Abstract
MAORI STRING GAMES.—Some further examples of Maori string figures are given by Mr. J. C. Anderson in the March number of the New Zealand Journal of Science and Technology. One of these, known by the name of Tahitinui and collected from a Whan-ganui man at Kariniti, in its final figure is the same as one called the Osage diamonds from Pawhuska, Ohlahoma, and an unnamed figure collected by Dr. W. H. Furness in the Carolines. It differs entirely, however, from the latter in method of construction, whereas the points in which it is at variance with the Osage figure appear to be due to faulty memory. It is evident that many of the figures have had stories connected with them, but most of these have now been forgotten. One figure is known as mouti, “a trap,” because it is said to have been used to catch Kae, who killed and ate the pet whale of Tinirau. Girls sent in search of Kae by Tinirau tricked him into revealing his identity by repeating the verses which accompany this figure. When he laughed he revealed the missing tooth by which they had been told to recognise him. Dr. P. Buck (Te Rangi Hiroa) has succeeded in recovering the whole of these verses. They reveal an extraordinary knowledge of details of anatomy and are characteristic of the Maori sense of humour. On both accounts they are untranslatable.
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Research Items. Nature 113, 937–939 (1924). https://doi.org/10.1038/113937a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/113937a0