Edited by: Pere Lavega-Burgués, University of Lleida, Spain
Reviewed by: Kazimierz Waluch, Institute for Sport and Education Development, Poland; Stefan Krist, Inner Mongolia University, China
This article was submitted to Movement Science and Sport Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
The main purpose of this study was to analyze the presence and current situation of the game of skittles throughout the northern route of the Camino de Santiago. Thus, we considered its current practice, modalities, where it is played, and its different manifestations as an informal and formal game (sport), comparing it with other traditional games on this pilgrimage route. To do this, a mixed qualitative-quantitative study was designed with 89 participants (municipal professionals, politicians, players, club managers, and teachers), constituting an informant for each municipality through which the Northern Way passes. An
The interest in discovering diverse symbolic manifestations of the population, such as play, traditions, and folklore, has contributed to research locating these aspects—in addition to culture, community, society, and signifiers of identity—within the main approach to understanding a phenomenon that has, over time, been of particular interest in research about human beings’ behavior: the relationship between play and culture (
Disciplines such as social anthropology describe play as the result of social practices leading to activities of a more playful nature, adapted to people’s developmental stages (
Culture is transmissible, transformable, and transformative. It is a guide, and it is senses, meanings, values, and practices (Álvarez;
Due to its relationship with culture, play may be considered one of a society’s intangible assets (
Out of the wide range of popular and traditional games we have access to, there is one that stands out due to its singular nature (
Despite the significant history of skittles, it has been in decline over recent years, making way for so-called modern sports and institutionalized games (
There has also been a gradual decline in skittles being played, a trend which has been seen since the middle of the 20th century, which was a consequence of the loss of players and the closure of skittles alleys (
In Spain nowadays, skittles is played more commonly in the northwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula, with most activity in Aragon, the Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias, León and Galicia (
In addition to people’s feelings about tradition in these areas, another aspect that helped to preserve skittles is its transformation from a game to a sport. It developed from a nonformal game, with flexible rules and a strongly social nature, to a formal, institutionalized activity with certain (rigid) rules, controlled and directed by a sports federation (
Skittles has always been an exclusively male activity. Not because of the need to be strong to play certain types of skittles, but rather because of women’s roles in the past (
Nowadays, skittles is still played in specific parts of Spain. Like most popular and traditional games, skittles has experienced a decline in parallel to the rise and consolidation of mass sports. Its survival rests mainly on maintaining its practice where it is still active (
The Camino de Santiago (The Way of St James) is a religious and cultural movement that has been recorded in Spain since medieval times (
The Camino de Santiago is the longest of all the pilgrims’ routes. It was possible to trace this in the political and geographical framework of the medieval West. It began in the early 9th century and was strongly promoted from the 11th century (
Northern route of the Camino de Santiago as it passes through the autonomous communities of the Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias, and Galicia.
The French Way is a 750-km route linking Europe with northern Spain via the village of Roncesvalles. It has always been the main route of entry into the peninsula, nevertheless, since the 14th century, the municipality of Irún joined Roncesvalles as one of the main gateways through which pilgrims came from Europe, heading to Santiago de Compostela by several routes near the North coast of the peninsula, mainly the Primitive Way and the Northern Way. The difference between these two is that the Primitive Way is a mainly mountainous route from the Principality of Asturias, whereas the Northern Way continues along the entire Cantabrian coast (
Although the Camino de Santiago began with an exclusively religious purpose which continued for a long time, nowadays, many people prioritize the experience and enjoyment of the Camino over the religious objective (
When talking about the Camino de Santiago,
In 1987, the Camino de Santiago was declared the “First European Cultural Itinerary” by the European Council, and in 1993, a “World Heritage Site” by UNESCO (
In addition to the above, we can see how those cultural exchanges between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe through the Camino de Santiago have also had repercussions on sports, games, and recreational activities on the Camino (
Studies by
In research about skittles on the final stages of the different Caminos de Santiago,
Subsequently, in a study about skittles in the final stage of the Portuguese Way (From Porto to Valença do Minho),
The main purpose of this study is to analyze the game of skittles on the northern route of the Camino de Santiago, looking at its different varieties, the places it is played, and whether it is played as an informal or as a formal game. We also compare it with other traditional games, looking for links that help us reach a deeper understanding of the nature and essence of the game of skittles.
We designed a mixed qualitative-quantitative study (
We used intentional (nonprobabilistic) sampling to select informants from municipalities that the Northern Way runs through.
