Abstract
The main purpose of this study was to analyze the presence and current situation of the game of skittles throughout the northern route of the Camino de Santiago. Thus, we considered its current practice, modalities, where it is played, and its different manifestations as an informal and formal game (sport), comparing it with other traditional games on this pilgrimage route. To do this, a mixed qualitative-quantitative study was designed with 89 participants (municipal professionals, politicians, players, club managers, and teachers), constituting an informant for each municipality through which the Northern Way passes. An ad hoc questionnaire was used for the data collection, which was processed through content analysis by expert judges (qualitative section) and by using the IBM-SPSS statistical package (version 25). The results of the study show notable skittles activity on the Northern Camino (58.32% of the municipalities), reflected in the number of skittles alleys (n = 291), the number of clubs, associations, and peñas participating in federated leagues (n = 162), and the wide range of varieties of skittles currently active on the Camino (n = 20). The relationship between skittles and local culture, both symbols of identity in these northern Spanish regions, made it possible to preserve the traditional heritage in these places, keeping it alive today, despite the push toward new and more attractive leisure and sport trends.
Highlights
The Basque Country has the most municipalities on the Camino, and the highest population in these municipalities, there was a moderate amount of skittles activity
One of the main results of this study shows that skittles is still played in almost 60% of the municipalities that make up the Northern Camino and, it is the most popular traditional game played on this route, ahead of ball games, rural sports, rowing, or the other types of traditional games and sports often played in this area
From the 20 different varieties of skittles we found along the Camino, bolo palma stood out as the most widely played, especially in Cantabria, a community that placed the highest value on skittles and that reported more skittles played than the other Spanish regions on the Northern Camino (96% of Cantabrian municipalities on the Camino)
Summary
The interest in discovering diverse symbolic manifestations of the population, such as play, traditions, and folklore, has contributed to research locating these aspects—in addition to culture, community, society, and signifiers of identity—within the main approach to understanding a phenomenon that has, over time, been of particular interest in research about human beings’ behavior: the relationship between play and culture (Caillois, 1957; Bantulá, 2005, 2006; Enriz, 2011) Disciplines such as social anthropology describe play as the result of social practices leading to activities of a more playful nature, adapted to people’s developmental stages (Schwartzman, 2012; Karpatschof, 2013; Hamayon, 2016). They help us to understand how people lived throughout history and the origin and acquisition of certain customs as a result of people’s social interaction
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
