f u l l y arid more .exactly perceived." ( o p . c i t . , p. 23) "Trie p a r a l l e l s i n trie approach advocated by Cohen to such behavior and the one . adopted by Geertz, s i m p l i f i e s the task of working out the v a r i a b l e s i n studying gambling. Geertz delves Into the ,:, symbolic f u n c t i o n s of the c o c k f i g h t , a k i n d of s t r u c t u r a l a n a l y s i s , i n order to demonstrate the l i n k s between the symbolic and. t h e ' a c t u a l i n B a l l n e s e thought.-/ Given our previous a n a l y s i s / o f gambling as an a b s t r a c t i o n , i t i s not too d i f f i c u l t to f i l l i n the c o c k f i g h t and a r r i v e a t the c e n t r a l theme, as Geertz does. ' That i s , the a s s o c i a t i o n of s t a t u s ' a f f i r m a t i o n and r e - a f f i r m a t i o n w i t h the l i f e and death s t r u g g l e of the oocks. The B a l l n e s e thus p o r t r a y t h e i r own concern w i t h s t a t u s r i v a l r i e s , t o tliemselves, as a l i f e and death s t r u g g l e . I t i s not necessary t o d w e l l on the symbolism of c o c k f i g h t i n g any longer, i n t e r e s t i n g as i t i s i n B a l l n e s e l i f e . Another comment from Cohen on symbolic f u n c t i o n ! < . . . a l l p o l i t i c s , a l l s t r u g g l e f o r power, i s segmentary. This means that enemies a t one l e v e l must be a l l i e s a t • • •.-.-^. a higher l e v e l . Thus a man must be an . : , .-' enemy and an a l l y w i t h the same set of . .:. ••...:*•.; people,.and i t i s mainly through the ..-•,:•/,—••< .; ' m y s t i f i c a t i o n ' generated by symbolism • t h a t these c o n t r a d i c t i o n s are . r e p e t e t i v e l y f o r c e d out and te m p o r a r i l y r e s o l v e d . • ( o p . C i t . p. 221) Geertz r e f e r s to: the c o c k f i g h t as, ". .: . a s i m u l a t i o n of , the s o c i a l m a t rix, the in v o l v e d system of c r o s s - c u t t i n g , overlapping, h i g h l y corporate groups — v i l l a g e s , klngroups, i r r i g a t i o n s o c i e i t e s , temple congregations, " c a s t e s " — i n which i t s devotees l i v e . " h. ( o p . c i t . , p. 18) He continues to explore the p a t t e r n of b e t t i n g which emerged from h i s observation of scores o f . c o c k f i g h t s . The most general p r i n c i p l e which Is d e r i v e d s t a t e s that a man w i l l bet on a : cock which i s owned .by a kinsmen', and in ' the absence of a cl o s e kinsmen, one bets on an a l l i e d group f a t h e r than an u n a l l i e d one, and so on, i n c o n c e n t r i c r i n g s of a l l i a n c e . The dramatic nature of the c o c k f i g h t thus serves the symbolic f u n c t i o n of u n i t i n g or r e - u n i t i n g a l l i a n c e groups through an expression of support and s o l i d a r i t y which i s v a r i a b l e . Moreover, i n a s e t t i n g i n which a l l i a n c e s are a dramatic matter, the c o c k f i g h t provides a p u b l i c forum f o r the d i s p l a y of support and alignment. For example, . . ( . .. the i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d h o s t i l i t y < r e l a t i o n , pulk, i s o f t e n f o r m a l l y . i n i t i a t e d (though I t s causes always ;. l i e elsewhere): by such a "pardon me" / • • 27 • bet (against the .grain) i n a deep . f i g h t , p u t t i n g the symbolic f a t i n - . . -the f i r e . V S i m i l a r l y , the end of ;•.; ' . such a r e l a t i o n s h i p and resumption ; of normal s o c i a l i n t e r c o u r s e i s :•. •• o f t e n s i g n a l i z e d (but, again not . a c t u a l l y brought about) by one or "•• •..} ; • the other of the enemies supporting • • the other's b i r d . ( o p . c l t . , P. 20) In concluding the p r e s e n t a t i o n of Geertz*s m a t e r i a l I wish t o draw a t t e n t i o n t o an approach which the author advocates. He suggests t h a t , ". . . one takes the c o c k f i g h t , or any other c o l l e c t i v e l y sustained symbolic s t r u c t u r e as a means of "saying something of something" . ... ." ( o p . c i t . , . •-: p. 26) Stated d i f f e r e n t l y , the author recommends studying customs or symbols to understand t h e i r meaning t o the people who created and maintain them. He compares t h i s endeavour with the exegesis of a l i t e r a r y t e x t and c o n t r a s t s i t w i t h the " c l a s s i c a l " approach to a n a l y s i s of such c u l t u r a l forms. This need not represent a r a d i c a l r e - o r d e r i n g of a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l p r i o r i t i e s , but merely a s h i f t i n emphasis from " d i s s e c t i o n " of c u l t u r a l systems to t h e i r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . Thus, What sets the c o c k f i g h t apart from the o r d i n a r y course of l i f e , l i f t s i t from the realm of everyday, p r a c t i c a l a f f a i r s and surrounds i t w i t h an aura of enlarged Importance i s not, as f u n c t i o n a l i s t sociology.would have i t , t hat i t r e i n f o r c e s s t a t u s d i s c r i m i n a t i o n s (such reinforcement i s h a r d l y necessary i n a s o c i e t y where every a c t proclaims them), but that i t . provides a metasocial commentary on the whole matter of assorting.human beings i n t o f i x e d h i e r a r c h i c a l ranks and then . o r g a n i z i n g the major part of c o l l e c t i v e e x i s t e n c e around that assortment. I t s f u n c t i o n , i f you want to c a l l i t t h a t , ; i s i n t e r p r e t i v e I i t i s a; B a l i n e s e reading of a B a l i n e s e experience? a : ••' . ^ s t o r y they t e l l themselves about themselves. - .. (Geertz, 1972, p. 26) ) 28 Geertz: would probably not argue with;the f a c t that good .'. ethnographers have been engaged- i n ; : p r e c i s e l y the e n t e r p r i s e he encourages f o f .many years. /However, many a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s have avoided t h i s s o r t of a n a l y s i s , I n t h e i r c o n c e n t r a t i o n on the s o c i o l o g i c a l f u n c t i o n s of the behavior they study. What Geertz urges i s a more e x p l i c i t and r i g o r o u s treatment . v of c u l t u r a l forms which has as I t s c e n t r a l focus the di s c o v e r y of the meaning of those forms to the people who s u s t a i n them. This i s q u i t e d i f f e r e n t from the " s t r u c t u r a l i s m " of L e v l - S t r a u s s as the f o l l o w i n g statement explains» . . . . r a t h e r than t a k i n g myths, totem r i t e s , marriage r u l e s or whatever as ' t e x t s to i n t e r p r e t , L e v l - S t r a u s s takes ... them as ci p h e r s t o s o l v e , which i s very ••/-.. much not the same t h i n g . ... He does not • seek t o understand symbolic forms i n .; terms of how they f u n c t i o n i n concrete . s i t u a t i o n s to organize perceptions : • -(meanings, emotions, concepts, a t t i t u d e s ) ; he seeks t o understand them e n t i r e l y i n •[''":•'•'•' terms of t h e i r i n t e r n a l s t r u c t u r e , / •independant, de tout s u j e t , de tout o b j e t , et de toute coritexte.• :' y.:''''//,;:- P;.V '.. ' '•'yj\ ! ( o p . c i t . , p. 3^),' .. • ::^-^rZ'S ''0-The r a d i c a l nature of Geertz's proposal t o t r e a t . c u l t u r a l forms as t e x t s a r i s e s not from the methodology of doing so, or even from the d e s c r i p t i o n s one might expect from such a method.. Rather i t . i s the i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r the a n a l y s i s of symbolic f u n c t i o n which are r e v i s e d . He t e l l s us, i n essence, t h a t the symbolic f u n c t i o n Of an event l i k e the c o c k f i g h t r e s i d e s i n i t s a b i l i t y t o dramatize s o c i a l concerns of the observers adn to r e o r i e n t t h e i r perceptions by s e l e c t i v e l y emphasizing t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r values, a t t i t u d e s , concepts, e t c . By extension, the c o g n i t i v e o r i e n t a t i o n thus r e i n f o r c e d w i l l tend to. support c e r t a i n p o l i t i c a l : s t r u c t u r e s . However, he I n s i s t s that the c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f ? s o c i o l o g i c a l f u n c t i o n s should f o l l o w the a n a l y s i s of c u l t u r a l ^ forms and the working out of the r e l a t i o n s and values which • they make e x p l i c i t to the p a r t i c i p a n t s . Geertz exhorts us to t r e a t the; c o c k f i g h t as a t e x t In order t o see an e s s e n t i a l f e a t u r e of i t which might be obscured by t r e a t i n g i t as a r i t e of pastime; namely, i t s use of emotion f o r c o g n i t i v e ends." (op.ci't., p. 27) In summary I wish t o review the s a l i e n t p o i n t s of . .•; Geertz*s a r t i c l e f o r our framework of gambling. .' ; ; - the d i s t i n c t i o n deep p l a y / s h a l l o w play e s t a b l i s h e s the ,] d i f f e r e n c e s between gambling for:money (where marginal ' u t i l i t y is',greater than d i s u t i l i t y ) and gambling f o r st a t u s (the u t i l i t y i s l e s s than the d i s u t i l i t y ) - two c o r o l l a r i e s of deep pla y / s h a l l o w play a r e i • 1) the r o l e of st a t u s concerns i n wagering — s p e c i f i c a l l y the determination of bets according to a l l i a n c e s 2) the r o l e of money i n gambling — a means ,- of endowing the event w i t h meaning and s i g n a l l i n g the gambler's concern w i t h extra-economic issues - the dramatic natures and V the expressive and. symbolic aspects ^ f . t h e gambling : which enriches i t - the treatment of. c u l t u r a l forms such as the c o c k f i g h t •'. i n B a l i as a t e x t to be. interpreted. : ...... - t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s of the a n a l y s i s of symbolic forms as '•• t e x t s f o r .the d i s c o v e r y of symbolic f u n c t i o n s (spec i f l e a l l y r* t h e i r c o g n i t i v e q u a l i t i e s ) '•: -. the consequences ,6f- the f o r e g o i n g d i s c u s s i o n of symbolic •; form and f u n c t i o n f o r the problem of d i s c o v e r i n g the r e l a t i o n s h i p , between symbolism and r e l a t i o n s of power.; . ' I have not elaborated the l a s t p o i n t b u t I f e e l that, i t has been stated and r e s t a t e d ,:in d i f f e r e n t ways i n the previous review of Geertz. Geertz makes the ': r e l a t i o n s h i p /•; c between symbolism and power r e l a t i o n s problematic. He i n d i r e c t l y i n v i t e s us t o r e c o n s i d e r how symbolic forms may f u n c t i o n t o a r t i c u l a t e p o l i t i c a l groupings (see e.g, the d i s c u s s i o n above of i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d h o s t i l i t y r e l a t i o n s h i p s and the c o c k f i g h t and a l s o the network of a l l i a n c e s and. the . . : c o c k f i g h t ) . His way of t r e a t i n g c u l t u r a l forms maintains them as a separate v a r i a b l e (symbolic) from p o l i t i c a l r e l a t i o n s . The Interdependence of the two v a r i a b l e s i s a s s e r t e d , n e i t h e r one being subsumed under the;other i n an Independent-dependent r e l a t i o n s h i p . The p r e c i s e nature of the r e l a t i o n s h i p i s not s t a t e d , .but h i s a n a l y s i s of c o c k f i g h t s i s r e p l e t e w i t h suggestions about how symbolic complexes . r e l a t e t o concrete s i t u a t i o n s . '' , • " ' '• "' : ' t • ' ' ' ."\ . .'