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Samoan Material Culture

Dart Throwing

Dart Throwing

The wide-spread Polynesian game of throwing darts for distance is found in Samoa. Here, however, the dart is called ti'a as against teka in eastern Polynesia. The term te'a (Samoan form of the ward teka) is applied to the throwing disc. The act of casting the dart is tati'a and the game, tanga ti'a. Dart throwing must not be confused with spear throwing (tolonga).

The dart. The ti'a dart was originally of cane (u). The Tutuila people held that the cane flew too far and was banned. This is quite explicable in places where a suitable length of clear ground was not available. At a competition seen in Vaitongi, the darts of shorter travelling wood caused some delay when an extra good cast passed the ordinary bounds and landed in a talo patch.

The wood commonly used is fu'afu'a. The dart, after it is peeled, is about as thick as the little finger. It was rubbed smooth between two short pieces of wood termed suni. Each player carries these pieces and rubs his dart between casts. The dart has a specific name according to its length:

  • Tapu'u. From the middle finger to the elbow.
  • Tasali. From the middle finger to the shoulder.
  • Talu. From the middle finger to the breast bone.
  • Velo. From the middle finger to the opposite shoulder.
  • Ulu toa.

The ulu toa was longer than the velo and as its name implies, it had a head (ulu) of toa wood attached to the shaft, thus resembling in principle, the darts of Niue.

The ground was an ordinary clear space in the village on the road. The part at either end from which the darts glanced off the ground was termed panga ti'a. A slight rise was preferred and the loose sand scraped away to page 567provide a rise. Children may be seen glancing the darts off the level ground, or even off loose sand.

The sides of the course were known as tapula'a or afenga. Hence the saying, "'Ua tulia afenga" (The sides are occupied by standing people), which denotes that everything is ready.

The game is played between two sides, the number depending on mutual arrangement. In the game, one side is called auti'a. Played between two villages, the game is a tavasanga. All the players of one side threw a dart each before the other side commences. The side waiting beguiles the time with song such as one commencing with "Aue lulu, aue moa." The team leader throws first and follows up his dart so as to exhort and encourage his team from the other end. He is usually a mediocre player, but a humorist gifted with eloquence and an adept at posturing and grimacing. A judge and markers are appointed.

The throw. The dart is held at the thinner end between the thumb and middle finger with the forefinger over the end. The throw (ta) is made by taking a short run, turning sideways and throwing the head of the dart in a slanting direction to glance off the surface of the ground. An upward slant in the ground thus assists the dart in rising and hence the sloping of the panga. The dart is thrown at the ground in two ways: a, veto, with an overhand sweep; b, tasali, with an underhand motion.

Success depends on the skill with which the striking angle of the head with the ground is made, so as to cause it to ricochet off the surface. The correct action is called fa'amasau, but if the head misses and only the tail touches, it is pa i'u. If the dart misses the ground altogether, it is termed fa'alele and the throw disqualified. If the head strikes the ground at too abrupt an angle (sulu panga) it fails to rise. Where it strikes the ground twice, it is panga lua. When it does not rise, but runs along the ground like a lizard (mo'o), it is termed sulumo'o.

The flight. The perfectly thrown dart strikes the panga a glancing blow, rises gradually with a trajectory like the flight of a golf ball and flies straight and true down the course accompanied by yells of approval. Such a dart is called ti'a ulu tonu as against the ti'a ulu afe, the dart which turns to the side and thus loses distance. Hence the saying: "'O le ti'a ulu tonu lou finangalo" (As the straight flying dart are your thoughts).

A similar thought is expressed by using the term seu from pigeon netting, where the high flying piegeon cannot be caught: "O le ti'a e le seua lou finangalo" (As the dart which cannot be intercepted are your thoughts).

The word ulu (head) used in some of the expressions applies to the head of the dart. The dart that flies too high is ti'a ulu manu and the one that dips too quickly is ti'a ulu tofu. The object is to pass the other throws which is expressed by the verb 'ausia while to pass beyond the furthest dart is 'ausiti'a.

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The contest. The longest throws are marked by official markers. All long throws count until they are surpassed. When the second side throws, all the darts not reached by their furthest throw count to the other side. On the other hand, all throws that pass the furthest count to the throwing side.

