Poi Bowl
date: label: Accession Date
content: 18 Mar 1937
name: label: Donor Name
content: Mary M. Walcott
notes: label: Notes
content: 'Umeke kou kū'oho - Bowl made of kou wood (Cordia subcordata) carved nearly equal in width and height (kū'oho). Multiple early pewa (bow-tie/butterfly) repairs found throughout the bowl. According to Jamison Ke'a Rosehill, 2024, typical pewa repairs have a more symmetrical bow-tie or butterfly shape, whereas this early pewa repair has a K-shape. 'Umeke was used for food storage as indicated by the application of roasted kukui nut oil to the interior. The bottom patch repair does not exhibit the same roasted kukui nut oil finish, suggesting it was a later repair. Height: 10"; diameter at rim: 14". Kou is a tree indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands and was the favored wood for making 'umeke as it is soft and easy to carve, resistant to wood-boring insects, and does not impart a bitter flavor. Once abundant in coastal and dry lowland regions, kou was nearly extirpated in the late 19th century by the kou leafworm (Ethmia nigroapicella).
label: Record Last Modified
content: 12 Nov 2024
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Hawaii (Hawaiʻi), United States, Polynesia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Hawaiian (Kanaka ʻŌiwi, Kanaka Maoli)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 143077
label: USNM Number
content: E378397-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Bowl