192 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
accompanying wood-cut gives a correct represen¬ 
tation, is neither inelegant nor rude. 
The drinking cups are made with the cocoa-nut 
shell after it is full grown, but before it is perfectly 
ripe. The shell is then soft, and is scraped until 
much thinner than a saucer, and frequently trans¬ 
parent. They are of a yellow colour, and plain, 
though the cups formerly used for drinking ava 
were carved. These are the principal utensils in 
the preparation of their food; they are kept 
remarkably clean, and, when not in use, suspended 
from some part of the dwelling, or hung upon a 
stand. 
The fata , or stand, is a single light post planted 
in the floor, with one or two projections, and a 
notch on the top, from which the calabashes of 
water, baskets of food, umetes, &c. are suspended. 
Great labour was formerly bestowed on this piece 
of furniture, and the fata pua was considered an 
ornament to the house in which it was erected. 
About a foot from the ground, a projection 
extended six or eight inches wide, completely 
round, flat on the top, but concave on the under 
side, in order to prevent rats or mice from ascend¬ 
ing and gaining access to the food. Their only 
knife was a piece of bamboo-cane, with which 
they would cut up a pig, dog, or fish, with great 
facility. 
The carriage of fruits and roots, from the garden 
to the dwelling-house, and the constructing of 
their ovens, in which much of their food is still 
prepared according to their former custom, is 
generally performed by the men, while the pre¬ 
paration for the meal within doors is made by the 
females. 
