Lahal tourney popular at A.L. Fortune
A successful Lahal tournament between students from Shihiya and A.L. Fortune took place on June 23 at A.L. Fortune Secondary. Around 80 students competed in the event with six teams from Shihiya and four teams from A.L. Fortune taking part in the single knockout tournament.
Lahal is a traditional game of First Nations people. The game pieces consist of 11-13 sticks and four bones. The sticks are also painted in different colours for different reasons and are made of different types of wood. The bone game pieces are made of antlers or bone. Two teams play consisting of one to many players, with five players being usual. The objective of the game is to win sticks by guessing where the unmarked bones are in the opposing teams hands. Drumming and singing with your team helps distract the opposing team. The team that gets all the sticks wins the game.
The purpose of playing is to bring people together or to bring back happiness and spirits to lift the hearts of others. The game is played at many occasions, celebrations, and gatherings.
“All ten teams competed with amazing engagement and positivity. Everyone was happy and when teams got knocked out everyone shook and played smaller games with the adults and knowledge keepers at the event,” explains teacher Logan Abbott, one of the organizers of the tournament. “One team from A.L. Fortune and one team from Shihiya made it to the final. The A.L. Fortune team won by only one stick! This close game proved the skill of the young students from Shihiya and gave them hope for next year’s competition as they will have a very good chance to win the next tournament.”
Abbott explains the Lahal tournaments had been held in the past but not in the last couple of years, so after discussions with Nerissa Joseph from Shihiya, they decided to revive it and hold it close to National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21st.
“We wanted to include all of the students from Shihiya in this event as we want them to feel connected to the high school here in Enderby. Many of our Indigenous students at A.L. Fortune went to Shihiya when they were younger. They are connected to the community and were very excited to compete in the Lahal tournament.”