Antiqiti/y of Koko. 



131 



ists, but thej' unfortunatel}^ did not acquire the art by inheritance, merely having 



picked it up by unravelling some old specimen. 



It was particularly desired to learn the exact process of the native knitting and 



the names of such styles of hanai as E, F, H-N, and failing native sources, a thorough 



search among old voyages was carried out, with poor results. Only two works mention 



the existence of the koko. Freycinet wrote of the 

 nettings for gourd bowls i^" "Apres le repas, on 

 pose un de ces plats sur I'ouverture de la calebasse 

 qui contient la poe, et le tout est surmonte d'un 

 couvercle, qui n'est aussi qu'un morceau de cale- 

 basse; le tout est enveloppe et assujetti dans un 

 filet a larges mailles, qui sert a le suspendre." 



Fig. 132. PIKO o. 



Wilkes gave several illustrations of the 

 methods of carr3ang, and remarked:^' 

 " . . . . they [calabashes] are surround- 

 ed by a net made of fine twine or sennit 

 of the cocoanut." 



It might appear that the knitted 

 knot, the pun, was a conception entirely ^''^- '^^- ""^^ °' "•^''•^' °- 



Hawaiian, for none of the other members of the Polynesian race seem to have pos- 

 sessed such a knowledge. However, some doubt has occurred to the writer as to 

 whether it was even native. The koko noticed in the narratives just mentioned, as a 

 reference to the volumes will show, were koko pualu and of course netted, while some 



■'"'Freycinet. Voyage autour du monde. Historique, Tome II, pp. 582 ; Atlas, pi. 86. 



■"U. S. Expl. Exped. Narrative, Vol. IV, p. 96, plate opposite p. 55, and other illustrations. 



