BA N D Y-FOOT-BALL. 
213 
In front of each canoe he paused, and addressed 
a short harangue to the warriors, and an ubu , or 
invocation, to the gods. After this was ended, at 
a signal given, the whole fleet was in a moment 
launched upon the ocean, and pulled with rapi¬ 
dity and dexterity to a considerable distance from 
the shore, where the several varieties of their 
naval tactics were exhibited; after which, they 
returned in regular order, with precision, to 
the shore. 
Many of their games were most laborious.' One 
at which the men played, called apai , or paipai , 
resembled a sport in some parts denominated 
“ bandy.” A similar game, called palican , was 
formerly a frequent amusement among the abori¬ 
gines of South America, and those inhabiting the 
northern parts of the same continent, even as far 
as Canada. A ball is provided, and the players 
are furnished with sticks about three or four feet 
long, bent a.t one end ; with these they strike the 
ball, each party endeavouring to send it beyond 
the boundary markof their opponents. The ball 
is made with tough shreds of native cloth, tightly 
knotted together. The sticks used by the Tahi¬ 
tians were rude and unpolished, just as they were 
out from the tree ; but those used by the inhabi¬ 
tants of the Southern Islands are made with the aito , 
or iron-wood, the handle wrought with great care, 
and sometimes curiously carved, while a round 
protuberance is formed at the lower end, which, 
being slightly curved, augments the force with 
which they strike the ball. 
The tuiraa, or foot-ball, is also a frequent game, 
followed more by the women than the men. Whole 
districts engaged in this amusement. In the 
former, they only struck the ball with a stick ; in 
