Anetso, the Cherokee Ball Game: At the Center of Ceremony and Identity

Abstract

Michael J. Zogry has written a fascinating exploration of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ ball game, Anetso. Through documents, participant observation, and interviews, Zogry provides a historically descriptive account of the functions Anetso has played within the Eastern Band of the Cherokees. His command of the literature surrounding Anetso and his expertise in the theories of ritual, ceremony, and religion have allowed him to illustrate the ways Anetso has been perceived as a game, a unifying ritual, a ceremonial complex, and at times a public means of resistance. Throughout the book, Zogry juxtaposes Cherokee beliefs about the origin, role, and rules of the game with views from missionaries (mostly members of the Moravian Church or the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions), Indian agents, travelers’ records, anthropologists, traders, legislative records, and accounts from newspapers and tourists. His discussion of the theological implications of the game through the use of tales told by the Cherokee illustrates the myriad of meanings a society can give an aspect of their cultural practices. By using the perceptions of outsiders in the discussions Zogry had with the Cherokees about the game’s meaning, he adds to the complexity of interpreting a particular practice. This strategy would have been fascinating enough for an excellent book, but Zogry went further, discussing the difficulty of classifying Anetso into a particular typological theme.