A total of 89 people participated in the study (73 men and 16 women, with a mean age of 48.67 and 42.06 years, respectively), one informant for each of the municipalities traversed by the Northern Way of the Camino de Santiago. The older age group was represented by subjects aged 50 or over (40.5%). The informants were mostly local authority professionals responsible for sport or culture (50.6% of the sample); failing that, the information from the municipal authority was obtained through a politician (councilor) from the sports or culture area (16.9%); 28.1% were players or managers of skittles clubs, with direct links to this traditional game. Minority of the samples (4.4%) were Physical Education teachers from local schools; this was in those municipalities where there was no skittles activity or, where due to size, there were no technical personnel for sports and culture or a delegate councilor. Due to the number of municipalities that the Northern Way crosses, the Autonomous Communities of the Basque Country (32.6%) and Cantabria (28.1%) were the largest contributors to the study (see
Participants’ sociodemographic characteristics.
Men | 73 (82%) |
Women | 16 (18%) |
Under 40 | 26 (29.2%) |
Between 40 and 50 | 27 (30.3%) |
Over 50 | 36 (40.5%) |
Municipal sports/culture professional | 45 (50.6%) |
Politician (Councilor for Culture or Sports) | 15 (16.9%) |
Player/club manager | 25 (28.1%) |
Other | 4 (4.4%) |
Basque Country | 29 (32.6%) |
Cantabria | 25 (28.1%) |
Asturias | 21 (23.6%) |
Galicia | 14 (15.7%) |
Basque Country | 916.410 |
Cantabria | 337.178 |
Asturias | 487.617 |
Galicia | 158.940 |
In addition, we selected informants using the same sampling approach from 60 municipalities from the same Autonomous Communities which had similar population characteristics but were not on the Northern Way. These respondents had a similar profile of age, sex, and profession to the Northern Way respondents.
As there were no existing tools which met our requirements for this study, we designed a questionnaire
The design of this questionnaire followed three phases: firstly, we identified the main elements in the existing literature on the subject; we analyzed and collated inconsistencies or contradictions present in those diverse theories, and finally we arranged the points into general categories creating specific information sections.
The resulting instrument collected information in four areas:
Personal information (gender, age, type of informant, and municipality).
Information related to skittles (whether the game is played currently, varieties of skittles, associationism, skittles alleys, formal and informal activity, and the importance of skittles in the municipality).
Information about other traditional games and sports (varieties and how much they are played).
Personal opinion about skittles and other popular and traditional games and sports (Knowledge, whether they play, preference, stage of development in the municipality, and transmission channels of the traditional game).
The sections were made up of different types of questions including open-ended, dichotomous, multiple-choice, and scalar-type questions. In order to verify reliability, the questionnaire was subjected to external validation by four expert judges in the academic context who were specialists in physical education and traditional games.
We contacted each municipality crossed by the northern route of the Camino de Santiago to establish contact with the person responsible for sport in the local authority. Where there was no specific person in the municipality responsible for sport, we used the councilor for sport and culture (political office) as a second option. In small municipalities, we also sought the participation of cultural representatives and delegate councilors.
In specific cases where the game was well established, the local authority contacts directed us to a person in charge of the local skittles club or sports club, or even regular skittles players, as they were able to provide us with better quality information.
We informed our contacts of the study objectives, that their participation was entirely voluntary, and that all personal data would be confidential and anonymous. Each participant gave their informed consent by marking a check box before completing the questionnaire.
We sent the questionnaire to the participants by e-mail and subsequently contacted them by telephone to thank them for their participation and collect additional data in the field notebook.
For the qualitative section of the study, three expert judges used content analysis. In the quantitative study, the responses to the questionnaire were coded and the data analyzed using the IBM-SPSS statistical package (version 25). We performed descriptive comparative analysis using the Mann–Whitney
Since the data did not fulfill the assumption of normality, we calculated the effect size for the Mann–Whitney
Skittles is currently played in 52 (58.43%) of the 89 municipalities that lie on the Northern Way (see
Skittles activity by autonomous community.
Autonomous community | Basque Country | 13 | 16 | 29 |
Cantabria | 24 | 1 | 25 | |
Asturias | 12 | 9 | 21 | |
Galicia | 3 | 11 | 14 | |
In terms of being played in the past, 64 informants (71.91%) reported that skittles used to be played (that they have evidence of) in their municipalities. We found 20 different types of skittles played along the Northern Camino (see
Active skittles varieties by autonomous community.
Bolatoki | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Hiru txirlo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Toka | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Bolos a katxete | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Remonte | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Tres tablones | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Calva | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Bolo leonés | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Pasabolo tablón | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Bolo palma | 2 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 26 |
Pasabolo losa | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Bolo pasiego | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Cuatreada | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
Bolo Tineo | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Batiente | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Bolinos | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Rodao | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Bolos celtas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Bolos á línea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Bolos ó canteiro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
We found a total of 162 clubs, associations or
Skittles clubs and participation in formal and nonformal competitions.
