We Missed the World Cup!

Despite all of the anticipation swarming around here at World Cup Blog, it seems that the World Cup has already come and gone without so much as a peep. Or at least, one of the World Cups.

Native Indians of Ecuador have held their own indigenous “World Cup” recently in Ecuador, where the winning team won a trophy, some cash and, of course, a herd of cattle. It’s all part of an attempt to help preserve Indian culture in the Andean region of the country.

The tournament began in 2000 to revive interest in the annual Pawkar Raymi (”blooming”) festival, which marks the winter equinox. Said tournament organizer and anthropology professor Luis de la Torre, “This is a way to rescue our Indian identity. If we don’t do anything about it, our culture could slowly disappear.”

I always find this stuff pretty cool. Indians have received a well-documented short shrift in the Americas for hundreds of years. And let’s face it–any time a group of people get together to play footy, that’s a good thing. It was inspiring when the captain of the winning team hoisted and kissed the trophy in front of the adoring crowd. Of course, the trophy was also a cow, and he was summarily crushed.