. ' . > : V p l ' , • ' 1 . '•' ' *.. • • • ' *,• " ' * i " . . ' : ' . • : , ^ 1 i - ' • • ' : " . . • '. •" •-^ We move now to a t e n t a t i v e f o r m u l a t i o n of the var i a b l e s ' i n v o l v e d i n a study of gambling, p r i o r to attempting :>' an a p p l i c a t i o n of the framework. We s h a l l be almost e x c l u s i v e l y i n t e r e s t e d . i n what 'Geertz has termed " s t a t u s gambling." ,. Status gambling a r i s e s from deep play and i s s i g n a l i z e d by ; •the. amount/and. nature' of the property wagered. . :Why exclude ( s o - c a l l e d ' "money /gambling?" For a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l , purposes i t i s j u s t i f i a b l e t o focus on the c u l t u r a l forms which promise to y i e l d the most provocative r e s u l t s i n a n a l y s i s . I t has been demonstrated above that gambling;of the former type can be f r u i t f u l l y analyzed f o r i t s symbolic f u n c t i o n s . Furthermore;; the m a j o r i t y of ethno g r a p h i c / m a t e r i a l i s concerned w i t h s t a t u s r a t h e r than.money gambling. Geertz a l s o p o i n t s out tha t the gamblers i n v o l v e d i n deep play are a l s o the i n d i v i d u a l s who ' i n o r d i n a r y l i f e are i n v o l v e d i n long-term s t a t u s r i v a l r i e s s ( o p . c i t . , p. 17) . Such gamblers are the " s o l i d c i t i z e n s " , : the "establishment" i n s o c i e t y . Money gambling appears c o n s i s t e n t l y to a t t r a c t the lower s t r a t a /and/women and c h i l d r e n . The c o r r e l a t i o n of s o c i a l r o l e and s t a t u s w i t h " • gambling p a r t i c i p a t i o n i s i n t e r e s t i n g i n i t s e l f . However, i t Is secondary, though r e l e v a n t , to the a n a l y s i s of the symbolism of s t a t u s gambling. We have seen from the previous a n a l y s i s of gambling i n the a b s t r a c t , that questions of i d e n t i t y , c o m p e t i t i o n , i n t e r - g r o u p ' r e l a t i o n s , shared c u l t u r a l t r a i t s , and general economic and p o l i t i c a l i s s ues may be asked. In the d i s c u s s i o n of Geertz's ideas we, were introduced t o the concept of c u l t u r a l t e x t and the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of gambling i n terms of i t s c o g n i t i v e f e a t u r e s . Moreover, we have noted the dramatic, symbolic nature Of gambling i n g e n e r a l F o r m u l a t i n g a coherent prof l i e ; of 'gambling from these f e a t u r e s , we might-:,. a r r i v e a t something as follows«. , Beneath the s u p e r f i c i a l economic aspects of gambling r e s i d e s •: a substratum of symbolism which lends a dramatic q u a l i t y to the a c t i v i t y . Our purpose i n d e s c r i b i n g gambling p r a c t i c e s Is to cllscover the meaning of the patterns of wagering and p l a y i n g as they are understood by the gamblers. We can .then•. begin to ask questions about the symbolic f u n c t i o n s of the a c t i v i t y - - e.g. ;.:;;-^;'.y ;.-.; ' What i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s , are emphasized? /: What c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s are a s s o c i a t e d w i t h winning 7-,.; • and l o s i n g ? ' •. ;,t •)•> How does gambling reorganize, r e o r i e n t or \ r e a f f i r m the pl a y e r ' s perceptions of the game j and everyday l i f e ? . : •'• . ' •••, • V. We may a l s o i n v e s t i g a t e , the ways i n which, on an a b s t r a c t l e v e l , r e l a t i o n s of power I n t e r a c t w i t h the symbolism of gambling •—.' e.g. ' Which r e l a t i o n s are i s o l a t e d by gambling? -iyr::-As a p u b l i c arena f o r the statement of personal alignments, how does the b e t t i n g . ; ; .: , : p a t t e r n a f f e c t group formation? Thus, our general o r i e n t a t i o n towards gambling i s h o l i s t i c . :i > ' Our concerns i n c l u d e n e i t h e r the symbolism nor the s o c i o l o g i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e of gambling e x c l u s i v e l y . .. ; Rather, we s h a l l : . ' Inquire i n t o both these aspects and the r e l a t i o n s h i p .: between them. CHAPTER THREE hand game cultures 34 • In the next s e c t i o n of the paper I s h a l l examine. •: ; f i v e ethnographic accounts of gambling. My purpose i n \ reviewing t h i s m a t e r i a l i s t o demonstrate-how gambling may . be stud i e d a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l l y . Why I have chosen these : p a r t i c u l a r groups i s explained p r e s e n t l y . The a v a i l a b i l i t y of l i t e r a t u r e on gambling i s r e a l l y >, q u i t e l i m i t e d as I noted e a r l i e r . I r e f e r . s p e c i f i c a l l y to a r t i c l e s or monographs which have as t h e i r main t o p i c , •»rf, gambling, or a r e l a t e d game complex. In the general ethnographic l i t e r a t u r e there.are numerous references to :; games and gambling as part of an inventory of the c u l t u r e 'under, s c r u t i n y . (see e.g. Brewster, 1970). '"; However, the " p i c k i n g s " are meagre, indeed, when one i s l o o k i n g f o r an a n a l y s i s of gambling. Thus,' f i n d i n g any s o r t of I n t e r e s t i n g a r t i c l e on gambling i s e v e n t f u l ' and. I have had t o c a r e f u l l y c onsider each one. I have been f o r t u n a t e i n one re s p e c t . My i n i t i a l i n t e r e s t i n gambling was more or l e s s r e s t r i c t e d -.• t o the gambling complexes of. n a t i v e '.Indians .of. North America e s p e c i a l l y one r e f e r r e d to as the "hand game." Seemingly .' ' by co i n c i d e n c e , s e v e r a l of the r a r e a r t i c l e s which delve i n t o gambling f e a t u r e s have been concerned with the hand game. I s e r i o u s l y doubt that I could have l o c a t e d f i v e reasonable d e s c r i p t i o n s of other gambling complexes without an i n o r d i n a t e amount of b i b l i o g r a p h i c work, i f : a t a l l . : Thus, I decided t o d e a l s o l e l y w i t h these accounts, r e l a t e d as they a l l are t o ./ the hand game. There are some, methodological advantages to t h i s s e l e c t i o n of m a t e r i a l s , o b v i a t i n g the need t o d w e l l on the nature of the gambling game a f t e r the I n i t i a l presentation.. Moreover, i t permits me to focus on the v a r i a t i o n s i n wagers, b e t t i n g , and r e l a t e d f e a t u r e s , other th i n g s being ( f a i r l y ) equal. The goals of the a n a l y s i s are comparative and general, whereas the i n d i v i d u a l sources are mostly p a r t i c u l a r i s t i c s t u d i e s . . I s h a l l provide a b r i e f , general d e s c r i p t i o n of the hand game so that' the subsequent d i s c u s s i o n of t r i b a l ' v a r i a t i o n s i s more meaningful. The hand game i s u s u a l l y d e scribed i n t h e ' l i t e r a t u r e as a guessing game or a game of > chance. (see Lesser, 1933; C u l l n , 190?) The opponents i n the game are arranged on opposite side s of an area which •, they enclose, f a c i n g each other The .play c o n s i s t s of one; or more members of one side,/ which i s designated the " h i d i n g s i d e " f o r the play, c o n c e a l i n g a sm a l l token or tokens In the hands. ' The other s i d e , or. "guessing s i d e " , must guess f o r the. proper l o c a t i o n of the token*•'••' ,. The; r o l e s of h i d i n g side and guessing side a l t e r n a t e when the l o c a t i o n of the tokens i s s u c c e s s f u l l y determined. . S t i c k s are of t e n used to keep score of the i n c f o r r e c t guesses arid 'the game i s over when a l l the s t i c k s (or a m u l t i p l e of that number) i s i n the possession of one s i d e . There are elaborate v a r i a t i o n s of t h i s b a s i c format. For example, the v a r i a b l e elements of the hand game are« par a p h e r n a l i a , musical•accompaniment, t a l l y s t i c k s and method of s c o r i n g , seating-arrangements, value and t i m i n g of bets to name, a few. The common features;- , of a l l the games include» the b a s i c group nature of the game, d e s p i t e the assignment of s p e c i f i c r o l e s such as guesser and h i d e r to members of the s i d e ; the symbolism of c o n f l i c t and competition which comprises game l o r e 5 the opportunity . ,-f o r . p l a y e r s to u t i l i z e s t r a t e g y and s k i l l i n ' t h e game, as w e l l a s . r e l y i n g on chance or luck to determine the. outcome; the absence of v e r b a ! communication, other than the music; and the r e l i a n c e oh hand signals-and gestures t o conduct the game.. ' . • :. ' ?V,::V '•>".:'>.; ' : ' \ ; - \ ' i r K ' " './;'': v':. -I'v" ' •' y~y^ rf^jji-, •• The hand game was commonly a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t r a d i n g . . and f e s t i v a l gatherings of dls p e r s e d bands and v i l l a g e s . Since v e r b a ! exchanges were not e s s e n t i a l f o r p a r t i c i p a t i o n , i t was p o s s i b l e for,-even l i n g u i s t i c a l l y u n r e l a t e d groups to play.together. The gambling- was o f t e n heavy,.with c o n s i d e r a b l e wagering of property i n an atmosphere of economic r e c k l e s s n e s s . A l l u s i o n s to gambling i n d i f f e r e n t mythologies. e x i s t , but the.moral value they a t t a c h to i t s p r a c t i c e , 1 s q u i t e v a r i a b l e . There are even frequent references t o the i n t e r v e n t i o n , i n trad111 ona1 times, of supernatural f o r c e s In the. hand'games. The purposeful search f o r , and a c q u i s i t i o n of, s p i r i t power .:. or a s s i s t a n c e ori s p e c i f i c occasions i s not unknown. :Where people gambled on the hand game they o f t e n gambled on other games.and sports as well'. However,/ In many cases, the hand . game sessions .attracted, the most s e r i o u s gamblers who made, the l a r g e s t commitment i n terms of property,, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the s e t t i n g of i n t e r - t r i b a l matches. The a e s t h e t i c " aspects of the games were o f t e n enhanced by musical accompaniment which was sometimes simply v o c a l , and sometimes percussive and v o c a l . was . o r d i n a r i l y of two kinds i i n i t i a l bets on the outcome of the e n t i r e game which were placed, i n advance of the play 5 " s i d e bets", which were _ < determined, by the outcome of a s i n g l e guess and were consummated immediately. Wagers were a l s o c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y dyadic, and. without odds, so that the standard, bet of one u n i t of property brought the v i c t o r a u n i t of s i m i l a r value ( i . e . i f gamblers bet one d o l l a r each, the winner has two -• d o l l a r s , the l o s e r , nothing.) / These general f e a t u r e s w i l l become more comprehensible as s p e c i f i c . c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s are ; presented and discussed below. The f i r s t a r t i c l e I want to examine d e s c r i b e s gambling among the Gros Ventre of Montana during.the l a t t e r h a l f of the nineteenth century. The authors (Flannery and Cooper, 19^6) are concerned w i t h s o c i a l i m p l i c a t i o n s of gambling and s t a t e , ' Our a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l sources y i e l d a • •'•x,^. f a i r l y generous amount of i n f o r m a t i o n on the world d i s t r i b u t i o n of gambling, y : . the games and sports gamled on, the• v a l u a b l e s wagered, the payment of .. r. • gambling debts, and the r i t u a l • accompaniments of gambling. On the . . •'•^r^;,:: other, hand,, the same sources y i e l d . • i , ..extremely meager i n f o r m a t i o n , and f o r '; most gambling peoples none a t a l l , on i ; such s o c i a l ; aspects of gambling as: • , ' .••/.'its mode of meshing i n t o . t h e prevalent s o c i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n (who gambles, w i t h . • whom, and f o r • what), i t s e f f e c t i v e n e s s .'.; ' V i n f u l f i l l i n g or thwarting the wishes , • of the i n d i v i d u a l gambler and i n meeting or b l o c k i n g the needs of i n t e g r a l and f r a c t i o n a l s o c i a l groups; i n d i v i d u a l . d i f f e r e n c e s i n p a r t i c i p a t i o n and the motivations r e s p o n s i b l e f o r them; n a t i v e a t t i t u d e s towards gambling; • the Economic and other f a c t o r s t h a t : ' are fa v o r a b l e or unfavorable t o the 1 • r i s e and p e r s i s t e n c e of gambling i n '• c u l t u r e as such or i n given c u l t u r e s . F i e l d , and l i b r a r y s t u d i e s of these and most other s o c i a l aspect of gambling 1 have been almost e n t i r e l y neglected by anthropologists. ( o p . c i t . , p. 391) Flannery and Cooper's i n t e r e s t i n the s o c i a l I m p l i c a t i o n s of.. gambling has l e d them to r e p o r t d e t a i l s of what they t i t l e . the "bettor-wager" p a t t e r n of the Gros Ventre. T h e i r emphasis on the r e l a t i o n a l ' a n d p o l i t i c a l aspects of gambling-r e s u l t s i n some provocative conclusions but leaves the realm of symbolism l a r g e l y unexplored. Enough ethnographic data i s provided, however, t o b u i l d up, i n d u c t i v e l y , a d e s c r i p t i o n of gambling which combines a c o n s i d e r a t i o n of the symbolic and r e l a t i o n a l aspects > S;'jZ;'.