Best. — On Maori Games, (il 



to roll across to the opposite player, who would strike it with 

 his stick in order to drive it back to No. 1 ; but he would not 

 follow it up. Should the hoop not run true, but wobble in 

 its passage, that is termed a " tiko-rohe-tu." 



At page 58, vol. v., of White's "Ancient History of the 

 Maori " is an account of how a certain old-time gentleman, 

 having slain a much-hated enemy, did thereupon flay the 

 same and proceed to stretch his skin upon a hoop, with 

 which he, together with other chivalrous warriors of that 

 ilk, amused themselves, after the manner of their kind, by 

 trundling the aforesaid hoop and belabouring it unmercifully 

 with cudgels. 



Hoops were sometimes thrown so as to rebound from the 

 earth and jump over high hurdles. 



Eeti. 



This was a kind of toboggan, and was used on a steep 

 bank or hillside, on which a slide would be prepared and made 

 slippery by pouring water upon it. The reti, or toboggan, was 

 a flat piece of wood about 2^ ft. in length and 4 in. or 5 in. in 

 width, square at the rear end and pointed in front, the nose 

 being also " sniped," so as not to catch in the ground, and 

 thus leave the "riding side" of the reti free. Two projec- 

 tions were left on the top side for the rider's feet to press 

 against, one foot being placed behind the other. Such was 

 the toboggan, ox papa reti. The slide was known as retireti. 

 " Pajja reti " is a term applied to an epidemic of sickness 

 wherefrom many die. 



Pou-toti, or Stilts. 

 Stilt-walking was a pastime of the young people. The 

 stilts were often made with foot-rests 3 ft. from the ground. 

 Mimic battles were waged by stilt-walkers, who tried to over- 

 throw each other, the result being numerous and sometimes 

 severe falls. 



Swings. 



Another amusement over which Takataka-pucea presides 

 is the moari, or morere, a peculiar swing. The Maori had no 

 swing with a seat such as we use. The moari was, if pos- 

 sible, erected over a deep pool in a stream or river, or on the 

 shore of a lake. A tall sapling was set up inclining somewhat 

 over the water. On the top of the pole a loose cap of tim- 

 ber was fitted, to which the ends of long cords or ropes were 

 fastened, the ropes trailing down for the players to swing by. 

 As the players hung on to the ropes and swung round the 

 pole the wooden cap thereon revolved, so that the ropes did 

 not twist round the pole. In the case of those set up over 

 water, the swingers would grasp the ropes with both hands 



