A rag ball made of kapa moves fast between hands. Somewhere nearby, a wooden object tipped with a needle is thrown into the air again and again, until it lands standing upright. Nearby still, a hole waits in the ground at each end of a field, dug just large enough to take the ball rolling toward it. Three separate contests, each built around a single small object and the skill required to control it.
Kiniholo
A ball game similar to baseball, described as "a ball game, something like playing catch on the run; to play the game." The game was played with a rag ball made of kapa, struck with the open hand.
Ku-hele-mai
Ku: "to stand." Ku-hele-mai: "to rise, move, this way; the name given to a kind of play used in gambling." The game was played with an awl-shaped object, fitted with a wooden handle and pointed with a needle. The object was tossed from the hand, and the aim was to make it land standing erect. Players took turns, each continuing until he missed.
Peku Kinipōpō
A football-like game, played with a large kapa ball. A hole larger than the ball was dug at opposite sides of a field to serve as the goals. The contest was won by forcing the ball into the opponent's hole.
Makahiki Games
Sources
Mary K. Pukui and S. Elbert, Hawaiian Dictionary
Stewart Culin, Hawaiian Games
Lorrin Andrews, A Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language