-:-The Gros Ventre :gambled on games other than the hand. game. ' One i n p a r t i c u l a r , ' the wheel game, was considered a s e r i o u s event when played f o r high stakes, as i t o f t e n was; There appears to be a f a i r amount of t r i b a l l o r e about such : games between i n d i v i d u a l s i n the s p e c i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p of "enemy-friends." Enemy-friendship was a d e l i b e r a t e pact s t r e s s i n g competition f o r s t a t u s w i t h i n the t r i b e and l o y a l t y t i n defense a g a i n s t o u t s i d e r s . Enemy-friends were capable ••.!;• of, and expected t o be, r u t h l e s s l y c ompetitive w i t h one another. • In gambling they played f o r the highest stakes, and sought the t o t a l " r u i n " of each other. However severe the l o s s of property i n such s e s s i o n , the " r u i n " was more ... metaphorical than a c t u a l , as there were always kinsmen and a l l i e s to provide f o r the l o s e r . The Gros Ventre recognized;, themselves, t h a t defeat i n a wheel game wi t h enemy-friends r e s u l t e d In a ruinous l o s s of p r e s t i g e : This type of••.•• :. -V:-.-.''I gambling i s mentioned to i l l u s t r a t e i t s e s s e n t i a l l y dramatic or metaphorical riatufe, and the awareness of t h i s c n a r a c t e r r;; by the p a r t i c i p a n t s iand observers.- ' 1 •-. - We need not dwell-on the l o c a l v a r i a t i o n of the hand • game proper (i> e. s t y l e :of implements ,• music etc .) . The. v •;..:) authors p o i n t out that the hand; game was the most widespread object of s e r i o u s gambling among.the Gros Ventre d e s p i t e the )somewhat more s e n s a t l o n a l whee 1 games between enemy-f r l e n d s . ;; :. Enemy-ffiends a l s o gambled on the hand game and, i n any event, the hand game attracted, wider p a r t i c i p a t i o n of the community. v The authors discovered an ambivalance of a t t i t u d e among the p a r t i c i p a n t s towards gambling and e x p l a i n i t t h u s i The foregoing ambivalent a t t i t u d e can, •-.we b e l i e v e , be accounted f o r , i n l a r g e part at l e a s t , by the data we have, • v • • • incomplete though these data are. I t i s p r e t t y c l e a r from the prevalent bettor-wager p a t t e r n that the Gros Ventre • recognized, two more or l e s s c o n f l i c t i n g aspects of t h e i r gamblingi a r e c r e a t i v e one and a predatory one. C e r t a i n kinds !. ' _ ;_/• of gambling were indulged i n • •. . • 7 predominantly f o r f r i e n d l y r e c r e a t i o n , : ; •• .to have a good time; together. The ..minor wagering t h e r e i n merely added a ( l i t t l e s p i c e and. zest to pl a y , while ;.;y.'; v'Vthe l o s e r s s u f f e r e d no app r e c i a b l e . l o s s or hur t . ; Other k i n d s , the common • . . . .-.v • games f o r l a r g e stakes and the o c c a s i o n a l < <:: .•••••••.:}., ones f o r career p r e s t i g e were indulged i n . . ;i • ; • 7u predominantly f o r gain at the expense of • . y the l o s e r s , f o r a c q u i s i t i o n i n which the l o s e r s s u f f e r e d l o s s e s t h a t were g r i e v o u s l y f e l t and tha t s e r i o u s l y h u r t . As the :v,7 bettor-wager p a t t e r n shows, gambling of (. . • ' / > t h e f i r s t kind was recognized as c o n s i s t e n t | . \ with the accepted canons of in-group ' a l t r u i s m and benevolence; t h a t of the . second, as i n c o n s i s t e n t , t h e r e w i t h . _ •' ( o p . c i t . , p. 4 l 6 ) -ry I t h i n k the best c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n of these sentiments on the f part of the Gros Ventre p o i n t s t o the r e c o g n i t i o n of deep 'j; play and. shallow play i n t h e i r gambling. The s o - c a l l e d . . . 7 "predatory" gambling i s st a t u s gambling and. the depth of | meaning i n such p l a y i s i t s d r a m a t i z a t i o n of concerns of • personal i d e n t i t y and group s o l i d a r i t y . P r e c i s e l y because p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n high stakes games put personal r e l a t i o n s h i p s " "on the l i n e " , d i d they threaten the c o n s t i t u t i o n of the s community. In a sense, the stake i n a s e r i o u s or "deep" game was not only the p r e s t i g e of. the p l a y e r s , .but because % of t h i s r i s k , t h e i r a b i l i t y to r e l a t e to one another i n app r o p r i a t e ways subsequent to the game. The authors note t h a t , "The Gros Ventre were c o n s c i o u s l y concerned w i t h fomenting s o l i d a r i t y w i t h i n t h e i r ranks« f o r one t h i n g they were a f i g h t i n g people beset w i t h powerful enemies." (op. c i t . , p. 4 l6 ) Thus, " . . , Gros Ventre a t t i t u d e s on gambling appear to have been i n f l u e n c e d very much by concern f o r a l t r u i s m and accord, very l i t t l e by economic values." 1 ( o p . c i t . , p. Ifl8) The ambivalence of the Gros Ventre -serves as a note of c l a r i f i c a t i o n on the nature of deep play In general.' ;• • . Flannery and Cooper discovered t h a t the c o m p l e x i t i e s of the bettor-wager p a t t e r n could be reduced t o a f a i r l y , . simple set of determinants.. Each of these f a c t o r s says something about how the Gros Ventre viewed gambling, and, . by I m p l i c a t i o n , how they viewed the s o c i a l matrix of t h e i r group. F i r s t , gambling, was more frequent and f o r l a r g e r stakes when the "we-group a l t r u i s m , cohesion, and l o y a l t y " was l e s s Intense.• ( o p . c i t . , p. 4 l 3 - l 4 ) The Importance of group s o l i d a r i t y and the need to promote l o y a l t y i n Gros Ventre v i l l a g e s was noted above. ;. Given t h i s c o n s i d e r a t i o n , gambling was thus regarded as a s e r i o u s competitive and even d i v i s i v e , f a c t o r i n , i n t e r p e r s o n a 1 r e l a t i o n s i ? Once again, 'gambling was more frequent and f o r l a r g e r stakes, : the g r e a t e r the degree of f a m i l i a r i t y and l i c e n c e permitted between p l a y e r s . The opposite was tru e as w e l l t the g r e a t e r the degree of respect and avoidance demanded, the l e s s frequent the gambling and the s m a l l e r the stakes. Here we n o t i c e t h a t competition f o r s t a t u s i n gambling.is r e s t r i c t e d to i n d i v i d u a l s whose r e l a t i o n s h i p i s l e s s bound by conventional behavior — e.g. the people whose i n t e r a c t i o n i s f a m i l i a r and c a s u a l . Where behavior i s circumscribed among i n d i v i d u a l s , e.g. those r o l e s demanding respect, and even avoidance, the p o s s i b i l i t y 42 of competition f o r s t a t u s i n gambling i s r u l e d out. This a t t i t u d e i s i n s t r u c t i v e , f o r i t t e l l s us t h a t s t a t u s r i v a l r i e s are r e a l l y p o s s i b l e Only between s t a t u s equals or near equals. In other words, one doesn't gamble s e r i o u s l y w i t h a c l o s e kinsmen such as;a parent because / there i s no prospect of a l t e r i n g one's 1 s t a t u s v i s a v i s that.' i n d i v i d u a l . On the other hand,, one gamles• f i e r c e l y w i t h a •; r e l a t i o n such as an enemy-friend because the s i m i l a r i t y of 7 one's s t a t u s promotes r i v a l r y f o r p r e s t i g e i n the v i l l a g e . This f e a t u r e of deep play a l s o e x p l a i n s the e x c l u s i o n of f women and c h i l d r e n from the r e a l l y s e r i o u s games.; ^'In.'order to have a t r u l y . c o m p e t i t i v e s i t u a t i o n , i t must be a t l e a s t f a i r l y matched. (Geertz notes t h a t the most s e r i o u s , most intense c o c k f i g h t s are the, ones i n which the cocks are most c l o s e l y matched and the b e t t i n g i s consequently.at short odds, i . e . even money — G e e r t z , 1972, p. 22) ':• • ;';-.•.;:•>,•;}:['• y .Vf y,y;-^'. ''i'.•!•'!• V.•;'°^i.7' ,""f;!v^';^.'/'••••/ U0-^^P:'^0M A f a c t o r which barred gambling e n t i r e l y was the element of the sacred and/or a s c e t i c which was a s s o c i a t e d w i t h c e r t a i n o f f i c e s and the persons occupying them* One con c l u s i o n we might draw from the p r o h i b i t i o n of gambling with i n d i v i d u a l s of sacred a s s o c i a t l o n i s t h a t gambling was • >"• an a c t i v i t y somehow o f f e n s i v e t o sacred I n t e r e s t s . However, I t h i n k t h a t there i s a more s a t i s f a c t o r y e x p l a n a t i o n which i s f a i t h f u l to the a t t i t u d e the Gros Ventre maintain. Gambling i s p r i m a r i l y an a c t i v i t y f o r s t a t u s - e q u a l s and an opportunity f o r the v i c t o r i o u s p l a y e r s or team to demonstrate s u p e r i o r a b i l i t i e s and. e n h a n c e d p r e s t i g e . We h a v e a l r e a d y o b s e r v e d t h a t "the r i v a l r y i n g a m b l i n g i s . k e e n e s t b e t w e e n I n d i v i d u a l s 1 i n a n I n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d c o m p e t i t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p . . T o g a m b l e w i t h t h e , , o c c u p a n t o f a s a c r e d o f f i c e w o u l d n o t o n l y c o n t r a v e n e t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f r e s p e c t . t o w a r d t h e i n d i v i d u a l , ' b u t w o u l d c r e a t e a c o n t e s t b e t w e e n t h e c h a l l e n g e r , a n d t h e d i v i n e f o r c e s w h i c h endow t h e i n d i v i d u a l w i t h s a c r e d n e s s . T h e a u t h o r s n o t e t h a t , " I t Was b e l i e v e d , t o o , t h a t t h e k e e p e r ( s a c r e d o f f i c e ) c o u l d n o t l o s e i f , a g a i n s t v.-, • • . ' i . . • 1 • ! . ' . . ' - . " : ( , , t h e r u l e s , he r e a l l y d i d g a m b l e . " ( o p . c i t . , p . 4 l 3 ) I t i s t h u s n o t c o n c e i v a b l e , In ' t h e G r o s V e n t r e v i e w , t o a r r a n g e t o c o m p e t e i n a c o n t e s t , t h e outcome, o f w h i c h i s p r e - d e t e r m i n e d . E v e n s e r i o u s , r u t h l e s s g a m b l i n g , i n o r d e r : t o c o n f e r p r e s t i g e , m u s t a l l o w t h e p o s s i b i l i t y . o f e i t h e r . v ^ ; p l a y e r w i n n i n g . T h e f i n a l f a c t o r i n t h e p a t t e r n i s t h e . •< : a b s e n c e o f g a m b l i n g o f a n y k i n d b e t w e e n b i t t e r e n e m i e s , i n t h i s c a s e t h e G r o s V e n t r e a n d t h e S i o u x . A s t h e a u t h o r s n o t e , t h e e x i s t e n c e o f g a m b l i n g p r e s u p p o s e s , " . . . a minimum o f f r i e n d l i n e s s b e t w e e n t h e p l a y e r s , o r a t l e a s t . . .V?. t h e a b s e n c e o f d e a d l y a n d u n q u a l i f i e d h o s t i l i t y . " (op\:'^^i-: such as those between c l o s e r e l a t i v e s and sacred o f f i c i a l s against" o r d i n a r y tribesmen. [ Given a l l . these r e s t r i c t i o n s , what: gambling says t o the Gros Ventre i s tha t one engages i n c o n f l i c t w i t h one's opponents and v i e s f o r power but chooses the enemy c a r e f u l l y and never forgets' one's f r i e n d s . . Yet, the ambivalence p e r s i s t s : • '. ' y •'.!'