Basque Country | 11 | 10 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
12.36% | 11.24% | 1.12% | 16.05% | 4% | 10.11% | 10.11% | 11.24% | |
Cantabria | 24 | 24 | 4 | 92 | 22 | 24 | 16 | 23 |
26.97% | 26.97% | 4.49% | 56.79% | 88% | 26.97% | 17.98% | 25.84% | |
Asturias | 11 | 11 | 2 | 41 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 11 |
12.36% | 12.36% | 2.25% | 25.31% | 8% | 12.36% | 8.99% | 12.36% | |
Galicia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2.25% | 2.25% | – | 1.85% | – | 2.25% | – | 2.25% | |
Total | ||||||||
Examining the data in
In the 89 municipalities analyzed, we recorded a total of 291 skittles alleys dedicated exclusively to the game (see
Skittles alleys.
Basque Country | 13 | 16 | 33 |
14.61% | 17.98% | 11.34% | |
Cantabria | 24 | 1 | 177 |
26.97% | 1.12% | 60.82% | |
Asturias | 15 | 6 | 67 |
16.85% | 6.74% | 23.02% | |
Galicia | 5 | 9 | 14 |
5.62% | 10.11% | 4.81% | |
Total | |||
Importance of the game of skittles in the municipality.
Basque Country | 2.03 | 1.24 |
Cantabria | 3.72 | 1.02 |
Asturias | 2.24 | 1.41 |
Galicia | 1.57 | 1.09 |
Total |
In addition to skittles, informants reported other popular and traditional games and sports on the route of the Northern Camino (see
Other popular and traditional games and sports on the Northern route of the Camino.
Basque Country | 23 | 15 | 10 | 5 |
79.31% | 51.72% | 34.49% | 17.24% | |
Cantabria | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
– | 8% | 28% | 12% | |
Asturias | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
– | 19.05% | 9.52% | 28.57% | |
Galicia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
– | – | – | 28,57% | |
Total | ||||
In the Basque Country,
In Cantabria, rowing stood out (28% of the municipalities on the Camino) and, to a lesser extent, rural sport (8%) and other popular and traditional games and sports (12%). In Asturias, the highest percentage was in other games (28.57%), with fewer reports of rural sports (19.05%) and rowing (9.52%). In Galicia, there was only activity reported in other games and pastimes (28.57%), referring to traditional games such as
In terms of which traditional/popular game or sport the respondents considered to be most important in their municipalities (see
Importance of popular and traditional games and sports on the Camino.
Basque Country | 4 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
13.79% | 48.27% | 10.34% | 24.14% | 3.45% | – | |
Cantabria | 21 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
84% | – | – | 12% | – | 4% | |
Asturias | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
52.38% | – | – | 9.52% | 4.76% | 33.33% | |
Galicia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 6 |
– | – | – | – | 57.14% | 42.86% | |
Total | ||||||
Our data, which came from a multiple choice item, indicates that popular and traditional sports and games were mainly passed on through the family (69.66%). Other means of transmission such as the media or personal practice accounted for 65.17% of the responses. Family and personal experience of playing the game were presented as the best tools for the transmission of traditions from generation to generation. On the other hand, school as a transmission channel generated 35.95% of the responses while community transmission (friends, neighbors, etc.) appeared in 30.34% of responses.
In order to identify how gender, age, and profession influence knowledge, practice, and preference for skittles, we performed a comparative analysis using the Mann–Whitney
Men scored higher than women (see
Results of Mann–Whitney
Knowledge | 399.500 | −2.11 | 0.035 | 89 | −0.22 |
Preference | 288.000 | −3.32 | 0.001 | 89 | −0.35 |
Practice | 281.500 | −3.36 | 0.001 | 89 | −0.36 |
The only significant differences we found with respect to age were about knowledge of skittles [
Results of Kruskal–Wallis comparing age and skittles.
Knowledge of skittles | 6.947 | 2 | 89 | 0.031 | 0.08 |
We found significant differences between respondents based on profession (see
Results of Kruskal–Wallis comparing profession and skittles.
