Marbles: An Investigation of the Relationship between Marble Games and Other Aspects of Life in Belize

Abstract

INFORMAL OBSERVATION OF MARBLE-PLAYING BEHAVIOR over a period of two years in Belize (formerly British Honduras) and formal questioning of Belizeans about the nature of their marble games provide the data for this investigation.' The general purpose of this report is to indicate the manner in which inquiries about a relatively minor area of endeavor can lead to information of significance about the society in question. Thus there appear to be behavior patterns associated with marble play which are recreational replications of the kinds of behavior which are the stuff of life in more serious pursuits. Some introductory material about marble playing will be presented, two games will be described, and conclusions will be drawn about the kind of social reality reflected in microcosm around the marble ring. Marble games in general are not easily classified as games of either chance, strategy, or physical skill. In Belize they tend to combine all these elements as well as be exercises in decision-making, conflict resolution, interpersonal relations, and economic planning. The fact that adult males in some geographical areas play marbles with each other indicates that the local games have more than childish appeal. Preliminary inquiries about grown men playing marbles led to the realization that the games were rather complex, and that they involved mechanisms requiring more than mere manual dexterity in manipulating marbles. While young children of both sexes play marbles, few girls past the ages of twelve or thirteen participate. Interest in the pastime runs high among most ethnic groups in the country, but the terminology is exclusively English, or more properly Creole, the local dialect of English. Marble rings are seen almost anywhere space permits; the largest one observed (approximately twenty feet in diameter) was found drawn on a road construction site where the crew had organized a game during the lunch break. Games are usually noisy, for violent