•. Toward gambling p r a c t i c e d w i t h i n the l i m i t a t i o n s of bettor-wager p a t t e r n , there was, by and l a r g e , no strong d i s a p p r o v a l . . Such gambling was i n the main taken f o r •' grant ed. Yet such approval as was given, • • . even as regards much of the gambling t h a t conformed to the bettor-wager p a t t e r n , was .. i n c e r t a i n respects q u a l i f i e d and. „ y: 7 c i r c u m s c r i b e d . ( o p . c i t . , p. 4l5) Because they were conscious of fomenting s o l i d a r i t y i n t h e i r ranks the Gros Ventre were s u s p i c i o u s of any a c t i v i t y which promoted:. c o n f l i c t too . c l o s e to home. 7 In gambling, the .'symbolism of conf liet'.' was..'balanced with. the .symbolism of harmony. Apparently t h i s was a d e l i c a t e balance which was c l o s e l y observed by p a r t i c i p a n t s . Gros Ventre gamblers ( t h i s i n c l u d e d most every man, woman, and c h i l d i n the s o c i e t y ) were faced w i t h r e c o n c i l i n g the co n t r a r y i d e n t i t i e s of competitor; and a l l y . Gambling appeared t o do t h i s , but only when c o n s t r a i n e d by a code of, proper behavior. • < . The next a r t i c l e I' wish to examine begins as f o l l o w s i . . The purpose of the present study i s to •'•^ . describe the gambling complex as i t " /','ftB ; existed ' among the, Yakima i n the period .;.:, ;• from 1860-1880,• to see i t s integration' /'/ into Yakima culture and to discover, so far as possible, i t s functions i n that .' :}.' culture. '",;-' (Desmond, .1952, p. 1) The Yakima, reside i n southern Washington.and the information r provided relates to the l a t t e r half of the nineteenth (' century. Their gambling complex was characterized by -..•^ .seasonal variations i n the.intensity and frequency of play ; ' and an emphasis on .two p r i n c i p a l forms arid a host of minor / ones. . Gambling was heaviest on the bone giame and on horse.•:•;•"->-' races.; . The att i t u d e of Yakima breeders towards t h e i r horses is.not unlike the Balinese sentiments towards cocks. , .Considerable time, energy and walth were Invested.in the c u l t i v a t i o n of race horses, and i t was often the wealthiest,• most established Individuals who were Intensely committed to ',. the sport. - Horses had the ad d i t i o n a l q u a l i t y of comprising a. standard of value of property, the race horse being the most ,valuable and sought a f t e r possession of the Yakima. The bone game was the two-set, four bone variety i n which one bone of each set was marked by a groove i n the center. The.:, object of the game was to guess the location of both unmarked bones, each set being manipulated by a hider on the same side. Gestures and signals obviated the need f o r verbal communication i n both the playing and the betting. / We s h a l l • now explore the incorporation of gambling i n the culture of ..' the Yakima. , Desmond's c l o s i n g statement on Yakima gambling provides a good p o i n t of departures . : Thus, although out-group r i v a l r y was ; keen, and expressed I t s e l f c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y , i n gambling, i t was so c o n t r o l l e d t h a t t h e . v ;.-harmonious r e l a t i o n s among a l l people of the r e g i o n — based as i t was on intermarriage,. frequent contacts f o r t r a d i n g , common e x p l o i t a t i o n of.some resources, and the l i k e — were not unduly d i s t u r b e d . (Desmond, 1952, P« 5^) This statement t e l l s us something about the.context of Yakima gambling, namely the.complex network of i n t e r - v i l l a g e and r e g i o n a l a f f i l i a t i o n s . While l o c a t i n g gambling i n t h i s s e t t i n g , Desmond demonstrates how i t i s f u n c t i o n a l l y r e l a t e d t o the two broad I n s t i t u t i o n a l f i e l d s of symbolic complexes and p o l i t i c o - e c o n o m i c r e l a t i o n s . The Yakima a t t i t u d e towards gambling'contrasts With the Gros Ventre amblvalance, "Anyone who had anything t o bet could bet.. / No one advised a g a i n s t i t . " ( o p . c i t . , p; 49), In ge n e r a l , the Yakima appeared t o ; s t r e s s the Importance of s u c c e s s f u l i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s , : whether at the l e v e l s of ^ the v i l l a g e or the r e g i o n . The coneept of ':generos 1 ty was,'well e s t a b l 1 shed and f i r m l y rooted i n Yakima psychology. I t was the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a t t i t u d e i n personal d e a l i n g s and gambling was no exception i n demanding a w i l l i n g n e s s to part w i t h property. ., Desmond notes t h a t 1 A person who was In a p o s i t i o n to meet wagers o f f e r e d and who c o n s i s t e n t l y refused ;':? t o do so, or one who bet only a "sure t h i n g " , : was considered n i g g a r d l y and l o s t s t a t u s , ; / . 'vv/:: ' / r e g a r d l e s s of h i s other attainments. The ' re g u l a r bets were p u b l i c l y d i s p l a y e d and everyone would know who bet what and could estimate how b i g the wagers were i n p r o p o r t i o n to,the property owned by the 49 i n d i v i d u a l . Thus, even a person i n . ,! •:••.'•}• r e l a t i v e l y modest circumstances could maintain p r e s t i g e by b e t t i n g according to h i s means* : ( o p . c i t . , p. 50) Gambling was a s s o c i a t e d s y m b o l i c a l l y and i n : p r a c t i c e w i t h c e r t a i n m a g i c o - r e l l g i o u s observances. Notably, "sweat house r i t e s " were enacted f o r e n t e r p r i s e s such as hunting and gambling« "The procedure included songs by the •sweat house l e a d e r , . t a l k i n g to the sweat house as i f t o "a wise o l d man, a shaman,"and aski n g f o r success." The a s s o c i a t i o n of supernatural power w i t h gambling ventures was ; common./ I t was believed, that the s i n g i n g accompaniment Of the p r i n c i p a l p l a y e r somehow a c t i v a t e d the power and improved the chance of winning. A s i m i l a r concept was attached t o shamanistic c u r i n g . yet i n two respects gambling was d i s t i n c t from other m a g i c o - r e l l g i o u s p u r s u i t s . C e r t a i n objects: were e x p l i c i t l y excluded from the u n i v e r s e of wagerable property. Among these were m a g i c o - r e l l g i o u s o b j e c t s such as b e l l s and drums. 'Furthermore, gambling.was t o t a l l y absent from the w i n t e r dances and ceremonies. In f a c t , d u r i n g 1 . s e r i o u s games between important p r i n c i p a l s , " . . . pregnant women stayed away, l e s t t h e i r c h i l d r e n be born w i t h a ' p r i d e ' f o r gambling. C h i l d r e n under two years were a l s o kept away -.• . ; l e s t the power i n j u r e them, and mourners d i d not attend to avoid b r i n g i n g bad luck t o t h e i r companions." ( o p . c i t . , p. 40) A l s o , "Gambling was t a k e n . s e r i o u s l y and was not considered a time f o r j o k i n g or l a u g h t e r . " ( o p . c i t . , p..".37)..' . y In a more recent a r t i c l e on the ceremonial i n t e g r a t i o n •• of the P l a t e a u area Brunton s t a t e s t h a t : 50 G a m b l i n g was a f o r m o f c o n f l i c t . . : . : , ' • • " . . ' • ' ' ' " ' S t i l l , I t was a n i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d , ' • <. : c e r e m o n i a l v e h i c l e f o r t h e e x p r e s s i o n .. o f c o n f l i c t a n d i t a l l o w e d e x p r e s s i o n . o n i n t e r g r o u p c o n f l i c t i n a c o n t r o l l e d , ' c e r e m o n i a l s e t t i n g . I n t h i s l i g h t i t may be v i e w e d a s c a t h a r t i c . , ( B r u n t o n , 1968,. p p . 7-8) . T h a t t h e g a m b l i n g c o m p l e x o f t h e Y a k i m a was n o t u n d r a m a t i c I s c l e a r f r o m t h e f o r e g o i n g s t a t e m e n t b y B r u n t o n and b y :-..,- . o t h e r . .b i t s , 'of e v i d e n c e r o f Y a k i m a a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d s t h e • p r a c t i c e . pe smond r e m a r k s t h a t g a m b l i n g : . •; .. . h e l p e d t o c e m e n t i n - g r o u p s o l i d a r i t y . .'7 w i t h o u t c a u s i n g . o u t - g r o U p r i v a l r y o f s u c h '.'•'-•' d i m e n s i o n s a s t o t h r e a t e n h a r m o n i o u s '.:;'/ . r e l a t i o n s , . . S t r o n g i n - g r o u p . s o l i d a r i t y ' : :i'•r.\ r e s u l t e d , o f c o u r s e , i n o u t - g r o U p , .. c o m p e t i t i o n , b u t t h e g a m b l i n g s i t u a t i o n • was s u c h t h a t i t h a d no s e r i o u s ; . ' . ' / ; • - c o n s e q u e n c e s . (Desmond,- 1952. p . ,53) - He r e f e r s h e r e n o t o n l y t o t h e n a t u r e a n d amount o f w a g e r a b l e w e a l t h , g a m b l e d , - ' bu t more I m p o r t a n t l y t o t h e e s s e n t l a 1 l y . m e t a p h o r i c a l ' n a t u r e o f c o n f l i c t - i n g a m b l i n g . ; ' v-.'•'•' \ We . 'observe ' , t h e n ' , among t h e Yak ima , ' , a C o n t i n u i t y , i n : , r ' ; t h e s y m b o l i c a s p e c t s o f g a m b l i n g and o t h e r m a g i c o - r e l l g i o u s -. p r a c t i c e s . I n t h e h i e r a r c h y o f c e r e m o n i a l ' o b s e r v a n c e s •, g a m b l i n g , i s c l e a r l y - b e n e a t h t h e w i n t e r d a n c e s a n d o t h e r e x p r e s s l y s a c r e d r i t e s , i n • i m p o r t a n c e . H o w e v e r , t h e r e a r e some i m p o r t a n t d i s c o n t i n u i t i e s i n t h e . s y m b o l i c a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h g a m b l i n g , a s n o t e d a b o v e . G a m b l i n g , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e b o n e game, a p p e a r s t o b e l o c a t e d a t a midway p o i n t i n t h e m a g i c o -r e l i g i o u s s c a l e , b e t w e e n t h e s u b s i s t e n c e t e c h n i q u e s o f e v e r y d a y l i f e ; and.vthe c e r e m o n i a l o b s e r v a n c e s o f t h e m o s t 51 sacred order..- One interpretation might be that gambling ' i s concerned, with, fundamentally "secular" interests., namely property and. prestige* . However, i t elevates these . concerns to a more general l e v e l by means of the dramatic interest created'by.the betting and. the aesthetics of the game. Compare, f o r example, the Yakima attitude with the ., Gros Ventre p r o h i b i t i o n of gambling by.occupants of r i t u a l o f f i c e s . Desomond,provides considerable information on the intertwining of gambling and the Yakima economy and t h i s i s discussed presently. The Yakima exploited t h e i r resources on a seasonal basis, thus creating a recurrent pattern of a c t i v i t y which was c l o s e l y linked,to the a v a i l a b i l i t y of roots, game, f i s h , etc. Added, to t h i s were; the changes In geographical im-mobility occasioned by the extremes of winter.- . The basic : pattern consisted of: - a winter period of r e l a t i v e l e i s u r e and •:. confinement to home v i l l a g e s ; minimal subsistence a c t i v i t i e s , repair of equipment; celebration of winter dances •• ••, -. and ceremonies •/.. •• , . - a spring period of intensive economic -.^ : e x p l o i t a t i o n and. d i s p e r s a l to root • •grounds and hunting areas 52 - an e a r l y summer per i o d of convergence on a common s i t e f o r the e x t r a c t i o n of ,v r o o t s and the c e l e b r a t i o n of f e a s t s "the big. time" ' ' lV ; 'S '"".