Men's ba stuck in a lane
Every Christmas Eve and Hogmanay, householders and shopkeepers along Kirkwall's winding central streets can be seen barricading doors and windows in preparation for the following days' ba' games.
The Kirkwall Ba' is a mass-football game played out in the streets of the town every Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
The game pits two rival "factions" against each other in a battle to secure a goal and win the game.
The men and boys of Kirkwall are designated either "Uppies" or "Doonies", or "Up the Gates" and "Doon the Gates". This is thought to be a corruption of the Old Norse gata, meaning road.
Whether you were an Uppie or a Doonie originally depended upon the individual's place of birth. Those born to the north of the Cathedral were a Doonies, with Uppies being those born to the south.
These days, however, family loyalty is usually more important than the place of birth, with stalwart players playing for the same side as their father, grandfathers and great-grandfathers did before them, regardless of where they now live.
The ba' itself is a handmade, cork-filled, leather ball. Each game is played with a new ba', each one handmade by one of a few Orcadian ba' makers.
A finished Men's ba' weighs about 3 lbs with a circumference of approximately 28 inches. The Boys' Ba' is slightly smaller.
Two ba' games are played every Christmas and New Year's Day.
The first, the Boys' Ba', begins at 10.30am. If the battle for the Boys' Ba' is long and hard, it is not uncommon for it, and the Men's Ba', which starts at 1pm, to be running concurrently.
The game begins on Kirkwall's Broad Street, in the shadow of St Magnus Cathedral.
The Uppie goal is to touch the ba' against a wall in the south end of the town, while the Doonies have the unenviable task of getting the ba' into the water of Kirkwall Bay, to the north.
There are no hard and fast rules. Although the game is fairly rough, tempers are usually held in check and foul play, or "inappropriate behaviour", is not tolerated. Surprisingly, given the nature of the Ba', serious injuries to players are fairly rare. More often than not it is usually unfamiliar spectators who are hurt. When the pack breaks, there is often not much room to run!
As the cathedral clock strikes 1pm, a specially chosen individual, usually someone with a long association with the game, throws the ba' from the Mercat Cross into the gathered crowd of players. As soon as it lands in the pack, the fight for possession begins, with each side trying to gain ground and carry the ba' towards their territories.
A tight scrum forms around the leather trophy, while players on the outside brace themselves against any nearby buildings to prevent the opposition capturing ground. With the streets now their playing field, a heaving throng of men push and pulling to try and gain a few metres nearer their goal. In the cold, winter air, steam hangs above the pack.
But when the pack breaks, chaos erupts, as those in possession of the ba' try and get as close to their goal as possible before being stopped. As soon as they are intercepted, however, the scrum quickly reforms.
This struggle to gain ground means that a typical game can last for hours. Based on recent years, an average Men's Ba' lasts about five hours, but this could be anything up to eight hours, or more.
Throughout the game, numerous tactics are used to achieve the goal. Very often, the majority of players have no idea where the ba' actually is. This leads to numerous attempts to smuggle the ba' out of the pack or create fake "breaks" in the hope that the opposition will follow the wrong players.
A successful break allows players to sprint towards their goal, making the most of Kirkwall's winding lanes to slow down pursuers. Players have been known to attempt to reach their goals via the rooftops.
When the goal is finally reached, the ba' - itself a coveted trophy - is awarded to a player in the winning side who has been a notable participant over a number of years.
"It breaks out twice a year at a time when peace and goodwill might be expected to prevail, the warring armies engaging in close combat with a ferocity that precludes respect for person or property.
"Even the law has been known to stand impotent as combatants surged and counter-surged through the environs of the police station, and memory has hardly dimmed the occasion when the local manse was invaded and despoiled. Casualties are high — but who cares?
"Crushed ribs and broken limbs are never enough reasons for the enthusiastic participants to desist from this traditional orgy of Orcadian violence which not even a sheriff's edict could ban — the Kirkwall Ba' Game."
BBC Spectrum Programme 1982
