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Surfboards Hawai`i's contribution and best known world sport - surfing. These boards pictured here are of the ancient type. A short 'alaia' and long 'olo' board both made of native koa wood, although other woods such as native wiliwili were also used. After painstaking hand construction, boards were stained black with the root of tí or the pounded juice of kukui bark then rubbed with kukui or niu 'coconut' oil. Collection of Bishop Museum |
| Hïna`i ho`omoe i`a Fish-carrying basket made of `ie `ie roots. Hawaiians were adept at all types of ocean and freshwater fishing. This basket may have been also utilized as bait-filled trap also. Collection of Bishop Museum |
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| Holua Sled A little known Hawaiian sport, holua sledding was a spectacular and hairball thrill that was speculated to be a mostly aristocratic pursuit. This photo, looking more like a spear, demonstrates the aerodynamic and sleek designs that the Hawaiians employed to reach speeds that can only be imagined. Two parallel runners made from hardwood of 13 ft long and sitting about 10 inches apart were used, not on the snow-covered slopes of the Big island but on specifically designed and prepared courses mauka. After a running start, the rider threw his body onto the sled and proceeded down the course strewn with native kö flowers and other plant materials for optimum speed. Collection of Bishop Museum. |
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Käkü`ili`moku The feathered war god of Kamehameha the Great, originally belonging to High Chief Kalaniopu`u and entrusted to Kamehameha, has been through every significant battle with him throughout the islands and it was said to be with Kamehameha when he died in 1819. It eventually passed into missionary hands. Built on a framework of `ie`ie roots, it is now housed as part of the Bishop Museum collection. |
| Pöho kukui and Uluna Uluna was a plaited lauhala pillow filled with lauhala leaves or cotton. Pöho was a stone kukui oil lamp with a kapa or wauke wick. Both rest on the finely plaited and supple makaloa mat. Collection of Bishop Museum |
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Stone Pounder Kalo (poi) was not only one of the most important food crops for early Hawaiians but was one of great cultural significance and considered a kinolau of the god Käne. After harvest from the lo`i, the pounder was used to mash kalo as part of it's edible preparation. Courtesy La`au Hawai`i I. A. Abbott |
| Stone Sinker These were used in conjunction with fishnets made from olonä and floats made from lightweight hau wood for `upena paloa or `upena ku`u, gill or seine nets. Again, just a couple of the many techniques used that demonstrated the Hawaiians prowess in fishing. Collection of Bishop Museum |
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Pahu Heiau A temple drum made from the trunk of a niu (coconut) tree and used primarily in pre- contact times in religious temples. Collection of Bishop Museum. |
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| Wa`a This oft-reproduced work by Cook's artist, John Weber, shows a double-hulled canoe of the kaulua type with the distinctive "crab claw" shape to the sail. The hulls were most often made with the native wood koa with other woods employed for the spreaders, seats and decking. The sails were made from durable lauhala. This photo has been, in the past, represented as a warrior wa`a. Upon examination though, we learn that the occupants are most likely kahuna or priests with ki`i or images and offerings on some sort of religious mission. Collection of Bishop Museum. |