Several games require a ball to play. It seems that this round or egg-shaped object is associated with a solar ritual. According to certain myths, the ball coming back down after being thrown in the air is a bad sign. In some African tribes, when a young girl accidentally dropped the ball during a “rain game” she was destined to die.
In many of today’s games, opponents are battling for a ball. The predecessor of modern ball games is the French game of la soule. This 14th-century form of entertainment was not related to religion; it was rather aggressive and violent but always regulated by rules. Two teams composed of single or married men from adjacent parishes were trying to get a leather or wood-covered hay ball in the opposite field by any means possible.
