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kennedy : ellice islands, 1930 |
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Page 111
...
4. TE UKUUKU
AVA (Diving in the ava).
At low tide two
teams proceed to the edge of the reef and select an ava (i.e. a
V-shaped indentation in the reef) the bottom of which is about two fathoms
deep.
One team stands on one side of the indentation (ngutu o te ava) and the other team on the other side. A mark, such as a coloured piece of coral, is pointed out on the bottom ...
Page 112
... and is called
te umu (lit. the oven).
One side, by
arrangement, becomes te kau leoleo o te umu (the team to guard the
oven) and the other side, te kau e muli (the hiding side), so called
because of the resemblance this game bears to that of hide and seek (tumuli)
played ashore.
All dive in at
once and swim to the bottom.
The guards of
the oven take up a position on one side of te umu and near to it.
The other team
take up a position on the other side but further off.
Members of this
team now wait until some of the weaker guards have been forced to ascend
for air. They then attempt to touch and cling to te umu.
It is the duty
of the guards to seize any arm reaching towards te umu, and a player
who has been so seized by a guard must ascend and consider himself out
of the game until the next general dive (uku).
If one or more
players of the kau e muli succeed in evading the guards and manage to touch
te umu, they all ascend to their respective positions above on the
edge, and the kau e muli team claims a point.
On the next general
dive the same guards must again do duty.
If, however,
the guards succeed in preventing any member of the kau e muli from
touching te umu, their team changes position with the other and
on the next dive they have their opportunity of making a point.
All young people of both sexes play this game.
5. TE SEKE
(Surf-riding).
There are two
methods:-
(a) Faka-tua-fonu
(turtle-back fashion).
With arms outstretched
and legs spread or with hands pressed down between the thighs.
(b) Using the puke (the puke is really the shaped bow-covering of the canoe, which is often used for surf riding, but the same name is applied to any board so used.)
6. TU KIMOA
(After the fashion of rats).
Played in two
or more fathoms of water in an ava at the edge of the outer reef, or in
the lagoon.
One player dives
down and places his feet on the papa (rock bottom).
Another player
dives and sets his feet on the shoulders of the first player, who steadies
him by grasping the ankles and holding the feet firmly on his shoulders.
The next player
takes a similar position on the shoulders ...
Page 113
... of the second
player and so on until one player is standing ,with his head above water.
When the bottom
section of this human ladder is out of breath, he lowers the feet from
his shoulders to the bottom in front of him and, ascending, takes his place
as top section where he can breathe. The next player does likewise and
so on, the sections continually circulating after the manner of rats running
round a room, hence the name tu kimoa.
This game is played by young people of both sexes.
7. FAI TINO.
Small children
often have competitions moulding the human figure in the wet sand on the
reef at low tide.
This seems to
be a recognised game, and when all have finished they usually indicate
their choice as to the most perfect model, and the proud maker is called
the winner.
...
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Vaitupu type bow and stern covers (the stern covers are on the left). |
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Namumea type bow and stern covers (the stern covers are on the left). |
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Volume 39 Number 1. No. 153, March 1930. New Plymouth, New Zealand. Printed for the Society by Thomas Avery. |
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Volume 38 Number 4. No. 152, December 1929. New Plymouth, New Zealand. Printed for the Society by Thomas Avery. |
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