366 Memoirs Bcrnicc P. Bishop Miiscuin 



European residents of the group and many natives believe tliat thcv were copied 

 from them. Other natives declare that the form is ancient. In view of the con- 

 tainers mentioned in the preceding paragraph it seems most probable that this 

 tvpe has been developed from an aboriginal one by the addition of a base and 

 that the obvious resemblance of the resulting utensil to a soup tureen has given 

 rise to the belief that the European utensil was copied entire. The question of the 

 occurrence or non-occurrence of a base in primitive Marfjucsan utensils is of 

 considerable ethnological interest, but the native evidence is conflicting and verv 

 few really old utensils have been preserved. In view of the practical absence of 

 this feature elsewhere in Polynesia it seems safest to ascribe it to European in- 

 fluence. 



Legged containers appear to be entirely absent in the Marcjuesas, the near- 

 est approach being a low transverse flange carved near either end of the bottom. 

 This feature was observed in only one specimen, and there is good reason to be- 

 lieve that it was not aboriginal. In view of the importance of utensils with legs 

 in the Society Islands and their occasional occurrence in Hawaii, their absence in 

 the Marquesas is rather curious. 



Two bowls of unusual form are shown on Plate lxi, C. Xo. i seems to be 

 an imitation of a long cupped leaf, the short upturned handle representing the 

 stem. In both specimens there is a deep channel at the smaller end evidently in- 

 tended to direct the flow of the fluid in jiouring. In Xo. i this channel ends in a 

 well marked lip. The interior of Xo. 2 is coated with kaz'a enamel and it is prob- 

 able that both were used as kava bowls. 



An end channel similar to that in Xo. 2 is a common feature of the large 

 four-legged Tahitian bowls, while bowls with lips were occasionally made by the 

 Maori. Elsewhere in Polynesia these features appear to be rare or lacking. 



COMPARISON OF COXTAIXERS 



A comparison of Polynesian containers could not fail to throw a great 

 deal of light on the relations of the difi^erent groups, but anything like a satis- 

 factory study is impossible at present. Regions in which the containers are 

 poorly made or undecorated are often entirely unrepresented in ^Museums, while 

 many others are represented by two or three specimens at most. Under the 

 circumstances it is only possible to point out a few obvious similarities and dif- 

 ferences. Long oval boxes with covers were numerous in the Marquesas and 

 N^ew Zealand, but appear to have been unknown in Hawaii and Western Poly- 

 nesia. Round boxes with tight fitting covers are found throughout Western 

 Polynesia and in Hawaii, but are lacking in the Marquesas and Xew Zealand. 

 They appear to have been rare in Hawaii, and it seems safe to assign the long 



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