KAPA PRESSERS—STONE DISHES. 



51 



the Bishop Museum where it is now on exhibition. Now in the opinion of this kahuna, 

 who was a fairly intelligent native, the stone was of sufficient antiquity to have become 

 sacred, to have acquired a certain luaiia or divine power, although I do not believe he 

 could have explained its original use. 



Kapa PreSSers. — A form allied to the ring pounders, or even more to the 

 Mexican corn grinders already mentioned, and one sometimes confounded with the 

 former by colledlors, is that shown in Fig. 48. The three rather clumsily wrought 



FIG. 48. KAPA PRESSEKS. 



stones were used for pressing the moist kapa or bark cloth. I have never seen them 

 used, and certainly they were not a necessary part of the clothmaker's machinery for 

 they are rare and doubtless were geuerall^- replaced by smooth stones or blocks of wood. 



Stone Dishes. — While for ordinary dishes wood was the more suitable material, 

 and in the chapter on Household Utensils it will be seen that the Hawaiians had large 

 bowls {^Umeke) and flat dishes of suitable size and form for dog or fish, they also made 

 use of stone dishes and in the Bishop Museum are several such dishes and bowls that 

 will here be figured and described. 



We have the rudest form of platter, at first sight almost a mere beach pebble 



worn by the waves but not cut b}' human hand, bxtt close examination shows some 



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