Form, of the Mallets. 79 



needed for primitive messages was scant}^ and its translation b}^ a combination of blows 

 and pauses of varying length was simple. 



But all this telephony was done not with the hohoa but with the ia or ie hikji.^ 

 a mallet differing from the former b}^ having a section square instead of circular, and 

 also in its most developed form having the four sides cut or carved with various devices. 

 So, too, was the kapa beating done mainly with these ie kuku, and we shall find among 

 them many fine specimens of carving done (let us bear in 'mind with a shark's tooth 

 set in a wood or bone handle, or with a splinter of sharp stone), most of them, not 

 necessarily any better for the work of beating, bitt merelj' fanciful designs for giving 

 a "water-mark" to the product of a single maker, famih* or village; some seem to be 



FIG. 33. FORMS OF PEPEHI. 



confined to the island of Kauai, that rather odd member of the Hawaiian group. Of all 

 these forms onlj' two can be claimed as especiall}- adapted to their use, — the finely 

 ruled parallel lines Jwopai^ and the smooth, uncarved surface violc; the first best fitted 

 to continue the work of the hohoa, the latter to produce the smooth surface fitted for 

 verj^ thin kapa, or a kapa to be printed. 



While the hoopai is by far the most common, and almost always found on at 

 least one side of a beater, the pepelii {^=- to beat hard) comes next and is used in the 

 same way for disintegrating the bundles of fibre. The difference is in the size of the 

 ridges separating the grooves and also in their shape, the former being sharp-angled, 

 the latter rounded ; in other words, the first has ridges resembling an inverted A, the 

 second has them like an inverted fl. In size of ridges and spacing they varj^ greatly 

 as ma}' be seen in the illustrations. Often they are alternate with the Iwnpat, and 

 ivhen tJiere are 7nore than Joiiiieett ridges on an average side the pcpehi becomes hoopai. 



