[Dixielandjazz] A definition of cricket

[Hal Vickery]

Hmmm...This sounds amazingly like a ritual performed every summer at a field
designated as The Shrine on the North Side of Chicago.  There are only a
couple of minor differences. 

1) Three white bags and a white rubber pentagon are laid out in the form of
a diamond.

2) Instead of the festivities ending in a rainstorm, what happens at this
Shrine is that 9 men dressed in white uniforms with blue pinstripes wearing
blue caps go out onto the field and proceed to choke.

Hal Vickery


-----Original Message-----
From: dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com
[mailto:dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com] On Behalf Of Robert Smith
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2005 4:09 PM
To: Dixieland Jazz
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] A definition of cricket

Cricket is an old age rite in England (later copied in other parts of the
world) which is performed thus:
A large field is chosen which then becomes sacred, This is carefully mown,
especially a strip in the middleof the field. At the start of the ritual a
man in a white robe takes six poles and places them very exactly at each end
of the middle strip, finally balancing two small pieces of wood on the
poles.
Then two more men in long white robes come out; one places himself behind
the poles at one end while the other places himself at right angles some
distance from the other set of poles.
Then eleven men all dressed in white come onto the field and place
themselves at pre-determined positions on the field forming a very intricate
pattern. Finally two more men dressed in white (recently colours have varied
somewhat) and carrying two specially carved pieces of wood with a handle
made of bamboo take up their positions at each end of the middle strip such
that each is near a set of poles.
One of the two original men in long white robes makes some symbolic gestures
to the last man carrying the wooden carving, who then pats the ground with
the carving just enough to make a mark in the ground.
The same man in the long white robe then calls to all "PLAY" -

And then it rains!

Musical content: "Standin' In The Rain Blues" by Bessie Smith

Cheers

Bob Smith
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