Every Traditional Hawaiian Game, Explained

The Crowd That Cried Ah With Every Blow

None who could cry "Ah!" would remain at home or at work when two boxers fought before the crowd.

Palaʻie: The Hawaiian Loop-and-Ball Game

The loop was woven from five segments of interlaced vine, four and eight-tenths inches long and two and three-tenths inches wide.

Ten Men, Ten Women, and a Stone Hidden Under a Kapa Cloth

The president called out "pūheoheo" and the players echoed it back before three men lifted a long kapa cloth to hide an entire row of chiefs from view.

He broke a sacred law in the kingdom.

When Liholiho crossed to the women's table at Kailua, Kona in 1819 and ate beside Kaʻahumanu, the gods did not strike him dead.

He promised he'd come back on an island full of wild pigs and coconuts.

Before he sailed away for good, Lono built a canoe with a mast of ʻōhiʻa wood and sails woven from Niʻihau matting.

He carried a 1,000-pound rock when he was twenty-two

A historical marker was erected by the Historical Society that stood at the spot outside Kapaʻau on highway number 24, where the same rock rested.

Kimokimo & Kiolaola: Hawaiian Jacks and Juggling Games

Pebbles, Sticks, and Balls Kept in the Air

Hū Koa & Hūnā Pōhaku: Traditional Hawaiian Children's Games

Tops, Stones, and a Pinwheel of Kapa

Kūpololū & Kukuluāeʻo: Hawaiian Pole Vaulting and Stilts

The Warriors Who Vaulted Over Ravines