54 



HAWAIIAN STONE IMPLEMENTS. 



broken from the bottom so 

 that like the former it has 

 become useless for a con- 

 tainer and was perhaps 

 abandoned by the last owner. 

 It was found on Nihoa or 

 Bird island in 1885 and was 

 given to the Museiim by 

 Mrs. Dominis (later Queen 

 Liliuokalani). I simpl}- do 

 not know what these bowls 

 were used for, and it would 

 be idle to conjecture without 

 farther information. Both 

 of these islands, the least 

 distant Nihoa ont of sight 

 from the nearest island 

 Kanai, were visited in for- 

 mer daj'S by Hawaiians for 

 feather gathering and fish- 



Si- 



HAWAIIAN STONE DISH. 



ing, and the remains of 

 stone enclosures evident- 

 ly for purposes of worship 

 are abundant on Necker. 

 It was apparently a Holy 

 Island. On neither isl- 

 and are there permanent 

 springs of water, and if 

 there were thej^ would be 

 contaminated b3' the gua- 

 no of the innumerable 

 birds that frequent these 

 rocky islets for nesting. 

 The visitors did not reside 

 on either island longer 

 than necessar}' to collect 

 feathers (of the tropic and 

 frigate birds) and the landing was precarious. That there were so many stone images 



on Necker island is surprising for it is a narrow ridge of an ancient crater with steep 



[386] 



FIG. 52. STONE offi<;rtokium from moi.okai 



