322 Memoirs Bcnticc P. Bishop Miiscimi 



but the finish on other parts of the implement was extremely variable, used speci- 

 mens showing all conditions from simple chij^ping- to complete grinding and high 

 polish. According to one of the chants already mentioned the finished adz was 

 honed on the thigh to ])roduce a final ]wilish. The making of a boy's first adz was 

 accompanied by various religious observances which have been described by 

 Handy (32). 



The collections of the Bishop Museum contain nearly fifty ^Iar(|uesan adzes 

 and chisels, and an approximately equal number have been studied elsewhere. 

 From this series it is evident that in the Marquesas these artifacts show a higher 

 degree of variation than in any other part of Polynesia with the jjossible excep- 

 tion of New Zealand. As a whole they fall at once into two main groups, dis- 

 tinguished by the presence or absence of a tang, while the tanged adzes may be 

 further divided into simple adzes, toki aa and toki koiiiiia. 



SIMPLE TAXGED ADZES 



The blades of the simple tanged adz are distinguished by a broad straight 

 bit, a cross section varying from rectangular to triangular and sides which slope 

 inward toward the poll. In the quadrangular examples the inner surface may be 

 cither flat or slightly concave. The tang is formed by chipping away a portion of 

 the upper end of the outer surface. It can not be distinguished on the inner sur- 

 face. In some of the triangular specimens the sides of the tang are also chipped 

 away, giving the blade a slight shoulder, but this is not a common feature. As a 

 rule these blades are ground only on the bit and outer surface, exclusive of the 

 tang. In all the quadrangular examples the width of the inner surface is equal 

 to or less than that of the outer surface, never greater. Many of the rectan- 

 gular specimens of this type agree so closely in form and finish with the normal 

 adzes of the Hawaiian group that in a mixed collection it would be impossible to 

 distinguish them. (See PI. XLV, D.) The triangular adzes of this type, on the 

 other hand, are practically identical with those normal for the Society Islands. 

 (See PL XLV, A-C.) The bulk of the specimens fall between these two extremes. 



TOKI A A 



Blades of the toki aa type are recognized as a separate class by the natives 

 themselves. They are characterized by a distinct tang, a heavy blade of rectangu- 

 lar cross section, and a more or less complete grinding of all the surfaces. Prac- 

 tically all the specimens of this class are large. The most striking features of the 

 type are the great thickness of the blade portion, which in many adzes exceeds 

 the width of the cutting edge, and the high angle formed bv the two faces of the 

 bit, usually fifty degrees or more. The toki aa ai)pear to have been the only adzes 

 in whose manufacture the pecking process was emjiloycd. In one of the Bishop 



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