Hawaiian Tcie Baskets. 



6i 



trees or swing freely in the air. Fig-. 59. Slight and flimsy as these rootlets appear 

 the}' are the all-important product of the plant. 



Hanau ka ieie hihi i ka nahck-. 

 Born is the tangled ieie in the forest. 



is a common saying of the old Hawaiians, for the plant is found in abundance in the 

 forests, especially the more elevated ones, all over the group. It is also found on other 



Fig. 60. BA.SKET OF IEIE. SEE PL.4TE VII FOR COVER. 



Pacific islands, the name ie, or ieie, extending through Polynesia. The Maori ikiike, 

 or kiekie {^Freycinetia baiiksii^ is the same word. 



In the days of idol worship the ieie was used for decorating the idols, and at 

 the present da}- the word is applied to a person decorated with lei or wreaths. For 

 general rustic decoration it is also very fit, as it does not soon fade nor drop its leaves. 

 Ornamental it will always be, but its usefulness seems to have departed from these 

 Hawaiian Islands, for no longer are the baskets made that attraAed, alone among the 



