34 



Mat and Basket Weaving. 



splitting the alternate longitudinal strips into three. In size these pillows vary con- 

 siderably, as may be seen in the following table: 



A small cubical pillow made in the simple paudanus 

 weave served for a ball in the games of many of the Pacific 

 islanders, and specimens from the Hawaiian, Gilbert and 

 Caroline Islands are in the Bishop Museum. These were too 

 light to be thrown to any considerable distance. Descrip- 

 tions of the games played with these cubic "balls" must be 

 reserved for the chapter on Ancient Hawaiian Sports. 



FIG. 44. HAWAIIAN rn,i,o\v,s. 



Pandanus Baskets. — The method pursued in jumping from mat to basket 

 mav seem arbitrary, but, as those who take the pains to read through the present ac- 

 count of Polynesian basketry will see, there is no convenient partition between basket 

 and mat; a basket is a folded up mat, or a mat is a basket opened out, especially in 

 the forms most common in the Pacific. As I have grouped the produces around the 

 material rather than around the technical process that has been employed, I shall de- 

 scribe mats or baskets as these seem naturalh' to be in the line of succession. 



Among the Hawaiians hala baskets were very common, and in most cases very 

 ugly, as may be seen in the illustrations (Figs. 45-46). That they were found useful 

 their continued manufadlure to the present day testifies, and personal use of them con- 

 vinces me that they are light and durable. In all cases figured the bottom was a 

 square mat continued vertically to a round aperture without change of diameter in 



