Basque bowls (), is one of the few Basque rural sports which do not originate in an activity related to rural or marine work. It has a number of other names too and is played in a bolatoki or bolaleku "bowls place" which often consists of a playing area in the open, an open sided structure with a low roof or a playing area located inside a colonnaded hallway.
The game has been more common in the southern parts of the Basque Country in the last few centuries, especially in Álava and Biscay and to a lesser degree in Gipuzkoa and Navarre but documents from the Bayonne archives from the 17th-century mention the games and there is also other evidence to show that the game was also played historically in the northern part of the Basque Country.
The main characteristic of the Basque variants of the game is the more prominent use of balls with finger-holes and hand-holes which distinguishes it from other regions in the area which prefer balls without.
Basic terms the game is variously called pirlak, pirleak, bolak and botxak (from boccia); -ak is a Basque plural ending. the bowling ball is called bola the pins are variously called bolo, pirla, pirle, birla, txirla, esku, zilla, erdiko or guena a player is called bolari a playing area is called bolatoki
The game They are all variants of dirt-track and lawn bowls and as such related to games such as bowls, skittles and bowling. There is a large number of different variations of the game (over 25 variants in Biscay and Álava alone), sometimes sharing their rules with varieties in other areas like Cantabria, Burgos or León. Some varieties are extremely localised and with specialised playing areas not found outside the area.
The main points of variation center around points such as: how many pins there are and how they are arranged the shape of the bolatokia
Due to societal changes, some variants are reduced to events at fiestas rather than everyday past-times. For example, of the over 400 playing areas that existed in Biscay in the last century, only some 100 remain. At the same time, organised competitions are also held these days among the provincial federations and clubs. Always keen to embrace new technologies, enthusiasts are also using the internet to attract new members and players.
Particular variants Many varieties are known only by the geographical affiliation: Arabar boloa (Álavan bowls), Burgosko bola (Burgos bowls), Gesaltzako bola (Gesaltza bowls), Palentziako bola (Palencia bowls), and so on.
Aiara bowls
Known as Aiarako bola jokoa and Aiararra in Basque, ayalés and remonte in Spanish. Two bolatoki in Aiara for this variant remain in popular use but other exist in an area between Gueñes, Artziniega, Tertanga, and Ibarra.
The sunken playing area, called carrejo or boladera is long and wide, surrounded by slanting sides, giving the playing area the appearance of a large, sunken trough. Originally played on clay, many use a wooden floor now. The launching area is up to long and the nine large pins are arranged in a 3x3 square at the far end. There is also a small pin (called bolinchín, cuatro, txikerra or chiquito) which is worth four points. The balls have finger and hand-holes, are in diameter and usually weigh between , but heavier ones have been used.
The player, using spin, launches the ball onto either the left or right long incline and to achieve a valid throw, has to knock over at least the small pin and one large pin. The ball the (ideally) rebounds from the back incline and knocks over more pins. Pins knocked over by other pins also count.
Álavan bowls
Called Arabar boloa or lautadakoa (the one from the lautada) in Basque, juego de bolo alavés and bolo de la Llanada in Spanish. The playing area consists of three main parts, all of which are a step down from the surrounding areas:
the parra or pato which is a sunken wooden board delineating the edge of the area where the player may launch from the loma which is an long wooden plank, between wide running between the walls of the sunken into the ground. the pin area, where the playing area widens again, with markers for the location of the pins.
The balls have no handles, weigh between and have a diameter of with have no finger or hand-holes. There are four pins arranged in a triangle with the point towards the players. The one closes to the parra is the cantón, to the back and left is the carraca, to the back and right the guarda and directly behind the cantón sits the medio. The distance between the carraca and the guarda is about .
The players must launch the ball onto the loma, stay on it (otherwise a foul is declared which is called zula) and at the very least knock over the cantón to score. The aim is to knock all four over but if the ball rebounds from the side panels and knocks over a pin, they do not count. Currently, there are over 1000 registered bowlers and more than one hundred bolatoki of this style remain predominantly in the central part of Álava. The most important competition is the annual Torneo Interpueblos.
Bederatzi txirlo jokoa The history museum of Baiona has a historic exhibit of a bederatzi txirlo jokoa or "nine pin skittles" with pins of almost a meter in height. Bolo jokoak are not commonly played in this part of the Basque Country anymore but the game is assumed to have been played along the lines of the Bearnese game called quilhas de nau and quilles de neuf in French.
