Kuokoa Home Rula, Volume VII, Number 1, 1 Ianuali 1909 — What is Poi? [ARTICLE]

What is Poi?

Mr. Lnn'in Andrews in his Hawaiian Dictiouary gives the folIowintr ciciinition of the word Poi: " The paste or pnddiii£ whieh was fonnerIy the chief food of Hawaiians, and is so to a gtv.it extent yet. It is inaele of kalo, swcet pjtat'*?s or lireadfruit, but mostly of kalo, by baking the ahow artides in ovens undcr ground, and aftcrwards peeling and pounding ihem with more or Iess water(butnot nuieh); it is then lefr in a mass tu ferment; after fermentation, it is worked over with more water until it has the consistency ot thick paste. It is e.iten cold with fingers." The leaineU Haw.iiian lexioj£-aphcr, do not give the exaet aieanmp: of the word. Poi is a name given to mashed Ka'o, potatoe, breadfruit or h.mana. The Kalo (.a species of uru:n es-culen;am i when e is mashed or pounded with -a stone, specially made for that purpose, until it becomes like a good soft (flour ) dough. From that stage it i-? then reduce to wh.it ii is called- —poi. īt is only at this staoje the vvord p»i is uscd. When the taro is merely mablied, or pouiidcd into <t hard pulpy mass, it is ealled a pa'i-ai or pa'i-kalo. When it is reduce to a still softer eondition, and fipnld be twisted by the fingers, it is then called poi — vhethcr hard or soit (poi paa ®r poi wali'), When the pisi is toc soft, it is calied poi hehee, Our savani ventures to give his definition of Poi. He th.';iks that it primarily means to gather up; to colIect, lo pull up; to hoId or lifi up an article, lest it falls down or spills over. It is analogous to the word Hii, "to lift up; to carry upon the hips and support with the arms, as a child." An expert poi pounder will eall the aLtention of an unskilful person when pounding taro, saying: •" E poi mai ka-ai i ole e haule inawaho o ka papa." (Gather up the ai ( foot)lL-st it Ialls ovcr ihe board). He found a French definition of the word " poi" in Boniface MosbIech's " Vocabulairc Oee'anien —Francais, et cetera, (Paris, 1843 ) to wil: "houllie detaro" fsoft taro). That does not give the derivative definition of 'he word (kalo) āny better than Mr. Anekewa. 1 In roncIusion we add Lho oid poitainin)7 to llie originof Kalo (taro). Wakea was the husband, and Papa was the wife, and they two were supposed by some ancient Hawaiian traditions, the (irsL propenitors of the Hawaiian race. They lived on Lhe Koolau side of thc Island of Oahu, and also ai Kalihi. Tlieir first born son was ofprematurcd birlh. The liiLle fellow and its body was buried at one end of their house. After a while, from where thc- child's body was buried a new kind of plant shot up Nobody knows what it was. Finally, green leaves appeared. Wakea ealleel the leaves "•Lau-kapa-lili" (tne quivering Ieaves) and the Iong stallc or &tem ol the planl was called " Ha-Loa " (long stalk or stem). The platit was finally called by Wakea as'' Haloa." The word " Haloa" afterwards becd.me "Kaloa," and it finally bccomes '' KhIo. " The second son of Wakea was named " Huloa " in rememberance ot the i"irst Haloa or tlie kalo planl. And the mountain of Kualoa, Koolaupoko, Oahu is called the "Pali kapu o Haloa," or tlie "Sacred muuniain of Hnloa." MR. CtlARLES K. NOTLEV, thc proprietor of Ka NaI AUI'UNI Printing Office will not eonie lo Honolulu boon, as was expected by his friendri. The great Home Rule leader is in perfcrt trim ol hoalth. Aloha Makahiki H" m Kahiuaulani. 'ilie Christmas cxcrciaes hekl by the Sunday School ehildr(;n ol Lhe Reprganized Church ol Jesus Christ of Latu;r Day Saints in the little ehapel at Kula-o-ka-Hua or Koula last Friday eveninf/, were good and up to a high mark o[ efficiency. Tlic liule tots, as well as the older ones, werc Joaded down with the good things that gladd(*n the hvarLs. Keep moving en in the good \/ork of ihe Mnstc«r.

We ought by all means be very happy and thankful today, because we are still brēathing, in the land of the living, the breath o! life onee breathed by the A3mighty Father into Grand Pa, Adam, and Grand Ma, Eve, be£ore they v/re placed in the beautiful garden of Paradise, where they enjoyed their ,first honey'moon, and also their first and last Ha?PY New YeaR. And let us not forget, that because our £irst parents eat the fruit of the " Forbidden Tree" whieh they foolishly thought, was the Christmas Tree, 'misery and woes"'came upōn them and duly inherited by their -unfc;rtunate descendants. These miseries, these woes ,idoomed on Adam's children can only be averted by eating the fruit of the true and unspurious "Christmas Tree" whieh is the true Gospel of Christ. Now, extending our ALOHA Makahiki HOU to all souls on earth, we hope that eaeh and every one of them to foIlow faithfully thc teachings of the Gospel of Christ. Let the Legislators imbued in the laws that they are going to enact the spirit of Christ. L& the County fathers carry out their work with that same spirit of Chrisl, and we will have no occaission to feel sorry.