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Chunky or Chunkey, chenco, tchung-kee or the hoop and stick game, is a game of Native American origin. Chunkey was played between two opponents, one rolling a stone disc across the ground and the other throwing a spear in an attempt to place the spear as close to the stopped stone as possible. The game would often continue until both players were exhausted. The game originated about 600 CE in the Cahokia region that is now near St. Louis, Missouri. It continued to be played throughout North America in one form or another long after the decline of the Mississippian period about 1500 CE. Early ethnographer James Adair translated the name to mean “running hard labor.” The intention of the games seemed to be the gathering of large groups of neighboring villages and even visitors. Gambling was frequently connected to the game, with some players wagering everything they owned on the outcome of the game. Losers were even known to commit suicide.
George Catlin noted that among the Creeks, Chickasaw, Choctaw and others, chunky was decidedly their favorite game, practicing in in their spare time during warm weather. The game was played on large, flat ball fields. The stones were considered valuable objects and as community, not individual property, they were not allowed to be used as burial objects.