-' - a l a t e summer convergence on camas grounds by two groups and the c e l e b r a t i o n of a second, " b i g time" - an e a r l y f a l l d i s p e r s a l to hunting and , . berry s i t e s d u r i n g which a c t i v i t y was .. ' intense - a l a t e f a l l period, of congregation a t win t e r s i t e s i n p r e p a r a t i o n of accomodation, but w i t h r e l a t i v e l e i s u r e and the p e r s i s t e n c e of high geographical m o b i l i t y i Gambling was practiced, throughout the year but the-correspondence; o f i n t e n s i v e gambling w i t h c e r t a i n periods i s marked. The . lar g e s t gatherings d u r i n g e a r l y and l a t e summer, the " b i g times" were witness to i n t e n s i v e gambling'. A l s o the period of r e l a t i v e l e i s u r e preceding the winter,' saw the l a r g e s t c o n c e n t r a t i o n of gambling. The economic a s s o c i a t i o n s here are c l e a r . • Gambling f l o u r i s h e d d u r i n g times of i n t e r - v i l l a g e gatherings i n an atmosphere of f e a s t s and trade:and d u r i n g the round of i n t e r - v i l l a g e v i s i t i n g in< t h e l e i s u r e p e r i o d p r i o r t o . w i n t e r . Desmond, n o t e s t h a t , Wagers were a l w a y s o f t h e dyad, t y p e , r e g a r d l e s s o f v a l u e . . T h e i n t e n s i t y o f \• i n t e r e s t a n d t h e amount w a g e r e d , , h o w e v e r , . d e p e n d e d p r i m a r i l y o n t h e s o c i a l d i s t a n c e ° f t h e o p p o n e n t s . L i t t l e was w a g e r e d on i n t r a f a m i l i a l o r l n t r a v l l l a g e games and. s p o r t s . C o m p e t i t i o n was much k e e n e r a n d t h e s t a k e s h i g h e r o n i n t e r v i l l a g e c o n t e s t s . . e s p e c i a l l y when t h e v i l l a g e s w e r e i n •: d i f f e r e n t a r e a s o r r e p r e s e n t e d , d i f f e r e n t •' 1 i n g u i s t i c g r o u p s . ( o p . c i t . , p . 47) T h e ' b e t t o r - - w a g e r ' p a t t e r n . I s f u n d a m e n t a l l y t h e same f o r t h e Y a k i m a a s i t i s f o r t h e G r o s V e n t r e . G a m b l i n g s t a k e s d e c r e a s e d and. t h e I n t e r e s t i n t h e game l e s s e n e d a s o p p o n e n t became more f a m i l i a r . H o w e v e r , e s p e c i a l l y g i f t e d g a m b l e r s s o - c a l l e d " p r o f e s s i o n a l s " ( u s u a l l y t h o s e who had g a m b l i n g . " " p o w e r " ) . 'Were, o f t e n t h e s o u r c e o f t h e m o s t i n t e n s i v e g a m e s . A s m i g h t be - e x p e c t e d , men o f w e a l t h ' w e r e o f t e n t h e m o s t . n o t o r i o u s g a m b l e r s a n d t h e . pa rad . i gm f o r -the. u l t i m a t e g a m b l e i n Y a k i m a e y e s i s t h e w a g e r i n g , b y men o f m e a n s , o f a l l t h e i r * p r o p e r t y o n a s i n g l e g a m b l e . . T h i s i s l o o k e d u p o n f a v o r a b l y and e n h a n c e s t h e . p r e s t i g e o f s u c h a g a m b l e r e n o r m o u s l y . I w i s h t o p r o v i d e a b r i e f o v e r v i e w ,o f t h e g a m b l i n g h a b i t s o f t h e Y a k i m a and a few comments o n t h e s y m b o l i c f u n c t i o n s o f g a m b l i n g a s t h e y p r a c t i c e i t . ' F i r s t o f a l l , t h e Y a k i m a ' a r e i n e x t r i c a b l y bound i n a c o m p l e x n e t w o r k o f a l l i a n c e s w i t h n e i g h b o r i n g t r i b e s a s Desmond and B r u n t o n point out. The economic system of the, entire region i s based on seasonal, but intensive, e x p l o i t a t i o n of p a r t i c u l a r Sites and the subsequent exchange of goods over the entire region to f a c i l i t a t e equitable d i s t r i b u t i o n arid consumption. It i s incumbent, on the Yakima to sustain, good r e l a t i o n s with >. t h e i r trading partners, since the transactions deal not only with manufactured items, but primarily with foodstuffs unobtainable i n t h e i r e x p l o i t a t i o n region. The Yakima thus, encourage attitudes of generosity i n the deployment of property. There i s a connection between the use of property and, the a c q u i s i t i o n of prestige. . . Gambling .is a basic model ,. for this,type of behavior, since the accepted canons of betting-urge not only generosity, but. recklessness i n wagering property. However, .as Desmond .'points out, the wagers are restricted, to property at hand and i n the possession of the i n d i v i d u a l • • r ;. . betting. Furthermore,; foodstuffs are never wagered. Thus the spectacle of the intensive game with high stakes, and i t s . message about proper - attitudes towards, wealth and prestige, has l i m i t e d costs i n terms of everyday goods and resources, (see the opening c i t a t i o n of Desmond) .:;v'; • • y: .'iu^-\y In keeping with the previous analysis of gambling we may ask, what does gambling say to the gamblers about t h e i r own social.order? , The meaning of the.gambling i s i n the way i t associates wealth and prestige. 1 In a society of traders i t says that property ought not be coveted but given f r e e l y and generously, to promote the esteem of one's fellowmen. [ In the context of Yakima regional economy and s o c i a l organization t h i s appears: to be an Important, lesson. Moreover, the enterprise of gambling was. regarded as a legitimate form of competition. I t carried the p o s s i b i l i t y of supernatural intervention i n the form of gambling power and demanded, the same preparation (sweat bath r i t e s ) as • other ventures of import. In a sense, there i s a v a l i d a t i o n of the meanlngfulness of enterprises i n the interpersonal f i e l d . That i s , gambling, l i k e hunting, commands preparation and dili g e n c e , and the rewards of the two ventures are thus likened symbolically.' To win at gambling i s akin to success i n hunting -- thus the a c q u i s i t i o n of prestige and property compares with the production of food. . The main points of contrast between the gambling of the Yakima and. of the Gros Ventre seem to be related to the differences i n the s o c i o - p o l i t i c a l environment of the two.groups and t h e i r economic systems. t .,In the gambling l i t e r a t u r e i n anthropology i s a monograph on the Pawnee hand, game by Alexander Lesser (Lesser, 1933)- His interest i n the gambling complex of that t r i b e was rather d i f f e r e n t from the perspective on gambling advocated here,. He was e x p l i c i t l y concerned with the study of c u l t u r a l change and selected the transformation ^ of the Pawnee gambling hand game into the Ghost Dance hand ' game during the l a t t e r years of the nineteenth century as his case In point. , Nevertheless * he. provided, some d e t a i l about the gambling habits of the Pawnee arid.enlightens us further by his analysis of the change from gambling to ceremonial features of the game. We s h a l l be espe c i a l l y interested i n noting the modification of hand game symbolism as, I t was adapted to the new context, of the Ghost Dance. The play of the Pawnee hand game was e s s e n t i a l l y the same as fo r the ones already; described./ / The tokens f o r concealment were'; single bones "instead:: of /pairs/and the seating.arrangement, was semi-circular but. opponents s t i l l faced each other. Betting "was dyadic arid the property wagered ineluded'the items of highest value i n Pawneee soclety i.e. blankets, s h i r t s , horses, etc. The game was t y p i c a l l y i n i t i a t e d by a challenge, as among the Yakima, and competition i n t e n s i f i e d as the s o c i a l distance between opponents increased. Thus, i n t e r - t r i b a l games were the keenest, inter-band games next, and intra-band games rather small and modest i n stakes. The f a m i l i a r themes of competition and c o n f l i c t were c l e a r l y />T present. Lesser observes that: . . . I t was a game fo r men. only; and prima r i l y an adult's game? the women did not par t i c i p a t e and were not supposed to come near where the men were playing. The game was conceived as a warpath, and so dramatized: and warpaths f o r the Pawnee were a c t i v i t i e s excluding the p a r t i c i p a t i o n of women. The men's game was usually a contest•between two Pawnee• bands,• • i n W h ich one would v i s i t the other f o r the express purpose of playing a hand game and gambling on the. r e s u l t . ; (Lesser, . 1933, .p. 139) There was considerable ceremony i n the preliminaries and the seating arrangements, during the games between bands or t r i b e s . One gets the f e e l i n g that h o s t i l i t y was lurkin g behind much of the v i s i t i n g and gambling forays of the Pawnee;; and to assuage mutual fears of -attack and r e p r i s a l the participants tended to rely, on established conventions and f o r m a l i t i e s of behavior. ";;. ,.•-•; i Once again we may note the dramatic nature of the , • gambling complex — i t s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n with the enterprise of r a i d i n g , "going/on the warpath", "and the a f f a i r s of adult men. •", Despite the .symbolism of .bloody c o n f l i c t , . the hand game f e l l short of physical violence and occurred i n a s e t t i n g of orderliness and formality. The formality of the game procedures and preliminaries contrasts with the unchecked h o s t i l i t y of r e a l warfare, and may seem i r o n i c to us. Yet the Pawnee were obviously capable of expressing c o n f l i c t i n the gambling, without disrupting the harmony of r e l a t i o n s between opponents. The use of music and the gesticulations during the play of the game signal i t s a f f e c t i v e , expressive elements. One convention of the game serves^ as;,a further l i n k between the warpath and gambling: \'.•';..'Vi'.--: :To follow the t r a i l of the bones , when they are won and carried across .. to the other side i s to t r a i l the . enemy. The guesser searches f o r • tracks. A player on the hiding side goes to the f i r e f or handfuls of cold ashes from, the f i r e ' s edge. He , \ . .' 58 s p r i n k l e s I t l i k e f a l l i n g s n o w . He c a l l s a l o u d , " T h e .snow c o v e r s u p t h e ; t r a c k s - n o w , y o u c a n n o t s e e t h e m . " T h u s - a f t e r a n enemy r a i d i n l a t e f a l l when men s t a r t e d a f t e r t h e r e t r e a t i n g • War p a r t y t o r e g a i n c a p t u r e d h o r s e s . • . > • t h e f a l l i n g show o b l i t e r a t e d , t h e t r a i l . • • ' . ' ' , ! ... . / T o t h e Pawnee t h e . l i t t l e d r a m a t i c a c t h a s s i m i l a r p o w e r t o o b l i t e r a t e . t h e '<••'..=-'-'•• u n s e e n t r a i l o f t h e b o n e s , f r o m h a n d t o • . • hand. , t o b l i n d t h e g u e s s e r . T h e ' -. g u e s s e r s h i e l d s h i s e y e s w i t h h i s . . . • h a n d a n d p e e r s t h r o u g h t h e f a l l i n g a s h e s t o s e e t h e t r a c k s . / ( o p . c i t . , p . ikk) T h e b e t t o r - w a g e r p a t t e r n o f t h e Pawnee a p p e a r s t o h a v e l e s s o f t h e s t a t u s o f a c o d e t h a n i t d i d among t h e G r o s ' :. V e n t r e . T h i s , c a n be e x p l a i n e d i n t e r m s o f t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s < o f g a m b l i n g . When t h e Pawnee w i s h e d t o i n i t i a t e a game o f a n y m a g n i t u d e i t , w a s n e c e s s a r y t o p r e - a r r a n g e w i t h o n e ' s • " • • : • band, members a t i m e a n d a d e s t i n a t i o n - - i . e . t h e s i t e o f a n o t h e r b a n d . . T h u s a p a r t y o f g a m b l e r s was a l r e a d y c o n s t i t u t e d p r i o r t o t h e p l a y , w i t h a g r e e m e n t t o c h a l l e n g e a n o t h e r band and. o p p o s e them a s a g r o u p . F u r t h e r m o r e , L e s s e r i n d i c a t e s •-.•'• no p r e s e n c e o f s i d e ' b e t s d u r i n g / t h e game . T h e w a g e r s seem t o be c o n f i n e d t o t h e p r e l i m i n a r y a r r a n g e m e n t s . b e f o r e t h e a c t u a l p l a y a n d a d h e r e t o t h e d y a d i c m o d e l a s m e n t i o n e d . a b o v e . • • T h e r e i s a t e n d e n c y i n L e s s e r ' s a c c o u n t t o p l a y down t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e w a g e r s ' and ' t h e c o m p o s i t i o n o f s i d e s , a l t h o u g h he r e f e r s t o , i n t e r - t r i b a l f r i e n d s h i p s i n t h e a r r a n g e m e n t o f i n t e r - t r i b a l h a n d games i '. I n t e r - t r i b a l f r i e n d s h i p was a d e f i n i t e . . . f o r m a l i z e d r e l a t i o n s h i p i n f o r m e r t i m e s . : ••••..• -.;. I t w a s ' o f p a r m p u n t i m p o r t a n c e , a s t h r o u g h i n t e r l o c k i n g f r i e n d s h i p s t r i b e s t r a d i t i o n a l l y h o s t i l e t o e a c h o t h e r w e r e d r a w n i n t o p e a c e f u l ; r e l a t i o n s . . . . ( o p . c i t . , , p . 