34 CLUB TYPES OF NUCLEAR POLYNESIA. 
of the flight. Probably the position of the end of the haft, perhaps 
some feature of its shape at the point of apposition to the ball of the 
thumb, may serve to delay the beginning of the flight and add to the 
effect of the rhythmic finger-release. In the 17 pieces of this collec- 
tion but one has a domed end; only 5 are cut square across; 11 are 
finished at the end with a distinct cupping of the haft, which may be 
intended to form a pneumatic joint at the point of apposition, an 
opinion which finds support in the additional fact that it is usual to 
moisten the ball of the thumb by the tongue before delivering a flight. 
TABLE 12. 
Length 
(inches). 
Length 
Piece No. Cuchess 
Piece No. 
15 2467, 3785 a : 3786, 2466, 3188 
15.25 2462 3784, 2465, 2460, 2463 
16 2468, 2469, 3785, 3784 a4 ; 3188 a 
16.5 2461 a, 2461 

The grimness of savage humor is preserved for us in connection with 
this weapon; it may serve to confirm the opinion of those who despise 
the pun. The Fijian vakarimbamalamala, meaning literally’ to cause 
chips to fly off, is used to describe a play upon ambiguous words, as 
the word ulaula, signifying either to thatch a house or throw short 
clubs (ula) at one another. ‘The Bau people sometimes order (we are 
quoting from the missionary Hazlewood’s Fijian Dictionary, compiled 
TABLE 13. 
Length Length 
of shaft Piece No. of shaft Piece No. 
(inches). (inches). 
2467, 3785 a, 3785 2469, ppd 2463, 37844, 
2466, 2461 
3786, 2461 a 
2465, 3188 a, 3188 

at a time when the present tense was accurate) the Tailevu people to 
come to Bau to ulaula; the people come expecting to thatch a house and 
find themselves pelted with clubs. 
The measurements of these pieces are presented in 5 tables, begin- 
ning with the length over all in table 12. | 
For such significance as they may possess, we sum these measure- 
ments for each inch of length and its fractions: 15 inches, 3 pieces; 16 
inches, 9 pieces; 17 inches, 5 pieces. | 
The length of the shaft to its point of articulation with the head, a 
measurement distinctly obtainable in the ball type but subject to 
diversity in the other two types, is presented in table 13. 
