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or six inches thick, 24 to 30 inches wide, and three to six feet long. 

 Any hard, close-grained wood, that could be obtained in pieces 

 sufficiently large, is suitable for a /'O/'-board. Koa and ohia were 

 among the woods anciently used ; to these in recent times has been 

 added monkey-pod, mango and other introduced trees. 



The short boards are used by men working alone ; when the 

 long boards are employed two men work together, one at each 

 end. 



The /'Oi-pounder or pestle is fashioned from a piece of hard 

 lava or coral rock, selected because of its proper weight and 

 grain. It must be neither too heavy nor too light ; it may be 

 porous, but the vesicles must be small. In shape the pounder 

 is like a thick, stubby pestle, the neck of convenient size to be 

 gripped firmly by one hand ; the face is markedly curved and very 

 smooth. On the island of Kauai, other forms of /'oZ-pounders 

 were made, namely the ring- form, and the stirrup- form. 



A small type of pounder, called pohakn ku'i poi malu was used 

 by the common people in times of great scarcity, to avoid by the 

 loud noise of pounding the prej)aration of food, lest others hear- 

 ing should expect to share the poi. 



This pounding of the kalo by hand, like the primitive methods 

 of its cultivation, requires a large stock of patience, persistence, 

 and muscular power. This work is always performed by the 

 men ; although the women participate in the subsequent mixing 

 of the poi. The workman scats himself on the ground, his legs 

 extended along either side of the /JoZ-board. He has divested 

 himself of all unnecessary clothing, in fact is usually nude to the 

 waist, for it is important that the arms be perfectly free. At 

 one side, close to him, is a pile of the cooked and cleaned corms, 

 on the other side a container of water. The board immediately 

 in front of him is well moistened with water, several corms are 

 l)laced thereupon, and are mashed by short, quick strokes. 



At every blow the ])ounder is lifted high in the air, the intensity 

 of the blows increasing as more corms are added and the mass of 

 ])artially jiounded kalo gains in size. The face of the jiounder 

 is kept moist l)y water applied with the other hand between 

 strokes. This prevents the kalo from sticking to the pounder. 

 Corms which are tough arc called iiauo. Those water-soaked arc 

 loliloli, or popo. Of these terms loliloli is most commonly used : 

 popo is stronger and signifies entire rottenness. Corms decayed 

 i)elow but with an upper portion still fit to use as food are palahilo. 

 The white spots that a])])c'ar in ai paa while being ijoundi'd are 

 called a. 



AI I'A'i. 



;\ firm, dough-like mass is the result of this continuous l)ealing. 

 In this state it is called ai po'i. and will keej) unchanged for some 

 time. W'hen desired for storage or trans])ortation the ai pa'i 

 was made with a minimum amount of water, and was lied u]) in 



