Head pull

Head pull is an Inuit game where two people lie belly-down on the ground, pull each other’s heads, and try to move the opponent across a line. ^[1][2][3][4] The game is played with a leather loop placed around the competitors’ heads as they face each other.^[5][6] The loop is placed above the ears, and the game becomes more difficult the higher the loop is placed.^[3] The winner is the one who first pulls their opponent across the line, or if the loop slips off their opponent’s head.^[3] It is an example of an Inuit game that requires little space, such as in small huts.^[7]

Head pull

Also, the competitors may face each other with their legs interlocked and pull their heads backwards until one of the competitors bends forward or gives up.^[8][9] This game is traditionally males only.^[9]

It tends to be one of the more popular and competitive games during the Arctic Winter Games.^[6]

In 2011, Canadian Governor General David Johnston participated in a head pull competition.^[5]

References

1. Mir Tamim Ansary (1 September 1999). Arctic Peoples. Heinemann-Raintree Library. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-57572-920-6. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
2. Mary Roach (7 January 1998). "The Inuit Olympics". Salon. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
3. "Northern Games - Head pull". Northern Games Society. 2009. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
4. Froelich, Paula (2015-06-29). "Finger Pulling, Head Pulling and Airplaning: The Craziest Arctic Sports". HuffPost. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
5. "GG samples Inuit 'head pull' in Iqaluit". CBC News. 6 August 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
6. "Players in Arctic Winter Games Pull Heads, Throw Snowsnakes". WIRED. 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
7. Ansary, M.T. (2000). Arctic Peoples. Native Americans. Heinemann Library. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-57572-920-6. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
8. Ernest S. Burch (1 August 2006). Social Life in Northwest Alaska: The Structure of Iñupiaq Eskimo Nations. University of Alaska Press. p. 352. ISBN 978-1-889963-92-1. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
9. Froelich, Paula; Travel, Yahoo (2015-06-29). "The Head Pull and other weird sports from the Arctic Games". New York Post. Retrieved 2022-09-05.