Te Ano

Tuvalu keeps its own codified sport: te ano - 'the ball' - lines two teams opposite, serving and volleying two heavy pandanus balls simultaneously by hand and rule, points scored as drops and faults accumulate, the play fast, communal and older than every imported code beside it. Matches mark holidays and occasions, women's and men's lines both fielding, and the runway evenings host the casual version among the volleyball. Visitors watch easily and join by laughing invitation - the balls sting harder than they look, which is the initiation's lesson and the crowd's entertainment. Teams form by village and the game is played on open ground rather than a marked court.

What you actually see

• The two-ball volleys - simultaneous play by ancient rule.
• The team lines - the facing formation's rhythm.
• The occasion matches - holidays marked in play.
• The stinging initiation - visitors' lesson, crowd's delight.

When to go

Holidays and evening greens year-round - occasions fix the formal matches; the runway hour hosts the casual.

Honest expectations

The balls are heavy and the play honest - join at your palms' risk and the crowd's warm expense; watching costs nothing.

Nearby

The greens and tarmac of every islet.