Bishop Museum
The State Museum of Natural and Cultural History
Honolulu, Hawai‘i
Poi Pounders
(35k)
Poi pounders were used to mash kalo into poi.
These are among the Bishop Museum's collections of 1.2 million Pacific
and Hawaiian cultural objects.
Generations of Hawaiians pounded taro to get poi, a paste-like food
that was the main food staple in old Hawai‘i . Every Hawaiian household
had at least a pounder or two or three. Over 650 poi pounders are in
Bishop Museum's collections, attesting to the importance of taro and poi
in Hawaiian culture. Pounders were also used to prepare medicines and
food from other tubers and fruits, like bananas, breadfruit, and sweet potatoes.
Pounders were made of basalt or coral, and sometimes even wood.
How did agriculture change the face of Hawai‘i ?
In 300-400 A.D., initial populations arriving in Hawai‘i numbered as few as
100 people settled along the coast. By 500 A.D., the population increased
as all the Hawaiian islands became settled. And by 1650, the population peaked
at 300,000 to 1,000,000 Hawaiians. With the population increases, dryland and
wetland agriculture expanded, requiring a complicated system of land management
and governance. Dry fields grew kalo (taro), sweet potato and other crops,
and ponds were created for growing wetland kalo.
The way peoples produce, maintain, and manage their food resources helps to
create their distinct cultural traits. The people of Hawai‘i , with their large
arable land mass and abundant water resources, built a prosperous and culturally
rich nation.
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BISHOP MUSEUM
The State Museum of Natural and Cultural History
For Museum Information, call (808) 847-3511
Bishop Museum 1525 Bernice Street Honolulu Hawai‘i 96817-0916
Revised March 16, 1997 by jys
(35k)