Page:American Anthropologist NS vol. 1.djvu/272

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culin] HAWAIIAN GAMES 229

they threw the small round one into the air, until the whole heap was removed."

Dieffenbach, 1 speaking of New Zealand, says : " Another game is called tutukai, and is played with a number of pebbles."

Of the game in Samoa, Wilkes * says : " Lafo litupa is played by two persons, who place about 50 beans of the Mimosa scan- dium before them ; then taking up four at a time, they throw them up in the air, and catch them on the back of the hand ; the player who catches 100 soonest is the winner."

Williams 8 describes the lavo of the Fijians, "a game at pitch- ing the fruit of the walai {Mimosa scandens). The fruit is flat and circular, and from its resemblance in form to money, money is also called at /avo."

60. Pi-li-ka-la : COIN-BETTING. — This name is applied in par- ticular to two games with coins — " pitching pennies " and " heads or tails." The first is played by several men who draw a line and throw at it, the one whose piece comes nearest, winning. In the second, the players select either heads or tails. They toss for position, and the first player throws all the coins up and takes those that fall as he bet. The game is played with Hawaiian nickels or five-cent pieces. Ka-la is the Hawaiian for " dollar" ; hence silver, silver coin generally, Andrews gives the general name for gambling and betting as pi-li-wai-wai, and says that the ancient forms were almost innumerable. Wai-wai means "goods," " property."

61. Pa-na-pa-na-ku-a : " Seed-shooting," Marbles. — The seeds of the ka-ka-lauo-a plant {Ccesalpina bo?iducella), which are nearly spherical, are used as marbles. Any number play, and each puts the same number into a ring on the ground 10 to 12 feet in diameter. They shoot in turn from the edge of the ring, endeavoring to knock the marbles out. When a player knocks one out he may place his taw or shooter {ki-nt) in the ring. If a succeeding player who has not knocked a marble chances to

1 Vol. II, p. 32. » Vol. 11, p. J36. * Page 127.

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