1^9) He suggests that the paradigm f o r i n t e r - t r i b a l hand games ' may have been the decision by an i n t e r - t r i b a l f r i e n d to challenge another to a game. In t h i s case we might question the.importance of such games i n promoting peaceful relation's. / The evidence i s not a l l there, so one must speculate, but perhaps the gambling competition replaced the warpath as a l l i a n c e s shifted and economic circumstances •changed.:.: Despite- Lesser* s cursory treatment of the wagering of the Pawnee, I suspect i t was an important feature of hand games i n much the same way as money was shown to i n t e n s i f y the " significance of the cockfight i n Bali.>The•Pawnee were wagering, horses on hand games and surely t h i s cannot be disregarded. Raiding parties, which were'an i n t e g r a l feature of t h e i r l i f e , were organized around precisely the same objectiveV the a c q u i s i t i o n of neighbors' horses. Lesser, states that: ,':,': ••••/•'. .,; . . The change i n the aspect of culture . we have been considering was a transformation • , of a gambling ;hand game into a Ghost Dance -••>••.-hand game ceremony. What persisted was the game i t s e l f , with i t s forms of play and arranging for play; what were eliminated were the gambling aspects, and,the.associated war party simulations; what was added to make the - new form was the generic type of ceremonialism and r i t u a l i s m of the Pawnee, . and the concepts and suggestions of the . • Ghost Dance r e l i g i o n and the Ghost Dance : . ceremonial forms •• ^ ^ ^ - ' - - V - - . (op.cit., p. 321) V -): One i s tempted, to conclude from the h i s t o r i c a l evidence of the Pawnee that,perhaps the s i m i l a r i t y of gambling to ceremony Is .close enough to allow f o r a transformation i n symbolic form and a s h i f t i n symbolic function. . However, • the circumstances of the Pawnee p r i o r to the advent, of the Ghost Dance may have exerted more of a determining influence on the/adaptation of the hand game as a symbolic form. B l r e f l y , .they were i n a state of c u l t u r a l d i s i n t egra 11on a f t e r a lengthy period of breakdown of the t r a d i t i o n a l t r i b a l symbols and increasing dependence on.the American . government.• .Their economic and p o l i t i c a l status had changed... d r a s t i c a l l y i n . h a l f a century, with the r e s u l t that most r; c u l t u r a l complexes had f a l l e n into disuse and were forgotten. r This i s especially true of much of the r i t u a l practices which were private knowledge and, died with the l a s t occupants of r i t u a l positions. Thus, there, were only c e r t a i n old customs ava i l a b l e f o r e r v i v a l during the Ghost Dance period and one of these was the hand game. . We can only draw conclusions about the nature of gambling among the Pawnee with great caution.. The symbolic functions of gambling p r i o r to the Ghost Dance were' consistent with those i n Yakima • and i n Gros Ventre society. That the hand:game became a Ghost Danee c eremony i s due to h i s t o r i c a l , circumstances. In' being so transformed the gambling aspects were eliminated. • Lesser's contribution to our und.erstanding of . gambling relates to,the slmJla r i t l e s and differences between " gambling and. ceremony. ' He has shown that a game, mainly a . v set of. rules and procedures for. determining a i winner and a loser,;; may be. adapted to d i f f e r e n t purposes.. . UTnat does t h i s say about gambling? The' element of. r i s k ' of wagerable property disappeared from the Pawnee game i n i t s transformation, as did the symbolism of the war party. By implication, the:.:; meaning of the;, a c t i v i t y was completely altered. Symbolic . form and. 'function changed •:• In a sense t h i s evidence confirms the conclusion that serious gambling i s f i r m l y rooted i n the competition f o r p r e s t i g e . F u r t h e r m o r e , the association of gambling symbolism with the s o c i a l hierarchy <.:.:••;• cannot be maintained i n the absence of.Wagers and betting. ' Serious gambling requires a commitment of valuable property >. and i t s significance cannot be sustained by p a r t i c i p a t i o n alone (without betting). •. Lesser notes that: '. ; , ' • I . - . / - . ' ; . ' The conceptual change comes out c l e a r l y •• . i n the new idea of the significance of . 'winning and lo s i n g . I t i s said the winners are the f a i t h f u l , the losers the sinners? .' the winners are the honest f o l k , the losers ; •. . ; the l i a r s ; . the winners are the good people, ' • the losers the e v i l . \ ; \ . (op.cit. , p. 3l8) The s i m i l a r i t y of conceptualization above points out the relatedness of the ceremony and games described e a r l i e r . Gambling, too, i s concerned with so-called non-empirical ends, but by contrast.achieves those ends i n the dramatization v.; which ensues from the manipulation of empirical means — property. \ ' The next monographic work on gambling we s h a l l consider deals with the hand game of the Dogrib of the Northwest T e r r i t o r i e s . (Helm & Lurie, 1966) They appear to play an ext r a o r d i n a r i l y complex variant of\the game whose basic features are now f a m i l i a r . . Single tokens are concealed i n the hand of the hider and one guesser on the opposing side gestures to indicate his guess. On the , hiding side, there are eight active hlders at the beginning .of play • (and seven more i n reserve),. so that, the guesser i s • • in fact making eight: simultaneous choices by his gesture. As he guesses c o r r e c t l y the hider i s eliminated;and t h i s •' continues, u n t i l ' a l l hiders" have been guessed c o r r e c t l y . There are i n t r i c a c i e s i n scoring, as w e i l . A game Is won by accumulating the entire set of t a l l y s t i c k s i n play, not once, but twice. /This i s marked by a separate scoring or t a l l y s t i c k which s i g n i f i e s one set of sixteen s t i c k s has been won. Further complications include a practice of r e i n s t a t i n g eliminated players at the point i n the play when the hiding • side has acctimulated a l l the t a l l y s t i c k s . These procedures provide f or a r e a l l y challenging contest and require considerable s k i l l on the part of players, p a r t i c u l a r l y guessers who can indicate exact guesses by an elaborate set of signals. ... ;; Before examining, gambling symbolism we might look at the. aesthetics of t h i s complex game. The s t y l e and impact of a game, i n action . •.: . eludes precise description. . The tempo of •<• ' play i s fast and hard, with the deafening 1 clamor, of drums and the shouted chants of '. the drummers accompanying the play. The . in t e n s i t y of the syncopated beat that goes from loud to louder as climaxes i n the game . o c c u r imparts a d r i v i n g q u a l i t y to the '•y play. In response to the throb of the -drums (or on some, occasions to t h e i r own. ; voices chanting without drums) the players :. 1 ; V; of the hiding team move In rhythm.' • From t h e i r hips up, the kneeling men bob, weave, . and sway . - ...Players may close t h e i r . . -'[.]',} eyes or r o l l them heavenward, producing ..'v on some faces a trance-like e f f e c t . The two-syllable unit of chanting cry made by the drummers i s delivered with wide-open mouth,.head thrown back, with strained . features, by some and at f u l l voice by a l l . (Helm & Lurie, 1966, p. 30) • The authors note theexpressive nature of playing the hand game and assert that i t had i n t e l l e c t u a l challenge' f o r the' players. S k i l l f u l gamblers were aware of using s t r a t e g y : in'guessing the location-of tokens, c h i e f l y by the scrutiny of hiders' expressions i n a general e f f o r t to "psych them •• out".: Although the element of chance was obviously present i n the outcome of games, the s k i l l of certain i n d i v i d u a l s i n "guessing" and. the complexity of procedures and gestures made t h i s contest much more a ba t t l e of wits and s k i l l than merely a game of chance. . •.•:.:<• Guessing c o r r e c t l y i s metaphorically stated as " k i l l i n g " the opponent and the manoeuvre of r e i n s t a t i n g eliminated players as " r a i s i n g the dead". (op.cit., pp. 29-38) To what extent the Dogrib regard the p r e s e n t -day game as a matter of l i f e and death, even symbolically, i s dubious. ., Nevertheless, there are references to the former seriousness of.the game during the time of s i g n i f i c a n t fur trade a c t i v i t y . . I n t e r - t r i b a l gambling was tinged with h o s t i l i t y as the p o l i t i c a l , r e l a t i o n s between t r i b e s vasodilated In the competition f o r the trade. Indeed; there are account of individuals i n the past who were the possessors of great "power" f o r performance i n the hand game. The existence of other observances of a ceremonial nature f o r success i n the game i s not indicated. Nowadays i t appears .that the gambling complex i s conceptualized as an i n t e g r a l part of t h e i r c u l t u r a l expression during c e r t a i n seasonal assemblages J / V V ; . ; ; : , ,:;-'.-v".. The hand game has two q u a l i t i e s • which ii' d i s t i n g u i s h i t from other forms of gaming . . • play among the Dogribss i t i s a community and group f e s t i v e event, and i t serves and v i s recognized, to be an expression of i n t e r -group competition, r e i n f o r c i n g intra-group . i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . . (Helm & Lurie, 1966, p. 81) The nature and degree of the symbolic integration of the game i n Dogrib l i f e i s d i f f i c u l t to ascertain from the material the authors present. However, one can; observe cer t a i n patterns i n team a f f i l i a t i o n s f o r the game. ; The Dpgflbs apparently refer to the gambling sides . by the proper names for the regional a f f i l i a t i o n s of the players. • • That hand.game p a r t i c i p a t i o n and:regional a f f i l i a t i o n s are c l o s e l y related has already been established* Further evidence i s revealed by the fact' that the Dogrib "crew", which Is a c t u a l l y a hunting party organized to track caribou; i s o r d i n a r i l y composed of the men.of one region, thus also the men. who gamble together. I t i s also reported '• that the hand game Is commonly played.during the caribou hunting period and that the stakes are the pieces of dry 65 meat which are taken on the hunt. . In the active fur trade ; era the ingatherings were the scene of Intensive gambling and the games seem to have been i n i t i a t e d by leaders of regional groups who had come to s e l l t h e i r . f u r s . Given t h i s background', what can we say about Dogrib gambling? .Much of t h i s i s speculative, since the authors did • not provide a l l the ethnographic l i n k s . The Dogrib were very loosely organized f o r much of the year, Isolated i n t h e i r bush camps. . At c r i t i c a l periods they gathered ^ together, to trade f u r s , conduct"feasts, arrange marriages, • : hunt caribou, etc. . At these times gambling was practiced and, consistent with the bettor-wager pattern noted e a r l i e r , the more intensive games occurred between less c l o s e l y related, groups. Knowing l i t t l e , of Dogrib symbolism i t i s d i f f i c u l t to' associate the gambling metaphors with everyday situations.; However, .the game i t s e l f was e s s e n t i a l l y a contest .between the guesser arid a l l the', hiders simultaneously; It i s possible, although not substantiated, that guessers were also regional "bosses" who acted as hunt leaders and trading c h i e f s . This would conveniently explain the r o l e of guesser as leader of his team and also.would suggest a l i n k between game order arid the. s o c i a l structure * We do know that i n t er-reglbna1 disputes were not uncommon and thus the s o c i a l cleavages dramatized i n the hand game matches • correspond to everyday s i t u a t i o n s . But, i n order to give a r e a l l y f a i t h f u l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of Dogrib gambling we must consider another undeniable f a c t o r •— the presence of the whlteman: ;, *' Although neither Whites nor Indians would be at Rae except f o r the others' .presence, the areas and means of s o c i a l i n t e r a c t i o n