WHIP-TOPS AND OTHER TOYS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 81, 29 December 1917, Page 8

WHIP-TOPS AND OTHER TOYS

1 ABOUT A MUSEUM EXHIBIT

HOW THE LITTLE MAORI AMUSED HIMSELF

Yesterday was a wet day, and so there were people in the Dominion Museum. This institution, neglected alike by the Government and by the public, has its visitors on other days. Strang© though it may, seem to Wellington folk, there are persons who travel far to see the Dominion collections. But these visitors from outside the city are iiot numerous, ail it takes a combination of rain and holiday lo send any substantial number of Wellington people into the National Museum. So yesterday, atf" has been said, there wen| people in, the Museum, and among them were children, who looked just a trifle perplexed and overawed by the array of old, quaint, and fearsome things garnered from many lands. i Whip-Tops and Humming-Tops There was one little group that, having passed unmoved the stark Egyptian mummy, the grim Maori figures, and the carved things of hone and stone, halted with a stir of interest before a certain glass-covered case. _ "Why, they are just tops!" said one incredulous youngster. "Whip-tops and liumming-tops," added another. And for a minuto or two several small heads were bowed over the toys that in somo bygone days had amused Maori children, Who realiy wero very much like the little pakeha boye and girls of today. For the potalca takiri and the potaka ta were just plain tops, made to be spun by little people who liked games. The ancient Maori, as Mr. Elsdon Best has recorded, was acquainted with the whip-top and' the humming-top. In fact, he seems to havo been a better manipulator of the whip-top than the liTEle pakeha who_ uses one to the danger of passers-by in the streets of Wellington to-dayi It was a'game with the Maori children to make the top jump over small hurdles by means of vigorous whipping, and there was a double-pointed Maori top that wns made. to changei ends while spinning by ' the dexterous uso of. the whip. The humming-tops were mad.e of wood or in some cases of small gourds, aud they were quite as effective in their way as the gaily decorated things of metal that are used by the children of to-dav. But they were harder to spin.

Kites and Aeroplanes. Kifce-flying was a favourite pastime of the Maori children, and was often pursued also by adults. The kites appear to have been made in two, if not three, different shapes. Some were in the form of birds, with long wings, and the- names used for these kites were tnanu (bird) and kahu (hawk). Others again had two wings -on cncli side of k triangular body.' They were constructed' neatly from auto bark, leaves of the raupo, or the triangular stems of thcupoko-tangata. The light shells of the fresh-water mussel were sometimes attached to the kite so that they might make a rattling sound in tho wind, and there were certain charms to be chanted wrtile a kito was being flown, in order to make it rise to a desirable height. . The sophisticated little pakeha knows, of course, that the reciting of charms will not make- his kite fly high, but ho must not wear the superior smilp too soon. Would he have discovered tho principle of the aeroplane for himself? The Maori children discovered it long before the white man set foot on New Zealand'ssshorne n for they used to amuse themselves with the koko or topa. Into the stem of a broad leaf, such as that of the whnrangi shrub, wrfs inserted the base of a culm of tlio karetu grass. Then the child would cast the leaf forward from an eminence, 'such as river hank, and if the cast was a deft one the embryo aeroplane would Fail onwards for some distance before' descending to the earth. Jumping Jacks. Another of the. familiar toys of today, the jumping jack, was well known to the Maori children of ancient days. The karatao was a wooden figure in human form, often much embellished with carving and having the. face tattooed in the orthodox manner. Tlie arms were loose,being secured only by strings passed through the shoulders of _tlie figure. The child pulled tbese strings in such a way as, to make the arms assume different positions, and at the same time shook thn figure with a quivering movement in imitation of tho motions of the haka. Special jinglo songs were composed,. to be sung during; the manipulation of the karatao. The ivhizzer or bull-roarer was a favourite toy of the Native children. There is a specimen in the-Dominion Museum not far from Ihe tops. Lt was attached to a stick, by means of a cord, and was used to make a- noise that doubtless was exceedingly grateful to the ears of. little Bewi am] possibly very annoying to Rewi- senior.

Hoops, Toboggans, and Stilts. Then there were the hoop, the toboggan, and tho stilts, all familiar Maori toys. The hoop was.made from tough forest creepers. The toboggan was a flat, piece of wood, sometimes elaborately carved, on which the child squatted. Slide's were formed down steep slopes, and were kept slippery by having water poured on them. There were not white- clothes to bo kept clean, and the mothers that day viewed this {'articular aimisemsnt with less concern than would bo displayed by the pakeha mother of to-day. The stilts were called pou toti, and- tho foot-rests were usually about three feet from the ground. Wrestling on stilts was a sport, recognised by tho tough Maori lads.

The list can be extended. Swings were much patronised by the young Maoris, the favourite pattern being that known ss the "giant stride" by the white children and as "morere" by the Natives. If possible these swings wero erected on the banks of a river or lake, where deep water could be obtained, so that the young people could swing far out and then drop off with a mighty splash. How many young pakehas of to-day know why iveeping willows ought always to be planted on tho banks of rivers P The Maori children were great skippers, and they vero fond of the see-saw or pioi. They liked to skim flat stones along the .surface of smooth water. Thoy played hide-and-seek, which they nailed taupunipuni, and they could make wonderful "cats'-cradles," which they knew as Tvliai. So' there is no need, after all, for tho boy or girl of to-day to be Mirprised at finding a familiar toy in a museum collection.' Tho Maori young--ster of a century or so ago would not have been altogether at o, loss, as far the games were concerned, if he bad been transported miraculously to a Christmas party of 1917. Indeed the probabilities are that he would have shown himself much more skilful than his new playmates, since his toys end games wero not bought ready-made in shops, and his pleasure lay in the pcquiring of quick eyes and deft hands.