Interesting Games (Kilikiti & Oina)

Kilikiti (syn. kirikiti, Samoan cricket, pronounced ki-ree-kiss) is one of several forms of cricket. Originating in Samoa (English missionaries introduced their game of cricket in the early 19th century), it spread throughout Polynesia and can now be found around the world in areas with strong Polynesia populations. The game is the national sport of Samoa, it is played in Tuvalu, and is particularly popular in New Zealand.

The ball is made of a very hard rubber wrapped in pendants. Players are not protected by any padding or masks, and will often wear only a lava-lava. The sennit-wrapped wooden bats, which are shaped to individual players' likings and can be over a meter long, are three-sided, which means that the path of a hit ball is extremely hard to predict.

There is no limit to team size, and teams are made up of whoever turns up regardless of gender or age (tourist accounts referenced below mention that strangers are often welcomed). Players are typically all-rounder’s. A kilikiti game is a multi-day community event full of singing, dancing, and feasting.

Oina is a Romanian traditional ball sport, similar in many ways to baseballOina was first mentioned during the rule of Vlaicu Void in 1364, when it spread all across Wallachia. It originated as a game played by shepherds.In 1899, Spiru Haret, the minister of education decided that oina was to be played in schools in Physical education classes. He organized the first annual oina competitions.

The Romanian Oina Federation was founded in 1932, and reactivated at the beginning of the 1950s.Today, there are two Oina Federations: one in Bucharest, Romania and another one in Chişinău, Moldova.There are two teams, one that is "at bat" ("la bătaie") and one that is "at catching" ("la prindere").

The game begins with the team "at bat", with one of the players throwing the ball while another player of the same team has to hit it with a wooden bat ("bâtă") and send it as far as he can towards the adversary field. After that, the player has to run the "back-and-forth lanes" (culoarele de ducere şi întoarcere).