are f o r the most part. ' ,. -.. narrowly defined, and they operate as. largely' separate s o c i a l worlds, with only occasional individuals i n the two groups entering into any kind of peer r e l a t i o n s h i p . .Treaty discussions made evident both the . • interdependence and the mutually "'Unsatisfactory channels of communication on which such Interdependence i s based., > . '•'••y'- ,•••'•:-'>/., (op.cit., p. 7) The Dogrlb are no longer spread out i n bush camps and: the importance of the ingatherings has consequently changed. Many have taken up residence at the f o r t and the signs of c u l t u r a l decay so common i n North America during' the past century, are appearing. /., Members of the • : • Indian community are apparently concerned over the extent of card playing and\its e f f e c t s on t h e i r morale (op.cit., p.. 80) Also, I suspect, although the authors are not s p e c i f i c , that the presence of white administrators means that the dependence of Dogribs on government "assistance" i s already high. :'•''' i "the formal treaty sessions, when problems of Indian economics and p o l i t i c a l l i f e and of intra-community Indian — White,and Indian government re l a t i o n s are raised and solutions sought, are serious and important to the Bogrib." (op.cit., p. 7) Since the gambling complex described i s p a r t i a l l y centered on the treaty sessions, there are symbolic functions of the games • which are not. derivable from 'a consideration of former Dogrib l i f e styles alone. Kow the games serve as an expression of Indian, identity,, iand. the importance of. t h i s expression,,; i s explored, more f u l l y below. In concluding the discussion.of the Dogrib material,. I wish to r e i t e r a t e the ambiguity of the symbolic functions of gambling i n a changing society.. The authors of the • monograph do not address,themselves to t h i s question and t h e i r comments on changes i n gambling are scattered and Inconclusive. Their work.tells us, i n great d e t a i l , about : the elaborate techniques and procedures for playing the Dogrib hand game. • We are l e f t to. puzzle out the symbolism of the game and i t s a r t i c u l a t i o n with t h e . t r a d i t i o n a l and contemporary s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e , ' V ' : < - \ \ : \ - : - ' - ^ The l a s t gambling people we s h a l l consider are the Coast S a l i s h o f . B r i t i s h Columbia and northern;Washington. The sequence of tr i b e s thus f a r has been Gros Ventre, Yakima, Pawnee and. Dogrib. . By examining the practices of the S a l i s h gamblers we s h a l l have shifted: the. '."ethnographic present" from the mid-nineteenth century gradually to the present. The S a l i s h are s t i l l gambling and the a c t i v i t y a t t r a c t s the;; moderate attention of quite a few, and the fervent in t e r e s t of a host of regulars. For information on Sal i s h gambling I have r e l i e d on the monographic study of Sa l i s h ceremonial . l i f e by Kew and on my ; pwn impressions formed at a succession of.games during the past three.years. (Kew, 1970) Unfortunately, I have not been a r e a l participant In the gambling and cannot speak from first-hand, experience of the,:...', emotions and feelings of the players. I have had. the opportunity^ however, of discussion " s l a h a l " , the S a l i s h . bone game, with d i f f e r e n t players and former players and of incorporating t h e i r interpretations with my own observations. . The aesthetics of sla h a l are not unlike those of the;. Dogrib hand game. .. Singing, drumming, and movement accompany, the manipulation of the bones by the hiding side. Two <\ sets of bones are used, the object being to guess'the l o c a t i o n of the unmarked bone i n each pair... Score i s kept by means .• of t a l l y s t i c k s , one s t i c k being given to the hiding side for each incorrect guess of a set of bones * Sides change when both sets of bones are c o r r e c t i y guessed and the singing . and drumming begin almost immediately by the new hiding team. The guessing side i s represented by one guesser, but on occasion (of a s t r i n g of Incorrect guesses) his r o l e may be assigned to another p r i n c i p a l on the team.- Betting i s dyadic and of. two types :•' centre bets and side bets. : ; The former are c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y large, placed In advance of the actual \ play, and recorded i n a kind of ledger. The money thus wagered i s wrapped i n a scarf and l e f t conspicuously between the two teams. Side bets are t y p i c a l l y smaller and are , placed at various times during, the play and comprise a wager •; on the outcome of a s p e c i f i c guess. Such bets appear to be v e r y I m p r o m p t u d u r i n g t h e c o u r s e o f p l a y a n d may c u m u l a t i v e l y a c c o u n t f o r more c i r c u l a t i o n o f c a s h t h a n : t h e c e n t r e b e t . W h e r e a s c e n t r e b e t s a r e - m o s t l y ' c o n f i n e d t o t h e p r i n c i p a l s , s i d e b e t s may be p l a c e d b y a n y o n e p r e s e n t a t t h e game. Nowadays a n i m p o r t a n t s e t t i n g i n w h i c h s l a h a l games-a r e p l a y e d i s w e e k e n d w a r c a n o e r a c e s i n t h e a r e a o f t n e v: l o w e r m a i n l a n d o f B . C . , n o r t h w e s t e r n W a s h i n g t o n a n d t h e c-e a s t c o a s t o f V a n c o u v e r I s l a n d . T h e s e e v e n t s a r e f e s t i v e o c c a s i o n s a r r a n g e d b y I n d i a n s f o r t h e r a c i n g o f war c a n o e s . A v a r i e t y o f v i l l a g e s e n t e r c a n o e s a n d t h e c o m p e t i t i o n f o r yv.. p r i z e - m o n e y i s f a i r l y k e e n . '..-. On s e v e r a l o f t h e s e w e e k e n d s t h e g e n e r a l p u b l i c i s w e l c o m e d t o • t h e e v e n t s a n d I n d i a n s h o s t W h i t e s p e c t a t o r s at- t h e f e s t i v a l s . . S l a h a l games may be s t a r t e d a s e a r l y a s t h e a f t e r n o o n o f t h e f i r s t d a y o f t h e weekend, a n d c a n c o n t i n u e w e l l i n t o t h e n e x t m o r n i n g , t o b e : . r e sumed ' a g a i n t h e f o l l o w i n g a f t e r n o o n . S l a h a l i s p l a y e d i n . o t h e r s e t t i n g , a s " w e l l , f o r e x a m p l e b y i n v i t a t i o n a t p r i v a t e .? g a t h e r i n g s o n r e s e r v e s f o r t h e e x p r e s s p u r p o s e o f g a m b l i n g . Kew s i t u a t e s s l a h a l i n a l a r g e r ; c o n t e x t of . i n t e r - v i l l a g e c e r em on l a 1 i sm w h i c h b i n d s t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s -In a n e t w o r k o f t i e s w i t h o t h e r p a r t i c i p a n t s d i s p e r s e d o v e r a f a i r l y l a r g e r e s i d e n t i a l area':..[ ; _'••;'•:'./V:-::; '••>• '.x. ^ v ^ ' V . p.V\.-.'.-' Kew o b s e r v e s t h a t t h e m o s t s t r i k i n g f e a t u r e a b o u t a s l a h a l game . i s i t s I n d l a n n e s s . My own i m p r e s s i o n s c o r r o b o r a t e t h i s c o n c l u s i o n . The p a r t i c i p a n t s I n a game may a r r i v e i n l a t e - m o d e l ' c a r s , t h e y may s t a y a t n e a r b y m o t e l s , t h e y , may d r e s s i n r e c e n t f a s h i o n s , . . a n d ; may c u r s e > i n t h e best- A n g l o - S a x o n . . N e v e r t h e l e s s , . t h e i r ; i n v o l v e m e n t . i n g a m b l i n g i s p u r e l y . I n d i a n i n f l a v o r . The' movements, t h e m u s i c , t h e s p a t i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n , e v e n . t h e s h o u t s and. -c a j o l i n g , a r e e a s i l y i d e n t i f i a b l e a s I n d i a n . : T h i s i s . a c r u c i a l f e a t u r e o f t h e games. T h a t a t r a d i t i o n w i t h s u c h s t r o n g I n d i a n c h a r a c t e r s h o u l d s u r v i v e and f l o u r i s h i n t h e p r e s e n t day c a n n o t be d i s m i s s e d l i g h t l y . I n e x p l a n a t i o n o f t h e s e e m i n g l y a n o m a l o u s s u r v i v a l o f s l a h a l Kew o f f e r s • t h i s s t a t e m e n t , / ' • : ; " ^ " The game i t s e l f marks o f f a s o c i a l f i e l d f o r : I n d i a n s where .they s p e c i f i c a l l y may f i n d a c h i e v e m e n t w h i c h i s d e n i e d o r '. , d o u b t f u l o u t s i d e t h a t f i e l d . < : I ••:-';'.^ ::X'.-^ ':'-:'V:':v'" , v; (Kew, 1970. P P « 309-10) He g o e s on t o e x p l a i n • t h a t . t h e p o l i t i c a l a n d e c o n o m i c s i t u a t i o n o f t h e I n d i a n s v i s a v i s t h e d o m i n a n t W h i t e s o c i e t y : i s s u c h , t h a t e x p e r i e n c e s w h i c h r e i n f o r c e , p o s i t i v e self-images>•,;; a r e l a r g e l y absent./ O t h e r a s p e c t s o f S a l i s h : c e r e m o n i a l l i f e - a r e s i m i l a r l y e x p l a i n e d I n t e r m s o f " r e l a t i v e d e p r i v a t i o n ' ' t h e o r y . I n g e n e r a l , .we f i n d t h a t v a f i o u s f e a t u r e s o f S a l i s h t r a d i t i o n a l c u l t u r e h a v e s u r v i v e d t h e p r e s s u r e s o f an. a s s i m i i a t i o n i s t W h i t e p o l i c y . E x p r e s s i v e a n d c e r e m o n i a l c o m p l e x e s , e s p e c i a l l y , p e r s i s t t o a f f o r d t h e p r e s e n t - d a y S a l i s h a c c e s s t o p o s i t i v e r e i n f o r c e m e n t o f h i s i d e n t i t y i n t h e a b s e n c e o f a n a l o g o u s e x p e r i e n c e s i n t h e l a r g e r c o m m u n i t y . I t would be d i f f i c u l t , , and perhaps not' even . , ; f r u i t f u l , to attempt to i s o l a t e a bettor-wager pattern f o r ; Salish gambling. Kew states, ' .'• " ,','v . muoh more investigation of the process of team formation would be \ . .required.' to make firm statements about ' '..:.'•• the-.significance of the oppositions ' ,',".",. which the game encapsulates. • I t i s not a simple one of v i l l a g e vs. v i l l a g e . • . (Kew, 1970, p. 304) . At some games i t . appears that Canadian players are opposed to American players. : At others the "Island; people" compete , t against the "Coast people". In both cases team a f f i l i a t i o n i s not' s t r i c t despite the group labels applied. In a sense i t would be a misrepresentation of sl a h a l to analyse i t i n terms•of categories designed f o r d i f f e r e n t circumstances F i f t y or more years ago,;perhaps, S a l i s h v l l l a g e s competed against one anpther in. i n t e r - v i l l a g e matches. At that•point i n t h e i r history the operation of s o c i o l o g i c a l factors which generated group l o y a l t y may have been.directly expressed i n the gambling complex. However, the same circumstances do not obtain today. As Kew demonstrates f o r Coast S a l i s h ceremonialism i n general, old forms; may be adapted to new : functions. ..In the case of slahal playing there has hot been a r a d i c a l change i n the meaning of the game as we , observed with the transformation of the.Pawnee hand game. ;' •'. . , - " •.,'•'-'. •• • • • : • ' : • [ • . • ' ' ; • ! . ' ; • Slahal players are s t i l l very much interested i n winning money arid t h i s no doubt motivates t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n the games. However, the significance of the gambling -complex has changed with the change i n the economic and i ••;/...•,.