62 NATURAL HISTORY OF HAWAII. 



With the finger bowl at liand, into which the fingers might be dipped or the 

 hands washed, and witli a plentiful supply of fresh leaves as napkins, the 

 absence of knife, fork and spoon from the Hawaiian table was not such a serious 

 omission as it might at first seem. However, in certain parts of the group, as 

 Puna, where a less tenacious poi was made from the sweet potato, a general 

 utility implement w^as fashioned in the form of a generalized spoon from a frag- 

 ment of cocoanut shell that served very well the combined purpose of spoon and 

 ladle. 



Otlier household implements for special use were made from the shells of 

 cocoanuts. Besides serving many varied purposes they were chiefly useful 

 as cups and were made in special forms as containers for awa. 



The Hawaiian mirror was an ingenious device consisting simply of a pol- 

 ished piece of wood or a piece of smooth, dark-colored lava. In order to pro- 

 duce a reflecting surface it was dropped into a calabash of water. The image 

 was thus produced on the surface of the water, or, if sufficiently polished, it! 

 could be used after immersion in the water. To trim the hair, a shark tooth 

 firmly fastened in a stick was employed; or, if this method proved to be too 

 painful, fire might be used instead. A fan of curious form, braided usually 

 from the leaves of the pandanus or the loulu palm, was a convenience of ancient 

 origin among the Hawaiians. The form, however, has been greatly modified 

 in recent times. The back-scratcher, a scraper-like implement made of hard 

 wood and provided with a long handle, M'as a decided comfort to the ancient 

 Hawaiians. and they were in general and frequent use at the time of which we 

 write. 



In the evening artificial light was supplied by burning the nuts of the 

 kukui, which were strung on slencler strips of bamboo. The oil of these useful 

 nuts was also pressed out and burned with a tapa wick in a stone cup or crude 

 lamp. Occasionally the fat of the pig and dog was used as an illuminating oil. 



Fire. 



The Hawaiian method of lighting a fire was by the friction of tw-o pieces 

 of wood. A sharp hard stick w^as pressed firmly into a groove on a large and 

 softer stick and rubbed up and down until the fine dust that rubbed ofl^ and 

 accumulated in one end of the groove ignited from the heat of friction. When 

 everything was properly managed only a few minutes were necessary to start 

 the tinder and transfer the light to a bit of tapa or other inflammable material. 

 The trouble incident to igniting a fire was obviated by carrying fire from place 

 to place. To do this old tapa was twisted into a cord a third of an inch in 

 diameter and rolled into a ball to lie used when desired as a slow-burning torch. 

 In this way a lighted fuse might be carried a long distance. 



The Hawaiian broom was simpl^y a conveniently-sized l)undle of palm-stem 

 midribs tied together. And since sweeping ^vas not an exacting art, it served 

 every purpose. While wooden pillows were used, oblong six-sided ones made of 

 platted pandanus leaves were more common. 