Bermeo bowls
Called Bermeoko bola jokoa in Basque and bolo de Bermeo in Spanish. The last bolatoki for this version disappeared during the 1940s and 1950s. The playing area for this version is rectangular, long and wide. At the player's end there are two launch boards sunken into the ground, parallel to each other at either side of the playing area. As in many bola jokoak the balls are launched onto the wooden planks because it helps maintain the forward speed of a ball, whereas launching it onto a dirt floor would tend to slow them down. At the far end, woode planks were fixed to the side panels to create a semi-hexagon. This game uses 4 pins, three nagusiak or "main ones" and one bostekoa or "one of five". The nagusiak are arranged in a triangle following the line of the semi-hexagon. The bostekoa is placed in front of either of the nagusiak, left or right depending on the direction of the game. The ball has two holes, one for the thumb and a larger one for the remaining four fingers. The game proceeds as follows:
The players must launch the ball onto the launching planks to begin with. If the board is not hit, a txorra or toto is declared (foul) and the player gets zero points. The bostekoa (worth five points) must be hit first as it determines the direction of play. If the board is hit but no pin, six points are awarded. Following the bostekoa the ball will rebound from the side panels and ideally hit the big pins. The two nagusiak closest to the player are worth eight points each, the nagusia furthest away nine points.
If all nagusiak are knocked over, only 14 points are awarded however so with the bostekoa the maximum number of points is 19. The aim of the game is to reach 300 first.
Burgos bowls The Basque name, Burgosko bola jokoa translates as "bowls from Burgos", bolo burgalés in Spanish. This variant arrived in the Basque Country late when some people from Burgos brought it to Basauri in 1980 and to Gasteiz in 1985. Since its spread to areas outside Burgos, championships have been held involving clubs from Burgos, Biscay and Álava.
The main characteristic of Burgosko bola is that it is played on two different levels, involving a goiko jokoa or "high game" (juego alto in Spanish) and a beheko jokoa "low game" or barruko jokoa "inside game" (juego bajo or juego interior in Spanish).
Ea bowls
This is called Ea aldekoa in Basque and juego de Ea in Spanish. This version is played on a sunken dirt playing field about . The bowls have finger and hand-holes, weigh , and must be launched onto a long platform in the playing area for the throw to be valid. The aim is to knock down 10 pins at the other end, 9 large ones ( tall) and a small one (half the size of the big ones) in front of the big ones either at the centre, left of right.
The big pins are arranged in groups of three (one behind each other) in three lines at the far end of the track. A player has to hit the small pin (worth five points) first for it to be a valid throw, the other pins are worth one point each. Unlike in other variants, pins knocked over by a ball rebounding from the side panels also count.
There are two bolatoki left for this variant, one in Bedaroa and one in Natxitua. The one in Bedaroa is played mainly during town festivals.
Hiru oholtzar
Originally from the Burgos area and called tres tablones in Spanish, this version was brought to the west of Biscay by migrants. This is a visually spectacular variant on a by playing field, balls weighing between with a diameter which are launched at nine slim, pointed tall pins arranged in a square, one behind the other in groups of three. They are each worth one point except for the one at the center of the square which is worth two points. The aim is to scatter the pins as far away from their original location as possible. There is also a smaller tall pin called miko or cuatro (because it is worth four points). Depending on they type of game, each player has 2–4 balls per round and the miko is placed in two different positions behind the big pins.
In this variant, the ball and the central playing area are kept wet and the player launches the ball into the air and at the central row of pins using spin in an attempt to also catch the miko which is at the back and to the left or right of the central row. For a valid throw, the ball must pass a line in front of the pins in the air, touch down onto one of the platforms on which the pins stand and pass a line at the back on the ground to be a valid throw. Fouls are designated as follows: a morra is declared if the ball touches down before it reaches the pin platforms a zula is declared if the ball does not reach the back line a blanca is declared if the ball does not knock over and pins
In all these cases the throw is invalid and the player may not bowl again in this round.
Once a valid ball has come to rest past the line at the back, the player crosses over to the back area called cas de birle and is allowed to throw a second time from where the ball stopped but the miko is removed. Again, the throw has to be through the air until it touches down on a pin platform. There are usually also markers at the back indicating the lines of the pins.
It is a very popular game both in Biscay and Cantabria.
Kanaleko hiru txirlo
Called hiru txirlo común in Spanish), this is a variant of bola jokoa played in the Basque Country. The name kanaleko hiru txirlo literally translates as "3 pins of the canal" but it also goes by the name of hiru txirlo arrunta (common three pins). This game is still fairly widespread in the east of Biscay from Mendiola to Mutriku and parts of Gipuzkoa (the Deba valley), there are bolo federations for this variant at the cross-provincial level and annual leagues.
The game is played under a roof on a playing area about long and wide. In this variant the balls are heavy, made of wood with finger and hand holes and are not entirely spherical. Each player has two of these. There are three tall pins with a diameter are arranged in a line one behind the other with gaps between them. These have names in Basque: the one closest to the players is called the eskua (hand) the middle one zilla or erdikoa (the middle one) the one furthest away guena.