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Traditions > Games

Games

Life in the colonies was often difficult and required year round work to maintain an acceptable standard of living. Despite these hardships, there were times to relax and play games. 

The favorite diversions of the youth were the games of Schutke (or Schurke) and Schlagball.

Schutke
is believed to have been a game similar to prisonball or dodgeball.

Schlagball (also known as das Deutsche ballspiel - the German ballgame) is a bat and ball game similar to English Rounders. Both games have a very long history and were predecessors of modern baseball.
Ostermontag (Easter Monday) celebrated the risen Christ and saw the observance of secular traditions. Many games were played including Eierschuhwelle. This game was played on a square or triangle. On one side of the shape each player dug a small pit. The player who could tip their egg into the small pit received the egg. Another variation of this game was played by drawing a line in the dirt on which every player placed an egg 1/4 of an arschin (an old Russian measure equal to 28 inches) apart from each other. The players then stood a predetermined distance away from the line of eggs.  Each player threw an egg attempting to strike another egg on the line. A successful hit meant that person could keep the egg.

Many people played the traditional game of egg knocking to see who's would survive the blow without breaking the shell. Bunnock, a game somewhat like lawn bowling, but played with painted horse bones, was also popular. Two teams would line up about 33 feet opposite each other and attempt to knock down the other team's line of 22 bones, known as soldiers and guards. The first team to knock down all of their opponent's bones won the game. The game of Bunnock, said to have been created by Russian soldiers to pass the time while stationed in Siberia during the early 19th century, was adopted by the Volga Germans.
It is likely that the Volga Germans also played traditional board games such as chess and checkers (draughts) which had been established in Europe and Russia for centuries.

Card games that involved gambling were frowned upon by the church leaders, but it is likely that some played in private settings. More common was the prohibition of the standard 52-card deck because of its association with gambling or its believed connection to the occult world.
Picture
Otto IV of Brandenburg playing chess with a woman, 1305 to 1340. By Meister des Codex Manesse (Nachtragsmaler I), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=155138

Sources

Yerina, Elizabeth. M., and V. E. Salʹkova. Obychai Povolzhskikh Nemt︠s︡ev = Sitten Und Bräuche Der Wolgadeutschen. Moskva: Gotika, 2000. 64-85. Print.

Yerina, Elizabeth M. "Christmas and Other Traditional Holidays of the Germans on the Volga." Trans. Rick Rye. American Historical Society of Germans from Russia Journal 21.3 (1998): 7-12. Print.

"The Official Bunnock Website - A Game for All Ages!" The Official Bunnock Website. Web. 28 Nov. 2014. <http://www.bunnock.com/>.
Last updated July 4, 2020.
Copyright © 2002-2023 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
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  • People
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    • Notable Norkans
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    • Photo Gallery
  • Community
    • Village Life
    • Entertainment
    • Agriculture
    • Climate
    • Homesites
    • Geographical Description
    • Government
    • Social Structure
    • Health
    • Education
    • A Land of Ethnic Diversity
    • Cottage Industries >
      • Sarpinka
      • Mills
    • Language
    • Population
    • Military Service
    • Crime and Punishment
  • History
    • Timeline
    • Origins of the Colonists
    • Catherine's Manifesto 1763
    • Why go to Russia?
    • Recruitment 1766
    • Planning 1764-1766
    • Marriages Prior To Emigration 1766
    • Voyage to Russia 1766 >
      • Ship Transport 1766
    • Journey 1766-1767
    • Founding of Norka 1767
    • Early Years 1767-1769
    • Norka 1769
    • Pallas Report 1773
    • Pugachev Raid 1774
    • Norka 1775
    • Norka 1798
    • Norka 1811
    • Napoleons Soldiers
    • Norka 1834
    • Daughter Colonies 1850s >
      • Neu-Norka
      • Oberdorf
      • Brunnental
      • Rosenfeld (am Jeruslan)
      • Neu Hussenbach (Gaschon)
    • Privileges Lost 1871-1874
    • Immigration 1875-1924 >
      • To the United States >
        • Colorado
        • Ft Collins Colorado
        • Globeville Colorado
        • Mason City, Iowa
        • Culbertson, Nebraska
        • Lincoln, Nebraska
        • Sutton, Nebraska
        • Burlington, Oklahoma
        • Weatherford, Oklahoma
        • Canby, Oregon
        • Portland, Oregon
      • To Canada >
        • Duffield, Alberta
        • Ponoka, Alberta
        • Spruce Grove, Alberta
        • Stony Plain, Alberta
        • Vegreville, Alberta
        • Arcola, Saskatchewan
      • To Germany
      • To South America
    • Famine 1891-1892
    • Norka 1898
    • War & Turnoil 1904-1906
    • World War 1914-1918
    • Revolution & War 1917-1922
    • Soviet Rule 1918-1941
    • Famine 1921-1924
    • Famine 1932-1933
    • The Great Terror 1936-1938
    • Deportation 1941
    • Repression 1941-1956
    • Cultural Loss 1957-2006
    • A Culture in Peril
    • Recent Times
  • Traditions
    • Food and Drink
    • Clothing
    • Holidays >
      • New Year
      • Fastnacht
      • Lent
      • Easter
      • Ascension Day
      • Pentecost
      • Founder's Day
      • Harvest Festival
      • Jahrmarkt
      • Christmas
      • Anniversaries & Birthdays
    • Crafts
    • Games
    • Folk Medicine
    • Superstitions
    • Nicknames
    • Folk Music
    • Church Music
    • Prayers
    • Baptism
    • Confirmation
    • Communion
    • Weddings
    • Funerals and Burials
  • Religion
    • Planning and History >
      • Norka Reformed Church 1767-1864
      • 1909 Norka Parish Report
    • Pastors >
      • Johann Heinrich Fuchs
      • Johann Georg Herwig
      • Johannes Baptista Cattaneo
      • Lukas Cattaneo
      • Emanuel Grunauer
      • Friedrich Börner
      • Christian Gottlieb Hegele
      • Christoph H Bonwetsch
      • Gottlieb N Bonwetsch
      • Wilhelm Staerkel
      • Woldemar Sibbul
      • David Weigum
      • Friedrich Alexander Wacker
      • Emil Pfeiffer
    • Church Practices >
      • Parochial Certificates
    • Church Buildings
    • Church Organs
    • Bell Tower
    • Brethren Movement
  • Resources
    • Family Research
    • Research Resources >
      • Arrival Records 1766
      • Descendant Charts
      • German EWZ Records
      • Soviet Gulag Records
    • Maps
    • Glossary
    • Bibliography
    • Periodicals >
      • Die Welt-Post Letters
    • Related Links