Games Papuans Play

Ever wonder what sort of games the natives of Papua New Guinea play when they are not busy working or taking care of family matters?  Cultures dating back thousands of years have contributed a wide variety of entertainment for the tribes who live on the island. Games are played by both men and women, adult and children. Since Papuans have a natural inclination to compete, games are not only played for fun but also to improve their natural skills and coordination.

Papuan children play games like hide and seek, cat’s cradle, and pitch and toss. Games like these are of course popular in the western world. Their version of pitch and toss involves using the round fruit that grows on the mimosa tree. More modern versions of the game use coins, but any small round object can be used to play the game.

Papuans also like to play a game that may be similar to the Mexican one of trying to break a pinata during a party to allow toys and candy to fall out, but in this case, a clay pot with this walls is filled with water and hung from a tree branch. Participants are blindfolded, then take a thick stick and try to break the pot as it swings from the tree.

A rope swing game is also favored by young men, who tie a loop at one end where the swinger places his foot. Then the rope is carried to the top of the bank, and the swinger holds on to the rope and leaps through the air, with his foot in the loop. The swinger remains suspended in air for a moment before landing on the ground below, then the next swinger tries to out leap the previous one. A game like this obviously requires a high level of athletic skill and speed, but Papuans have no trouble in executing a perfect but difficult move such as this.

Image Credit: Papuan Pictures, by H. M. Dauncey. London: London Missionary Society, 1913. Project Gutenberg.