The term Oceania usually refers to the Pacific Basin,
Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia, and Australia; here
Indonesia is also included. With so a wide expanse of
space and so many different cultures, it is not surprising that the traditional sports of the region are quite
varied as well.
Australian Aboriginals
Although the indigenous peoples of Australia lived by
hunting and gathering, they also engaged in sports,
many of which were tied to their subsistence skills. The
major ones were:
1. Tree climbing.
2. Spear the Disc.
3. Pit Throwing. A heavy stick or bone attached to
a piece of twine was thrown over an emu net
into a hole dug specifically for the game.
4. Returning Boomerang throwing.
5. Target and Distance Throwing: Competitions
involving the throwing of sticks, boomerangs,
spears, or any other object at a specific target.
6. Kangaroo Rat, or Weet Weet: In this group
game, the kangaroo “rat,” which was made out
of a single piece of wood, was thrown so that it
slid or bounced along the ground; the aim was
to achieve the furthest distance and/or the
greatest number of hops.
7. Wrestling.
8. Mungan-Mungan: In the center of the designated playing areas a wormar (a white painted
stick representing a young girl) was placed, and
the object of the game was for the young boys
to keep the wormar away from the older men.
Passing and tackling were essential features of
the game, which continued until one team was
too exhausted to play.
9. Catchball: Catchball was the favorite and most
widespread ball game and was played by both
sexes. The game involved players tossing the
ball back and forth while other players attempted to intercept it in the air.
10. Football: The most common mode of play was
to kick the ball high into the air higher and farther than anyone else.
11. Hockey: A ball-and-stick game, resembling the
European game of shinny, was played by both
sexes.
Through “play” and “friendly contests,” Aboriginal
males maintained and improved their fighting prowess.
Young boys imitated their elders in sham fights in which
they used weapons such as toy spears, woomeras, and
boomerangs. Adults participated in intertribal tournaments, called “pruns” by the Mallanpara Aborigines of
Central Queensland. Although basically entertainment,
such meetings followed the rules of fair play and were
used to settle personal scores and tribal disagreements
such as territorial disputes or theft of women.
With the exception of intertribal tournaments, the
rules were few, easily understood, and often temporary,
and officials or referees were almost nonexistent. Victory was generally of minor significance, and winners
were rarely honored, for the emphasis was maximum
participation and enjoyment. Games and sports in
Aboriginal culture served to solidify internal relationships and promote good will and social intercourse.
Effect of European Colonization
Within 50 years of the arrival of the alien culture the
Aboriginal population had decreased by over 80 percent. Economic, political, and educational policies were
enacted to ensure that the primitive natives were “civilized.” Sport was critical to this process and served as a
vehicle of acculturation. Games such as cricket were effective agents of “Anglicization” and inculcated European values and norms. As traditional culture was destroyed, so too were the indigenous games and sports.
The assimilation of Aborigines into European
games and sports has been relatively effective and
complete. In the schools and on the reserves and missions the “normal” games are now cricket, rugby, and
netball. Beginning only in the mid-1980s has an appreciation of Aboriginal heritage evolved and some traditional activities revived.
National competitions restricted to Aborigines have
been organized, such as the National Aboriginal Australian Rules Carnivals and interstate Aborigine Rugby
League Carnivals. Occasionally, at these gatherings or
other special Aborigine Sports Days, activities such as
boomerang and spear throwing and fire-making contests are held for the men. Inexplicably, females are invited to compete in sack races and races whereby flour
drums are balanced on their heads, which was never
part of the tradition. In 1969 the Aboriginal Sports
Foundation was formed, and it has received financial
assistance from the federal government. The foundation is active in fostering sports competition among
Aborigines but has never made any serious attempt to
promote traditional sports and games.
Melanesia
The geographical area known as Melanesia consists of
a group of southeastern Pacific islands located northeast of Australia between the Equator and the Tropic of
Capricorn. Twelve traditional sports are known and
two other activities based on physical skill were practiced, but not competitively.
1. Canoe Racing.
2. Spear Throwing.
3. Land Diving: A unique sport and a forerunner
to the modern bungee jumping, land diving
was reported among the natives of Maleka in
the New Hebrides. A tower some 80 feet in
height was constructed and the base around it
cleared of debris and rocks. Vines were attached at various heights on the tower, and
young men, after binding the vine around their
ankles, dived head first into the prepared pit.
The winner was the one diving from the highest point.
4. Racing.
5. Foot Fighting: The game involved ferocious
kicking, with the object being to knock down
all members of the opposing team.
6. Wrestling.
7. Tug of War.
8. Batting the Ball: The ball, made of the hard
fruit of the kaui kents tree, was thrown to the
opposing team, who attempted to bat the ball back with a piece of wood. The game was
played for hours for enjoyment.
9. Football: Various team games involving kicking
the ball were played in Aoba, New Hebrides,
Wogeo, New Guinea, Central New Guinea,
Manus, and the Admiralty Islands. Balls ranged
from native oranges, coconuts, breadfruit, or
hard konts fruit. Few rules existed; the object
was, simply, to kick the ball though a goal that
was usually a couple of pieces of sticks.
10. Handball: The most popular type of ball was a
pig’s bladder, although the fruit from the kai
tree and balls made from pandanus and coconut palm leaves were also used. One player
attempted to punch the ball for at least 10 consecutive hits, while members of the opposing
team tried to disrupt his juggling.
11. Shinty: A team game resembling the modern
sport of field hockey was played in the Torres
Strait Islands, the New Hebrides, and Fly River
in New Guinea. The game involved hitting a
wooden ball with a stick, often of bamboo, and
was played on the beach. Few rules existed and
the object appears to have been ball possession
rather than scoring goals.
12. Surfboard Riding.
13. Cat’s Cradle.
Effect of European Colonization
In certain instances assimilation has not been complete, and the old culture has managed to survive the
dominance of the new. The game of cricket on the Trobriand Islands furnishes a fascinating example. Introduced by the British missionaries as a substitute for intertribal combats, cricket has been modified by the
Trobrianders from the traditional English game, and
aspects of their traditional culture have been incorporated into the game so that the sport as it is now played
is distinctly “Trobriand.” Full of ritual significance, the
restructured game is an essential component of Trobriand culture.
Micronesia
Micronesia consists of a myriad of small coral islets,
reefs, and volcanic islands located in the western Pacific, north of the Equator.
Only a few of the various Micronesian societies
have games. The Palauans and Truckese played games
of physical skill and chance. The Majuro on the Marshall Islands and Makin on the Gilbert Islands played
games of physical skill only. The Ifaluk on the Central
Caroline Islands engaged in games of physical skill and
strategy, but none of chance. Other Micronesian societies, according to anthropologists, did not have competitive sports of any type.
Polynesia
The name Polynesia comes from the Greek, and means
“many islands.” The sports and games of these societies are more complex, more abundant, and more
competitive than in other regions. Some 16 traditional
Polynesian sports have been identified:
1. Running Races.
2. Swimming Races.
3. Canoe Races.
4. Cockfighting.
5. Boxing.
6. Wrestling.
7. Fencing: Various forms of fencing, or fighting
with wooden sticks, were reported among the
Hawaiians, Samoans, and Maoris. Samoans
also indulged in club-fights where stalks of
coconut leaf were used as a substitute for clubs.
8. Tug of War.
9. Ball Games: A variety of games involving a
spherical object were recorded, with balls made
from kapa being the most prevalent. Tough
stalks of plantain leaves twisted closely and
firmly together were also used, as were pandanus leaves stuffed with grass. The most common ball game was a kicking form where the
ball was struck with the foot in an attempt to
kick it beyond the goal line.
10. Bandy: A ball-and-stick game similar to hockey
was reported in Tahiti.
11. Bowling Disks (Maika): An extremely popular
competitive game in Hawaii to roll spherical
disks along the ground in a prescribed area.
The game, which involved intense gambling,
resembled modern versions of lawn bowling,
where often the disks are given a bias by the
thrower to round a corner.
12. Pitching Disks.
13. Darts.
14. Spear Throwing.
15. Tree Climbing.
16. Sledding (holua): The Hawaiians raised this
unique sport to an elaborate level of organization and status. Sledding head first down steep
hillsides on special sleds at breakneck speeds,
the holua was one of the most dangerous but exciting Hawaiian sports. Boards were made
from breadfruit wood.
The Makahiki Games (often compared to the ancient Greek Olympics) of the ancient Hawaiians was an
annual multisport festival that lasted for four lunar
months from mid-October to mid-February. All work
ceased, and war was kapu (forbidden), while all Hawaiians relaxed and enjoyed sports, dancing, and feasting.
Top athletes came together to compete in sports such
as surfing, the holua, spear-throwing, wrestling, and
bowling disks.
The Hawaiians and the New Zealand Maori have
made the most dedicated and comprehensive attempts
to preserve and maintain their traditional games and
sports.
The Americanization of the Sandwich or Hawaiian
Islands has been complete, and it is nowhere more obvious than in Waikiki. By 1830 most of the traditional
culture had disappeared, and the new American-European culture emerged. The over 100 ancient Hawaiian
games and sports disappeared with the enthusiastic reception of European culture. In 1934 President Franklin
D. Roosevelt became one of the first Americans to call
for a revival of the traditional sports, and a once-only
Makahiki Festival was reenacted in 1935. A more successful venture was Aloha Week. It continues today, and
its most popular event is the Moloka’i-to-O’ahu canoe
race. In 1977, at Waimea Falls Park, the first permanent
Hawaiian games site was constructed, and the Makahiki
Festival is now organized annually in October.
Indonesia
Indonesia, the largest archipelago in the world, lies at
the crossroads of the continents of Asia and Australia.
There are 13,700 scattered islands, of which the largest
are Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Borneo, and Sulawesi.
Irian Jaya, which is part of the island of New Guinea, is
also part of Indonesia.
The thousands of islands and disparate cultural
groupings contained a rich diversity of traditional
sports, although only a few have been identified.
1. Boat racing.
2. Bull races.
3. Sepak Takraw: This is an aggressive, competitive
team game that appears to be a cross between
volleyball and football.
4. Cockfighting.
The term “sport”has really quite limited application
to these preindustrialized societies of Oceania. Only
the Polynesians, particularly the Hawaiians, displayed
complex social organizations and technologies that enabled highly organized, institutionalized competitive
sports to emerge.
Competition, and the determining of winners and
losers, was generally accepted in the various societies
as being the essential characteristic of a sport. However, the simpler the society, the less concern with the
outcome, and the more emphasis on collaborative play,
turn taking, and participation.
—REET HOWELL