60 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



underhand, so as to glance off (palm) the smooth top of the 

 mound. Each player casts his dart in turn, and he whose 

 dart is cast the greatest distance wins the round. When a 

 player wins his first round he cries, " Katahi ki rui." On 

 gaining his second round he says, " Ka rui ki torn." At the 

 third, " Ka torn kiwha," and so on; thus each player keeps 

 his own tally. The first to win ten rounds wins the game. 

 The cry of a player for the ninth round won is, " Ka iwa ki 

 ngahere," the expression "ngahere" being here used for 

 "ngahuru" (ten). The cry at the tenth round won is " Ka 

 piro.'' 



Each player, as he proceeds to cast his teka, would repeat 

 the following charm to render his cast effective : — 



Patu atu taku pehu ki mua 



Me he matakokiri anewa i t9 rangi 



Te rokohina ko te teka na Tuhuruhuru 



Kia tika tonu te haere 



Mau e piki atu, mau e heke atu 



I tua o nga pae ma,unga 



Toroi e taku pehu 



Ko te pehu, ko te koke 



Marie kia tika. 



The Topa, or Kske. 



The topa is an amusement of children. A broad, sound 

 leaf of the wharangi shrub is plucked, and into the stem of 

 the midrib (tuaka) thereof is inserted the thick end of a culm 

 of karetu grass. The caster, standing on an eminence, holds 

 the top of the leaf between thumb and two fingers, and on 

 casting the leaf forth horizontally it will sail on for some 

 distance, and even ascend, before descending to the ground. 

 The descent of the leaf is very gradual, it being balanced by 

 the grass culm. A child would repeat the following charm to- 

 cause the leaf to make a long flight : — 



Topaina atu ra taku topa nei 

 Ki tai nui, ki tai roa 

 Koki, kokere, whai 

 Tohia, nuku, tohia rangi 

 To kai, topa rere 

 Ki o rua whangai. 



These leaves are sometimes thus cast across a river of con- 

 siderable width. 



Pirori (Hoops). 



The hoop is an old-time Maori toy. They were made of a 

 tough forest creeper known as aka tea, the join being neatly 

 bound with a lashing of flax-fibre. They were 18 in. or 2ft. 

 in diameter. Players stood opposite each other on either side 

 of the marae, or plaza, and each held a short stick in his hand. 

 The hoop was not trundled as with us, but was thrown so as 



