In ancient Hawaiʻi, there were several pulling games that developed strength.
Three games carry the name. Each one isolates a different part of the body. Each one was its own contest.
Hukihuki Kaula
Definition of hukihuki in relation to a game:
To pull or draw frequently, or by many persons; to pull by jerks or continuously, as in the tug-of-war game.
DESCRIPTION
Hukihuki kaula, or tug-of-war, was one of the few team sports in ancient Hawaiʻi. Originally each team consisted of seven players with a captain. A piece of kapa cloth was fastened in the middle of the rope between the two teams. The team which pulled the cloth past a designated stake won the contest. It was played for money and prizes.
How to Play
Players Two teams. Seven players and a captain per side.
Equipment A rope. A piece of kapa cloth tied at the center. A stake in the ground.
Objective Pull the kapa cloth past the designated stake.
Prizes Money and prizes.
Where hukihuki kaula organized teams around a rope, hukihuki kiai reduced the contest to two people and the space between them.
Hukihuki Kiai
DEFINITION
Ki: the lock itself.
Ai: the neck.
Hukihuki kiai: a pulling contest with a loop locked around the players’ necks.
DESCRIPTION
Two players put a loop around their necks. At the given signal, each player attempted to pull each other over to their side. The game was contested for small prizes.
Hukihuki Kiai is part of the Hawaiian Decathlon Card Set!
The third game brings it down further still, from the neck to a single finger.
Hukihuki Lima
DEFINITION
Lima: the hand, finger, or arm.
DESCRIPTION
Pulling with the arm, hand, or finger. Two players locked forefingers and each attempted to pull the other’s finger into a straightened position.
Also called lou lou: a game of hooking fingers to test one’s strength, or an exercise of the hand.
How to Play
Players Two.
Objective Pull the other player’s locked forefinger into a straightened position.
Rules Hook forefingers. At the signal, each player pulls.
Hukihuki names a group of contests. The rope, the neck, the finger. Each one with a different scale but the same principle. Strength tested against another person, directly, with a clear outcome.
Makahiki Games
Sources
Andrews, L. A Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language.
Culin, S. Games of the North American Indians.
Mitchell, D. Resource Units in Hawaiian Culture.
Pukui, M.K. ʻOlelo Noʻeau A Collection of Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings.