Linton — The Marquesas Islands 351 



A special tool (PI. LVii, C) made from the shell o£ a cowrie (Cypraea 

 manritiana) is used for peeling the ripened fruit. 



An oval hole with sharp edges is ground through the rounded end of the shell. At the 

 opposite end the top is broken away, the base of the shell and a strip across the center being 

 left intact. When in use, the shell is held in the hand transversely, with the base against the 

 palm and the sharp edge toward the outer side of the hand. It is moved downward and 

 away from the body. The peelings cut off by the sharp edge pass through the shell and fall 

 out at the rear aperture like the shavings from a plane. These peelers are remarkably rapid 

 and effective, superior to any European tool for peeling breadfruit. 



It is interesting that an identical tool is used in Kuschai, in the Caro- 

 lines, although it is not reported from other parts of Micronesia. It is im- 

 possible to outline the Polynesian distribution of this tool. It was used in the 

 Society Islands, but not in Hawaii, and seems to be absent in Tonga. 



When properly ripe, the breadfruit are soft enough for the raw pulp to 

 be easily separated from the core with the fingers. Slightly unripe fruits are 

 sometimes cut up for ma making. In ancient times this was probably done with 

 a wooden breadfruit splitter. An implement of this sort in the Bishop Museum 

 is eight inches long, with a maximum width of four inches. (See PI. LVii, B.^ 

 It has a long oval blade terminating in a broad flat knob. Only the outer end 

 of the blade is sharpened. It is made of some rather hard, light weight wood. 



Fresh breadfruit are roasted on an open fire, the proper moment for re- 

 moving them being determined by the sound they give when tapped with a stick. 

 They are lifted from the fire with two sticks, or, in well equipped households, 

 with tongs. 



These tongs are made from a single straight piece of wood, preferably mio, about 2^-2 

 inches in diameter and 3 to 4 feet long. The wood is split for the lower two-thirds of its 

 length and the ends spread apart. A few turns of fau bark are usually tied around the upper 

 part of the stick to keep it from splitting in two. Tongs of this sort are also used to arrange 

 the hot stones used in the earth oven, or umu. 



The charred outer surface of the breadfruit is removed with a knife of 

 wood or bone. Most of the wooden knives appear to have been simple sticks 

 with one end fashioned into a thin blade. Any wood, even that of the fau, might 

 be used. (See PI. lvii, E.) The bone knives are more carefully made (PI. Lvii, 

 F.) As all those seen were shaped from the leg bones of cattle it seems doubt- 

 ful that the type is an ancient one. 



The upper end is squared and rubbed smooth, the natural swell of the bone at the joint 

 giving the handle a slightly expanded butt. The blade is formed by grinding away one side 

 of the shaft. The average knife is 9 inches long, with a blade length of 4 inches. The blade 

 is lj<2 inches wide at the base, tapering toward a broad rounded point. 



After peeling, the breadfruit is dropped into the popoi trough, cored, and 



beaten into a paste with the popoi pounder. 



[91] 



