212 



Ka Hana Kapa. 



Wh}- do we find none of the products of the carved beaters in which the 

 Hawaiian kapa makers delighted? Is it possible that all the remarkable patterns on 

 these beaters originated during the three score j-ears following Cook's advent in which 

 the manufadlure flourished? This supposition is negatived b}- the existence of man}- 

 specimens with the best patterns made within thirty 3-ears after Cook's last visit, as 

 may be noted in the following catalogue of specimens studied. Other specimens with 



Fig. 131. A REMARKABLE HAWAIIAN KAPA. BRITISH MlSKl'M. 



almost all these beats have been found in burial caves that appear on satisfactory 

 evidence to be traceable at least as far back as the day when the great Navigator 

 perished on the shore of Kealakeakua Bay. It is true that the mole kapa was gen- 

 erall}' preferred for decorative purposes, ruling especiall}-, and the decorative speci- 

 mens would naturall}' be most valued b}^ colledlors of that early da}-. Also the plain 

 kapa, if collected, maj- have perished bj- neglect, and in support of this theorv it 

 ma}- be added that there are ver}- few specimens in the collection mentioned of the 

 mamaki kapa, a kind ver}^ generally in use by the common people in those daj-s. 