24.965 | 42.930 | 31.244 | 28.652 | |
Gl | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Asymptotic sig | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
0.28 | 0.49 | 0.36 | 0.33 |
Results of Mann–Whitney
545.500 | 366.500 | 436.000 | 547.000 | |
1248.500 | 1069.500 | 1139.000 | 1250.000 | |
−3.992 | −5.049 | −4.681 | −3.716 | |
Asymptotic sig (bilateral) | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
−0.42 | −0.54 | −0.50 | −0.39 |
In order to analyze whether the northern route of the Camino de Santiago influenced the playing of skittles, we performed a comparative analysis between municipalities on the Camino (
Firstly, we found significant differences between the two groups in the number of clubs (see
Results from Mann–Whitney
No. of clubs | 745.500 | −4.615 | 0.001 | 109 | −0.44 |
We also found differences in terms of the number of varieties of skittles [
In line with the above, our analysis also indicated significant differences pointing to greater wealth in terms of traditional games and sports played in the municipalities on the northern route [
One of the main results of this study shows that skittles is still played in almost 60% of the municipalities that make up the Northern Camino and, moreover, it is the most popular traditional game played on this route, ahead of ball games (which are exclusive to the Basque Country), rural sports, rowing, or the other types of traditional games and sports often played in this area. Skittles is one of the most deeply rooted traditional games in this region. As various studies have shown, skittles has served as an important social meeting point in different communities by functioning as a channel of cultural transmission, contributing to its promotion and conservation (
Skittles, as with other “popular” games, serves as a tool of identity for social groups. Playing it contributes to the maintenance of habits and cultural forms that are transmitted from generation to generation.
Our study recorded skittles activity in the municipalities of Ribadeo, Barreiros and Lourenzá, the first three municipalities upon entering Galicia via the Northern Camino. In the fourth municipality (Mondoñedo), we found no reports of current skittles activity, although there were indications of recent activity considering that we did have a report of a skittles alley here. These data match the findings in study by
In his study of skittles in Vizcaya (Basque Country),
Skittles activity was reported in 96% of Cantabrian municipalities on the Northern Camino. This very high percentage confirms the levels of skittles activity in this community reported by authors such as
In Asturias, 57.14% of municipalities on the Northern Camino reported skittles being played; these are, together with Cantabria, the highest rates in our study. Authors such as
In the four communities on the Northern Camino, we recorded 20 different types of skittles. On the one hand, this indicates the plurality of the game in terms of its aspects and modalities, something highlighted by authors such as
A unique aspect of our study is our record of 162 clubs, associations, and
The activity in the municipalities of the Northern Camino was also reflected in the number of skittles alleys we recorded in this study, a total of 291. Almost two-thirds (64.04%) of the municipalities through which this pilgrimage route passes have one or more skittles alleys. These play spaces have always been considered social spaces (
Despite the high levels of skittles activity we found on the Northern Camino, the participants in our study generally had low opinions of the importance of skittles in their corresponding localities, with the exception of Cantabria, which give a medium-high rating. These data coincide with the study by
Our analysis of skittles in terms of demographic variables indicated that men knew more about the game, played it more, and had higher levels of preferences for it than women. This is not surprising as it is a game which is mostly played by men (
Our results confirm a development of skittles in the towns and villages on the northern route of the Camino de Santiago which has led to it becoming a “sport.” However, there are few studies on this topic in this area, and those that do exist confirm that skittles is widely played in the Basque Country, Cantabria, and Asturias, but less so in Galicia, where it is mostly played symbolically. In that regard it is important to note that Galicia is the last stage of the northern route (
The Northern route of the Camino de Santiago is a route of interaction and cultural exchange not only between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe but also between the inhabitants of the different regions of northern Spain. The possible French and German influences on the game of skittles in other times have left us with current data indicating that skittles is widely played along this route (almost 60% of the municipalities on the Northern Way). This activity is reflected in the number of skittles alleys (291) and in the 162 clubs, associations and
From the 20 different varieties of skittles we found along the Camino (with knock-down types being more common than
Finally, our study shows how traditions are passed on from generation to generation, mainly through the family. Personal experiences and contact with popular and traditional games and sports are essential for parents in order to transmit to their children the full value they place on this type of activity. For this reason, public administrations must focus on the promotion, dissemination, and preservation of popular culture through traditional games, collaborating and supporting private nonprofit entities (federations, clubs, associations, and skittles clubs), and establishing mechanisms that motivate new generations to play traditional games and sports, with the school being an important place to focus this important task.
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.
This study was carried out in accordance with the recommendations of Bioethics Committee of the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain). All subjects gave written informed consent in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
JR-F and ML-M conceived and designed the research. JR-F carried out the data collection and management with informants. JG-Á and GM-S analyzed the data and reflecting it in the study results. JR-F drafted the manuscript. ML-M, JG-Á, and GM-S contributed to the writing of the study and reviewed it. All authors read and approved the manuscript.
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
The authors would like to thank the professionals, politicians, players, skittles club managers, and physical education teachers from the municipalities on the Northern Camino for the information provided for this study.
Spanish territorial administrative entity with certain legislative autonomy and its own elected representatives.