The leaders exhort their men with shouts of "Maui! Maui!" In a close finish, the leader of the side which got the judge's decision shouted out a saying from the game of tapalenga; "Le uto 'ua tingi" (The float has reached the goal). His side replied with the chorus of "Tingi o." After the leaders of either side throw, they go forward to the other ends where they watch results with the judge and markers. The teams, however, remain at the casting end until all have thrown when they go to the other end to pick up their darts and then cast the next round from that end. At the end of the round the judge gives the number of points scored by the particular side. The leader of that side immediately transmits the results to his team, who were crossing over, by wild capers and the yell of "Mauia!" (meaning a point) His team replied with "Maui," and the leader repeated "Maui" for each point scored in the round, his team replying after each call. In casting, when a dart went ahead of the best recorded, the leader yelled, "Mua" (in front), and his team shouted back, "Mua o." Before casting, a player anxious to excel used the following incantation, whilst he twirled the head of his dart on the ground:

"Vilivili Tonga. Twirl Tonga.
Vilivili Tonga. Twirl Tonga.
Sau le aitu ma le amonga. Comes the spirit with his burden
Ta la'u ti'a. Cast my dart.
Lele 'i Tonga." Fly to Tonga.

It was a coincidence apparently, that the thrower who recited the above to me, immediately after made the winning throw of the round. Later, how ever, it did not prove effective.

On changing ends, the winning thrower of the last round has first throw. The game goes on until one side reaches the number decided on. No special form of counting such as in eastern Polynesia, could be obtained. At Vaitongi, Tutuila, where the game was seen being played by adults, it went on for hours without anyone keeping a count of the total.

A winning cast about which there is no doubt has given rise to the following saying: "'O le mua e le fuatia" (The winning cast is not measured).

The saying is used to accompany presents in return for hospitality when the receiver depreciates what he has done. The reply infers that his kindness cannot be measured, it is so outstanding.

Protests. When two throws of opposing sides are so close as to render a decision difficult, the judge calls it a draw and asks the teams, not the two page 569Individual throwers, to throw again. The decision is left to the casting ground. Hence the saying: "Tu'u ia mo panga." (Leave it to the casting ground). It is often used by a diplomat who wishes to shelve a difficult question.

Pratt (23, p. 246) gives puketa as an exclamation of triumph used in the rame of tanga ti'a, which is derived from puke, an interjection meaning catching you. He states it is the only word with k until the recent corruption of t into k.

Dart thrown with a cord. The dart (ti'a) termed ti'a tafau (ta, to throw; fau, hibiscus bark) was thrown as the name implies with a strip of fau bast. The bast strip was tied in an overhand knot at one end and two methods of applying pressure over the knot to hold the cord on the dart are shown in figure 305.

Figure 305.—Dart with throwing string (ti'a tafau):

Figure 305.—Dart with throwing string (ti'a tafau):

a, The knot (1) on the end of a strip of bast is laid against the dart (4) near the tail end. The bast is passed over the dart (2), brought around on the right (3) of the knot, and passes, over the strip to the inner side of the knot. By keeping the bast taut, the turn around the dart is prevented from slipping by the knot (1). The other end of the bast is twisted around the fight forefinger, and keeping the bast taut, the dart is held towards the head end. When the dart is thrown, the pressure over the knot relaxes and the turn (2) around the dart releases. b, The turn (2) comes around the dart (4) on the left side (3) of the knot (1) and then passes around the knot. The forward pull of the bast strip keeps the turn (2) fixed against the knot in the same way as (a).

The use of the throwing strip gave extra length to the throwing movement and thus acts on the same principle as the throwing sticks of the Australian aboriginals. The forward pull against the knot kept the bast turn round the dart in position, but when the dart passed forward, the pressure was removed and the throwing strip automatically released itself without impeding the flight of the dart. The dart so thrown was glanced off the ground in the same way as the darts without the throwing strip. Any of the darts could be thrown with the knotted strip but the short tapu'u dart had to have a coconut leaflet midrib stuck in the end to furnish a tail to make it fly truer.

In another method the throwing strip tied to a handle was wound spirally found the dart after fixing the knot. The dart was laid on the ground and jerked forward with the handle. Both methods were used in Aitutaki, Cook slands (39, p. 338).

page 570

Children's dart game. A forfeit game (tapongo) is played with ti'a darts by boys. The poorest thrower in each round is termed mona. He is struck by each of the other players with their darts. The mona has the privilege of first thrower in the next round. The mona of each round pays the forfeit of being struck. The game continues for eleven rounds. A refrain is sung as the penalty is being enforced, a number accompanying each stroke.

Tasi ma le sua o le ma'i. One and the food of the sick.
Lua ma le sua a le olomatua. Two and the food of the old woman.

Other numbers follow with their particular accompaniments.