218 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
were kept together, with the dresses worn by the 
archers, were ail sacred, and under the special 
care of persons appointed to keep them. It was 
usually practised as a most honourable recreation, 
between the residents of a place and their guests. 
The sport was generally followed either at the foot 
of a mountain, or on the sea-shore. My house, 
in the valley of Haamene at Huahine, stood very 
near an ancient vahi te-a , a place of archery. 
Before commencing the game, the parties repaired 
to the marae, and performed several ceremonies; 
after which, they put on the archers' dress, and 
proceeded to the place appointed. They did not 
shoot at a mark; it was therefore only a trial of 
strength. In a place to which they shot the 
arrows, two small white flags were displayed, 
between which the arrows were directed. 
The bows were made of the light, tough wood of 
the parau; and were, when unstrung, perfectly 
straight, about five feet long; an inch, or an inch 
and a quarter, in diameter in the centre, but 
smaller at the ends. They were neatly polished, 
and sometimes ornamented with finely braided 
human hair, or cord of the fibres of cocoa-nut 
husk, wound round the ends of the bow in alter¬ 
nate rings. The string was of romaha , or native 
flax; the arrows were small bamboo reeds, ex¬ 
ceedingly light and durable. They were pointed 
with a piece of aito , or iron-wood, but were not 
barbed. Their arrows were not feathered ; but, in 
order to their being firmly held while the string 
was drawn, the lower end was covered with a resi¬ 
nous gum from the bread-fruit tree. The length 
of the arrows varied from two feet six inches to 
three feet. The spot from which they were shot 
was considered sacred; there was one of these 
