The myth of the draw refers mainly to a New Guinean culture called Gahuku-Gama, or Gahulu-Kama, this community has very different customs and customs than we see in the West, mainly in terms of competitiveness and conflict, this group does everything in its power to maintain harmony among members.
It should be noted that the myth of the loop was described by Claude Lévi-Strauss, the father of modern anthropology, in his book “Primitive Thought”. The Gahuku-Gama culture was isolated from the Western world until 1930, when there were contacts with missionaries mainly from Europe.
- Lévi-Strauss says that the missionaries taught them to play football.
- And then Gahuku-Gama adapted the practice of football to his own values and customs.
Surprisingly, they opposed the idea of a confrontational game between opponents. They were even able to play for days until the teams reached a draw. That’s where the myth was born from.
“Not overcoming anything, even if nothing prevails over itself, is something that adapts, fills, gives meaning, has beauty and calm. -Joaquín Ara-jo-
It is unacceptable for the Gahuku-Gama that some human beings become winners when, for obvious reasons, others become losers, as they consider both circumstances to be degrading and contrary to their own stability as a group. practicing football on another level, turning the game into a myth: the myth of the draw.
For this culture, solidarity is a fundamental value. That is precisely why they could not accept a game whose goal was for one team to impose the other, the Gahuku-Gama deeply appreciated the effort and found it very unfair that there were losers since all the players worked hard. .
Thus, one football match played by this group could last several days, having the tie as a goal does not mean that one team has to make concessions to the other, because that would be a lack of honesty, the intention is that both teams can evolve to reach a level playing field. The myth of equality turns everyone into winners and losers at the same time.
You might think the Gahaku-Gama case was an exception. Many theories claim that war, competition and conflict are inherent in human nature. This may be the case at first, but there are many cultures that insist on solidarity rather than competition and confrontation.
It is proven that the cultures that existed before ancient Greece were also like this. There are also human groups, such as the Eskimos, who have never waged a single war in their history.
While these peoples live in resource-poor areas, did they understand that instead of competing, the best solution to this problem was mutual solidarity for the common good?
On the other side of the world, in Patagonia, there are communities with similar values and customs. The Yaganes, or Yamanas, for example, whose population has declined thanks to the actions of the “white man”, are not aware of having started wars or physical confrontation with other communities.
We could save many anxieties, tensions and depressions if we were more open to messages from communities like those mentioned. Many of our problems come from these successes or failures that numb us; feel inferior or greater than others that we cannot handle our differences and that we feel compelled to impose ourselves on others.
The myth of the bond speaks of the collective will to grow and tells us that individual evolution is not enough, but that the task is fulfilled only when we evolve others with us.
We all feel more relaxed when we are able to achieve some equality or principle of universal justice that values both others and ourselves.
The word? Cravate? It has a very interesting etymology. In analyzing it, we reach the Latin root “pactare”, origin of the Italian word “impattare”. In its original conception, this meant “accepting, being at peace. “exactly what these ancestral cultures do through their daily games and customs: building individual and collective peace.