Montaigne's Encounter with the Cannibals
Montaigne was a European adventurer. He frequently traveled from one location to another. One day, while exploring, he stumbled across a cannibalistic society. This occurred in what is now known as Brazil, or the Arctic France. He was completely astounded when he came across these individuals. He discovered that the people lived much healthier lives outside of civilization. The cannibals appeared to be completely happy with their existence. Together, they hosted social and neighborhood events. They felt a feeling of brotherhood and unity within themselves. He was not amused by their cannibalistic behavior. On the contrary, he had a different perspective on them. Back at home, this community had been portrayed in a bad light, and the whites feared it. Upon arrival, Montaigne penned down his experiences with the community. He realized that the community had so much love for one another. Unlike the civilized world, these people did not show any signs of greed. They were all contented. Back home civilization had brought so much change that these people were thought to be wild. Negative perceptions regarding this community had been formed.
The Ancient Mayan Ball Game
The ancient Maya game was part and parcel of the Mayans in the Mesoamerica. These games formed part of the Mayans tradition. Mayan ball game involved two teams. The game was played on a stone court. On either side of the court was an I shaped wall. These walls had hoops at strategic positions (Roth, 21). The target or aim of this game was for an opposing player to get the ball through the hoop. Whichever team made it first would win the match. Spectators would be lined up on the walls hoops were circular rings that were made on the wall. It was the ring where the players were supposed to pass the ball through. To make matters worse, use of hands in the game was prohibited. Legs were to be used to bounce the ball high enough to pass it through. These games had so much significance that kings and queens would attend the games. So much was at stake whenever the game was played. Gambling was a common phenomenon during these matches. Royal families would converge at the playground to witness the games being played. The game had a huge significance to the Mayans (Bruner, 38). They often associated the game with their cultural fortunes, good luck in their community, prosperity, rains and appeasement to the gods. The ball used was made from tree rubbers and in some cases had a human skull in the middle. Skulls were particularly incorporated to make them lightweight (Bruner, 39). Due to the complex nature of the game, goals were hardly scored, and whenever a goal was scored, the leader of the losing team would be offered as a human sacrifice to appease the gods. The game was tight with sometimes fatal outcomes.
Montaigne's Love for Traditions
Montaigne was a lover of traditions; he got thrilled every time at the mention of people's way of life. For a long time, he had held bad perception about other people's culture, but his opinion was changed when he met the cannibal. More so he respected people. It is entirely fair to presume that Montaigne would like the Mayan game of ball despite the fact that it was a bloody game. His love for the game would be drawn from the way he changed his mindset about barbaric people. Indeed, he discovered most of those people had a way better life than the civilized west. A community founded on the foundations of love unity and togetherness.
Work cited
Bruner, Edward M. "Of cannibals, tourists, and ethnographers." Cultural Anthropology 4.4 (2009): 38-44.
Roth, Wolff-Michael, and G. Michael Bowen. "Of cannibals, missionaries, and converts: graphing competencies from grade 8 to professional science inside (classrooms) and outside (field/laboratory)." Science, Technology, & Human Values 24.2 (2009): 17-21.