*.; 72 p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n of, the S a l i s h . The r e a f f i r m a t i o n Of Indian i d e n t i t y has become:a primary symbolic f u n c t i o n of the games. The i m p l i c a t i o n s , o f the a n a l y s i s of s l a h a l p l a y i n g , as -well as the other ethnographic aocounts, w i l l be examined i n the concluding seotion.. \ CHAPTER' FOUR Conclusions ! This paper was begun with the intention of studying • gambling anthropologically. I dealt • f i r s t with the concerns of an anthropological analysis. A d e f i n i t i o n of gambling was offered and i t s elements systematically explored. A commentary on gambling by an anthropologist (Geertz) was , then presented and discussed. This was followed by a consideration of f i v e studies of hand game gambling i n . North America. Each account was examined i n terms of the ;.' anthropological framework I propose to adopt. We.are l e f t now with the task of summarizing the findings :thus f a r , y s p e l l i n g out the implications of the analysis and providing some sort of statement about the anthropological study of -wu ,:• gambling. - I w i l l address these. questions i n d i v i d u a l l y and c o l l e c t i v e l y , as the material permits, i n the following paragraphs. The notion of studying gambling anthropologically was c l a r i f i e d with reference to Cohen's a r t i c l e . To study gambling anthropologically we must study i t h o l l s t i c a l l y . That i s , we must take account of both symbolic and politico 3economic aspects of the a c t i v i t y . To concentrate •;. on one. aspect to the exclusion of others w i l l r e s u l t In analysis which ignores one of our p r i n c i p a l t h e o r e t i c a l "•<'•,' concerns, namely the nature of the r e l a t i o n s h i p between symbolism or symbolic complexes and the re l a t i o n s of power. We might then ask what sort of information about gambling should be sought? The answer i s that i n order to conduct an analysis of gambling we!require considerable information on the non-gambling features of.the society i n question. We need to know about the kinship system, the . :; , s o c i a l organization, the economic system, the r i t u a l observances and. cosmology and the existence of p o l i t i c a l groupings. We want information about! the seasonal cycles as they a f f e c t production and residence and about the i n t e g r i t y of the, culture and i t s involvement i n larger p o l i t i c a l , possibly c o l o n i a l systems. In essence, we need to work with the same kind of ethnographic accounts of culture i n which the notion of a h o l i s t i c study originated. I t may 'be conceivable to write a monograph devoted to gambling exclusively, but i t would :be based on other data about the culture.. ':.:\.:/;'f..; •'. ''.-: :'•''•• '':•'• • -.v-.'''.. \:'Z<:'}' ~':":%.$f Given the ethnographic information, what questions w i l l we pose? ,. Stated d i f f e r e n t l y , what gambling variables -w i l l we attempt to Iso l a t e ? We • may begin: -by seeking Geertz's d i s t i n c t i o n of deep play/shallow play. The symbolic aspects of status gambling may. be distinguished from money gambling.- . Also, ' i t . i s important .to know ,who bets with whom, and how much. i s wagered. This opens up the realm of r e l a t i o n a l aspects • of gambling. We can subsequently ask a host of questions .' 75 a b o u t s u b - v a r i a b l e s e n t a i l e d i n t h e a n a l y s i s o f b o t h t h e s y m b o l i c a n d r e l a t i o n a l a s p e c t s o f g a m b l i n g . F o r i n s t a n c e , when d o p e o p l e g a m b l e ? how f r e q u e n t l y ? what i s w a g e r e d ? what games , o p o r t o , a n d e v e n t s a r e gambled, on? what a r e n a t i v e a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d s g a m b l i n g ? how I s s u c c e s s i n g a m b l i n g e x p l a i n e d ? what c h a n g e s , i f a n y , h a v e o c c u r r e d I n g a m b l i n g p r a c t i c e s ? By p o s i n g t h e s e and. r e l a t e d q u e s t i o n s we h a v e f o r m u l a t e d a n a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l f r a m e w o r k f o r t h e s t u d y o f g a m b l i n g . T h e b a s i c a s s u m p t i o n s o f t h i s f r a m e w o r k a r e e x p l a i n e d a b o v e a n d t h e r e s u l t s may be s e e n i n t h e r e v i e w o f g a m b l i n g I n t h e v a r i o u s t r i b e s u n d e r d i s c u s s i o n . I w o u l d l i k e t o b r i e f l y e x a m i n e some o f t h e c o n c l u s i o n s o f t h e a n a l y s i s o f g a m b l i n g p r a c t i c e s . T o b e g i n w i t h , t h e r e a r e f r e q u e n t c a s e s o f a k i n d o f g a m b l i n g t h a t we h a v e c a l l e d d e e p p l a y o r s t a t u s g a m b l i n g . I t h a s b e e n c o n s i s t e n t l y o b s e r v e d t h a t g a m b l i n g games c a n b e d r a m a t i c v e h i c l e s i n w h i c h t h e e m o t i o n s o f t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s a r e m o b i l i z e d t o w a r d s c o g n i t i v e e n d s . We h a v e d i s c o v e r e d , i n a d d i t i o n , t h a t t h e g r e a t e r t h e i n v e s t m e n t o f p r o p e r t y b y p l a y e r s , t h e g r e a t e r t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e game. T h u s , h i g h - s t a k e s g a m b l i n g i n v o l v e s c o n c e r n s o f p r e s t i g e a n d s t a t u s , and c o r r e s p o n d i n g l y t h e m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t games a r e p l a y e d b y w e l l e s t a b l i s h e d , o f t e n w e a l t h y members o f t h e c o m m u n i t y . F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f g a m b l i n g i s d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d t o t h e s t a t u s d i f f e r e n t i a l o f t h e p l a y e r s . T h a t i s , k e e n c o m p e t i t o r s a r e c l o s e s t a t u s r i v a l s a n d t e n d t o b e t h i g h e r s t a k e s . T h e games I n w h i c h s u c h i n d i v i d u a l s are engaged are regarded as the most serious and noteworthy i n the gambling annals.. ;, . •••'••]..',i / -"Regardless, of the competitive atmosphere c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of serious gambling, the prevalence of harmonious r e l a t i o n s underlies any p a r t i c i p a t i o n of the opponents. The /.rhetoric and symbolism of serious gambling :tends to-dramat i z e c o n f l i c t and appears to engender h o s t i l i t y In the players. . However, the experience of gambling i s a metaphorical one and despite the emotions. ; It arousesi v i o l e n t , a l l - o u t c o n f l i c t i s not a normal part of. the proceedings. . I t i s stressed oyer and over again that the most competitive and h o s t i l e of gambling matches can only occur between r i v a l s who have .stablished and maintain minimal f r i e n d l y r e l a t i o n s . /Gambling••'is very commonly associated with trading, such that trading partners often'gamble against one another. / :There appears to be a continuum connecting h o s t i l i t y / o n the one end and the f r i e n d l i e s t , most intimate r e l a t i o n s 1 o n the other. . Gambling locates i t s e l f towards the h o s t i l i t y end of the continuum but at a f a i r distance from raids and violent attack. •'•.',.'.'•' - ' ' •' ;• The symbolic functions of gambling are diverse but according to several authors the primary functions are the promotion of ln-group s o l i d a r i t y and the expression of out-group h o s t i l i t y . The fundamental expressive character of gambling has been demonstrated in. several e x a m p l e s ' One need only think of gambling aesthetics, music, paraphernalia, k i n e s i c s , etc. to be reminded of t h i s feature. -Gambling provides an outlet f o r c o n f l i c t between groups, and."a means of : cementing! cohesion within the group, without disru p t i v e side e f f e c t s . A c a t h a r t i c v q u a l i t y has been a t t r i b u t e d to i t . We have also considered,, Geertz's dictum to treat c u l t u r a l forms as texts and thus .? . seek t h e i r meaning i n the Interpretation of the participants;. This has been possible f o r several, cases of. gambling and i t ;-has been shown that players appear to f i n d s i g n i f i c a n t associations. V\ • The. bettor-wager pattern has been studied where possible and added insight Into the a r t i c u l a t i o n of gambling • symbolism and p o l i t i c a l groupings. The bettor-wager pattern i s a l i n k between the players' attitudes and the ethnographer's observations. In a sense the bettor-wager pattern r e f l e c t s the s o c i a l structure as I t i s conceptualized by the members of .the society.:• Levels of allegiance are revealed i n the amount wagered and the gamblers supported by a player. The bettor-wager pattern i n a d i s t i l l a t i o n of the cognitive orientation of the participants towards gambling. We are thus made,aware of d i s t i n c t i o n s i n status or a f f i l i a t i o n s or o f f i c e which are regarded as s i g n i f i c a n t • ones by the people. This pattern i s aiso an Important 78 c l u e t o t h e s y m b o l i c f u n c t i o n s o f t h e g a m b l i n g c o m p l e x . I t r e l a t e s t h e b e h a v i o r we o b s e r v e i n a c i r c u m s c r i b e d s e t t i n g s u c h a s a g a m b l i n g m a t c h t o t h e e c o n o m i c , p o l i t i c a l and r i t u a l a s s o c i a t i o n s i n t h e b r o a d e r s o c i a l c o n t e x t . A s p e c i f i c t e n d e n c y was n o t i c e d i n t h e l a s t t h r e e t r i b e s c o n s i d e r e d t o a s s o c i a t e g a m b l i n g w i t h a s i t u a t i o n o f e c o n o m i c and p o l i t i c a l c h a n g e . I n t h i s c o n t e x t g a m b l i n g m a t c h e s were a n o c c a s i o n f o r e n u n c i a t i n g o n e ' s i d e n t i t y . The p a r t i c i p a n t s i n games a p p e a r t o h a v e r e q u i t e d t h i s n e e d . I n G e e r t z ' s t e r m s t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s w e r e a b l e t o s a y s o m e t h i n g p o s i t i v e t o t h e m s e l v e s a b o u t t h e i r own i d e n t i t y . We may g e n e r a l i z e t h i s f u n c t i o n o f g a m b l i n g t o t h e o t h e r c o n t e x t s t h a t w e r e e x a m i n e d . W h e t h e r o r n o t r a p i d , d i s r u p t i v e c h a n g e b e s e t s a g r o u p , t h e r e a r e a l w a y s o c c a s i o n s f o r t h e p r o c l a m a t i o n o f i d e n t i t y . C o h e n p o i n t e d o u t e a r l y o n t h a t , " B y o b j e c t i f y i n g r o l e s a n d r e l a t i o n s , s y m b o l i s m a c h i e v e s a m e a s u r e o f s t a b i l i t y a n d c o n t i n u i t y w i t h o u t w h i c h s o c i a l l i f e c a n n o t e x i s t . " ( C o h e n , 1969. P- 220) T h e s y m b o l i s m o f g a m b l i n g i s l a d e n w i t h m e s s a g e s a b o u t r e l a t i o n s a n d r o l e s . T h e a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l s t u d y o f g a m b l i n g s h a r e s w i t h • p s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d s o c i o l o g i c a l s t u d i e s a n i n t e r e s t i n t h e c o g n i t i v e and r e l a t i o n a l a s p e c t s o f g a m b l i n g . I t d i v e r g e s , h o w e v e r , f r o m o t h e r a p p r o a c h e s by m a i n t a i n i n g a n i n t e r e s t i n t h e two b r o a d v a r i a b l e s a t o n e . O u r a p p r o a c h i s h o l i s t i c so long as we I n v e s t i g a t e not only the two broad. I n s t i t u t i o n a l f i e l d s , but. the r e l a t i o n s h i p between them.' ; The a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l study of gambling sheds l i g h t on t h i s a n c ient arid widespread custom, and i n a d d i t i o n i l l u m i n a t e s the t h e o r e t i c a l problems •'•'•. to which some of our most important work i s addressed.' : 80 BIBLIOGRAPHY Bergler, E. . . - v . - V . . - 1970;' The psychology of, gambling. • • New York, International 'Universities Press.- " •'):.]' Brewster,' Paul G. V '-;•',. 1970 : ... : Brunton,'• B i l l B. 1968 Cohen, Abner 1969 Cohen,' John •' ' I960 A p a r t i a l l i s t of books and. a r t i c l e s on games. Southern Folklore Quarterly. 34« 353-364. Ceremonial integration i n the Plateau of Northwestern North America. Northwest Anthropological Research Notes 2 , l i 1-28. P o l i t i c a l anthropology J the analysis of the symbolism of power r e l a t i o n s . Man-^,2J 215-235. Chance, s k i l l and luck. ! Baltimore, Penguin Books. ; ;'...•.;!] & Mark Hansel Culin,. Stewart 1907 Risk and gambling. / New York, Philosophical Library. | Games of the North American Indians. Bureau, of American Ethnology, 24th Annual Report, A n t h r o p o l o g i s t 611 597-605. R o b e r t s , J o h n M . & B r i a n S u t t o n - S m i t h . 1962 C h i l d t r a i n i n g a n d game i n v o l v e m e n t . ':/-./;. - E t h n o l o g y I t 166-85. 1.