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The Constitution• To promote physical fitness among our members
• To get rid of weekend hangovers • To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer • To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel - Taken from the 1950 club registration card for the Hash House Harriers in Kuala Lumpur. |
Hashing hasn't strayed far from its Kuala Lumpur roots. A typical hash kennel (local chapter or group) today is a loosely-organized group of men and women, aka harriers and harriettes (although not all groups are co-ed), who meet weekly to follow a marked trail laid by the hares (the people leading the trail who leave appropriate marks for the pack to follow).
Chalk Talk - Trail - The Circle - Bash
Generally, no reservations are required to join a group; typically, all that is needed is to find out the time and location of the start and just show up. The Taichung Hares conduct a "Chalk Talk" at the start where our system of hash marks is explained to Virgins (new hashers) and Visiting Hashers who may be used to a different system of marking.
Trails can be "live" or "dead". On a live trail, hares are given a head start of about 10-15 minutes before the pack follows; a dead trail's marks are already laid, or pre-marked, prior to the start of the run. Live trails are closer to the original Hare and Hounds tradition mentioned in "Tom Brown's Schooldays" and are normal on the Taichung Hash. There may be one or more Beer Checks along the way, with the hares pre-caching a cooler of beer. With a live trail, the general intent of the pack is to attempt to catch the hares before they finish the trail and get to the end. A trail may be an "A to A trail", where the start and ending location are in the same place, or an "A to B trail", where the start and end are at different spots.
While strips of paper have previously been used to mark trail, especially in tropical areas, they have generally been replaced with flour or chalk. After the anthrax scares in 2001, lots of groups throughout the Western world had to change the way they marked trails by using colored chalk or other materials. Generally, any mark used to identify the trail is called a "Hash mark".
To make the run interesting, hares can set their trail through, literally, any kind of terrain. These trails can go through farmlands, residential areas, forests, or rivers. Anything off-road is generally referred to as "shiggy". Such shiggy might be classified in levels with the first being a path through a park or dirt road, while the last could have the pack going through a quarter-mile of chest-deep, shoe-sucking swamp. The pack never knows where a trail will go or where it may lead, and are often advised to bring a change of clothes and shoes to be used after the trail is complete.
While strips of paper have previously been used to mark trail, especially in tropical areas, they have generally been replaced with flour or chalk. After the anthrax scares in 2001, lots of groups throughout the Western world had to change the way they marked trails by using colored chalk or other materials. Generally, any mark used to identify the trail is called a "Hash mark".
To make the run interesting, hares can set their trail through, literally, any kind of terrain. These trails can go through farmlands, residential areas, forests, or rivers. Anything off-road is generally referred to as "shiggy". Such shiggy might be classified in levels with the first being a path through a park or dirt road, while the last could have the pack going through a quarter-mile of chest-deep, shoe-sucking swamp. The pack never knows where a trail will go or where it may lead, and are often advised to bring a change of clothes and shoes to be used after the trail is complete.
Often, hares will employ several tricks in attempts to slow the pack and to keep runners and walkers finishing together. The Hares may mark an intersection - generally called a "check" - that signifies that the trail continues withing a 100 metre radius from that point. Several false trails may lead from that check and it is up to the front-runners to "solve" the trail by going out and determining where the correct path, or "true trail", is. Once the true way has been determined, that runner will mark the check to indicate the proper direction so that anyone coming up to it afterwards (such as the walkers, other runners, or anyone arriving late) will not have to figure it out all over again. The Taichung Hash generally calls out phrases in order to assist each other on trail and keep from getting lost. A member of the pack calling out "Are you?", typically near a check, means to know if another hasher is searching for the true trail or is on the correct path. Someone will typically answer either "Checking!" to indicate that they are looking for the trail, or "On on!", to signify that they are on the true trail and that the pack should follow them. Every kennel has its own set of marks and audible means of communicating (whistes, horns, etc.) these may vary widely, so hashers visiting another kennel should check its system before they run.
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"Are you?"
"Checking!"
"On-on!" |
At trail's end, hashers gather to drink beer and observe so-called "religious ceremonies" during The Circle, which consists of drinking more beer. This is not compulsory and, as an alternative, you may drink something else alcoholic, nominate a drinker in your place or pour the beer on your head! The Circle may be led by the Grand Master, the group's Religious Master, or by a Committee of Mismanagement.
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At the conclusion of the Circle, hashers may head to a "Bash", usually at a nearby restaurant, for grub and libations with which to wash it down. This is another social part of the Hash with the party lasting from one to several hours, where Hashers tell stories, have fun, and enjoy everyone's company.
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