Mat Designs. 



79 



Keekee. Bent, zigzag; a favorite form, remindiug one of the Egyptian hierogl3^ph 



for water. Fig. 78. 

 Olowahia. A saw; this is also a favorite design. Fig. 79. 



Kuhann. Breath of Ku (the god of war). Fig. 79. (Second and fourth band.) 

 Humnuniki. Squares joined. Fig. 80. (Central band.) 

 Papanla. Red row. Fig. 80. (Second band from bottom.) 

 Pnakala. Rough, like the leaf of the Argemoiic. Fig. 80. (Bottom band.) 



Hale = house. Fig. 81. 



Nene = geese fl3ang. Fig. 81. 



Papa konane = checkers. 



In some of the oldest mats 

 the keekee and olowahia alone 

 appear; in others the weaver 

 seems to have exhausted her 

 list of designs, as shown in 

 Fig. 77 and Pis. XII, XIII. 

 A combination of triangles 

 was constantly used, either a 

 large triangle made up of a 

 series of smaller ones (Fig. 

 83B),or a row where the apex 

 of one touched the centre of 

 the base of the succeeding 

 (Fig. 83G), or two triangles 

 were arranged with the apex 

 of each in juxtaposition (Figs. 

 80, 830): the last was greatly used as a central dotting. The combination of triangles 

 and squares, of which the distindlive name is not known ( that is, they are not found 

 in my note book of fort}' years ago) may be seen in Fig. 83, where the numbers there 

 given are used in the descriptive list of the mats given below. After the islanders had 

 learned to read, under the instru<?lion of the American missionaries, the use of letters 

 of the alphabet became common both in tatuing and mat decorating, and mats some- 

 what resembling the samplers of our grandmothers' days were woven. It soon became 

 common to write affectionate greeting on mats intended as presents to friends, and I 

 have seen a number of these. On sleeping mats I have seen embroidered the inscription 

 "A"//// ipo^ kiiii ln\ kuii milintili c" (My darling, my crown, my thing to be gazed upon). 

 It is often difficult to decipher these mat inscriptions, as the technic prevents the use of 



Fig. 78. KEEKEE PATTERN. 



