SAMOAN GROUP. 143 



gers are entertained. The inhabitants and their guests occupy 

 different ends of the building, and alternately keep up the dancing 

 and singing. Through the latter all the news is made known, 

 occurrences related, inquiries made and answered. 



Many of the nights are spent in this way ; and much of the day- 

 time, in eating, bathing, and sleeping. 



Besides these dances, there are various games. One of these, 

 called "lupe," is played by two persons, who sit opposite each other. 

 One of them presents his closed fist to his opponent, and then rapidly 

 holds up one, two, three, or all the fingers and the thumb, striking 

 the back of his hand on the mat at the same time. If his opponent 

 fails of instantly holding up a like number of fingers, he loses a 

 point, and ten points finish the game. 



" Lafo litupa" is also played by two persons, who place about 

 fifty beans of the Mimosa scandium 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 a hundred soonest is 

 the winner. 



Tuae-fua. This is played by five or six persons. It resembles the 

 sport of the Chinese jugglers with iron balls. The first player some- 

 times takes as many as eight oranges, throwing them successively 

 into the air, and endeavours to keep the whole in motion at once. 

 They are very dexterous at this : if they miss three times, the game 

 is lost. 



Tui-muri affords the natives much amusement. Any number of 

 persons may play at it. They seat themselves in a circle, and divide 

 into two parties. An orange is suspended from above, about two feet 

 from the ground, and each person is supplied with a small sharp- 

 pointed stick. The orange is swung round, and as it passes, each 

 one endeavours to pierce it, some with great eagerness, others quite 

 calmly, and others again with a wary coolness, all of which affords 

 much amusement to the bystanders. The party wins who first 

 succeeds in fairly hitting the orange fifty times. 



It is played for mats, trinkets, &c, but more generally for a baked 

 pig, which is eaten when the play is over. 



Litia. This is a general sport, sometimes whole villages playing 

 against each other ; it is in fact an exercise in spear-throwing. Two 

 parties furnish themselves with light sticks of the Hibiscus tiliaceus, 

 about eight or ten feet long and as thick as a finger. The bark is 

 stripped off, which makes them very light. The two parties arrange 



