TRADITIONAL CHEROKEE GAME: Snowsnake

TRADITIONAL CHEROKEE GAME: Snow Snake

Snow snake was a winter sport for the Cherokee. It was limited to the boys. Please keep in mind, there may have been variations to the game.

Snowsnake was played with a round pole, sharpened at one end and from seven to ten feet in length. It was usually carved from a hickory or walnut stave. It was often decorated with animals known for speed or flying ability.

The playing field was prepared by piling a snowbank approximately thirty inches high at the starting point, then gradually sloping it down to ground level. It was anywhere from a thousand feet to over a mile in length, depending on weather conditions and the player’s inclinations. A stout limb with two branches left on the narrow end to use for pulling was dragged down the snowbank, leaving a shallow groove across the top, approximately two to three feet wide.

Any number of teams could compete. Each team member had a different task to perform and was referred to accordingly as a shiner, marker or thrower. The shiner was the man who prepared the snow snake greasing or rubbing snow or water over it which froze to the snake when taken outdoors. Any of these methods helped improve the sliding ability of the snake. The marker was the player who marked off the distance that each snowsnake traveled and kept a record of points earned. There could be one player who threw all four of the team’s snow snakes, or two or more could throw, dividing the four snakes among them.

There were different styles of throwing a snow snake. Usually the player took a running start, threw the pole, overhand or underhand, sliding it down the trough.

The snake that went the farthest scored one point, while the snake that went further than any of the opposing team’s snakes during the entire game was awarded an additional point. The game was won when one team’s score totaled ten points. Snow snakes have been thrown more than one hundred miles per hour and have been known to cover a distance of up to a mile.

*Note: Cultural information may vary from clan to clan, location to location, family to family, and from differing opinions and experiences. Information provided here are not ‘etched in stone’.