Description :
Integrated into the European Tramontana Network project, co-funded by the European Union, this Radio Pays episode features a discussion with ethnologist Mathilde Lamotte about traditional bowling-like games (“quilles”), their cultural heritage, and their contemporary meanings. The conversation opens with a broad historical overview, situating these games in medieval Europe, where multiple regional variants developed and later spread, including forms that influenced modern bowling. In Gascony, the focus is on the “quilles de neuf,” one of several local versions (alongside quilles de six and quilles de trois), highlighting both their long-standing presence and their evolution into structured sport.
The discussion then turns to the technical and social dimensions of the practice. Playing quilles de neuf requires precision, coordination, and strong concentration rather than pure strength, with a highly sensitive margin of error in execution. The sport is also described as demanding and humbling, as performance can vary significantly from one day to another. Socially, it remains a predominantly male activity, although recent years have seen gradual inclusion of women through mixed teams and adapted rules. Transmission often occurs through family traditions, local village networks, and community sociability, reinforcing its identity as a deeply rooted regional practice.
Finally, the episode broadens to a comparative perspective with Quebec snowshoeing and related practices such as ice canoeing, exploring how different societies construct heritage and sport differently. While Gascon quilles are framed through historical continuity and local identity, Quebec practices are shown as more hybrid, evolving between utility, sport, and modern institutional recognition. The conversation concludes with reflections on limited commercialization, modest institutional support, and the symbolic but distant aspiration of Olympic recognition, emphasizing that these activities remain strongly territorialized cultural practices rather than global sports.