Old Maori Games Revived

Traditional Maori games such as kite flying, top-spinning, string games, knuckle bones and dart throwing, were seen at Whakatane on 3 December last. The Maori Synod of the Presbyterian Church organised the games to raise money for Turakina Maori Girls' College.

Maori games which have not been played this century were revived for this day. The most interesting were kite-flying and top-spinning.

The kites, manu tukutuku, were made from selected raupo leaves and points were given for construction, for the kite that flew the highest and for the competitor who knew the correct chant.

The top-spinning was in three sections—humming tops, fighting tops and jumping tops. Ramarama wood was used in the main, and grooves were carved in the tops to make them hum. The tops were whipped, using whips of flax.

With fighting tops, potaka, two contestants spin their tops inside a circle. The aim is to drive one top out of the ring or stop the competitor's top.

String figures, whai, which are widely known, were of great interest. The name of a figure was called out to start the competition and the winner was the first to finish it.

Competitions were also held in hand games, mate rawa, stick games, ti rakau, dart throwing, teka, knucklebones, koruru, and draughts. mu torere, and races on stilts, poututeko, were held.

During the day Maori handicrafts and products were sold—taniko weaving, kits, piupius, pois and the special bread which uses potato leaven. Of particular interest was a stall selling preserved Maori foods, kanga wai, pikopiko, karengo, tawhera, taroi and paua preserved in fat.

Action song, poi and haka competitions had been held the previous day at the Whakatane War Memorial Hall. The interest was so great that standing room only was available. The three judges were Messrs Peter Awatere, Mate Remeti and Mate Harowira. Mr Awatere, speaking on behalf of the judges, said that the

highest marks, 293 out of 300, had been given to the youngest group of performers from the Ruatoki primary school. This was because, although they made some mistakes, they showed more of the fire and verve of the old-time Maori.

He strongly criticised some modern trends; allowing women to precede men as the group entered; turning with backs to the audience; merely saying words in a haka instead of expelling them; paying more attention to actions than words in some action songs.