The beach is shallow in most tides and the children enjoy wading and playing in the water. Since the beach is also the garbage dump, broken glass abounds and children often cut themselves. Occasionally parents insist that children wear life jackets while playing in the water or along the water's edge. The children are not skillful swimmers and adults do not instruct them. A few children can swim in deeper water and do some diving.
Children boast of swimming to distant points but usually stay close to shore.
Boys are expected to be better than girls at swimming. The boys like to carry knifes and do some carving. During one period the school-age boys made slingshots, and the indiscriminate use made of them concerned adults. One afternoon none of the older boys showed up for school. They had seen the chief talking to the teacher at noon while they were at the beach using their slings.