Stone Ring Poi Pounder-Kaua‘i, HI
Hawai'i’s go-to midday meal, the plate lunch, consists of a few key foods: a meat choice like kalua pig or lau lau, a scoop of macaroni salad, and a generous portion of rice or poi. Poi is a starchy, purple pudding that has been a staple of the Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) diet for generations. Pestles, like the ring pounder (or pōhaku kuʻi ʻai), were used to mash taro root into poi pudding.
The relationship between taro, poi, and the Kānaka Maoli is centuries old. Hawaiian creation stories explain that all Kānaka Maoli are related to the taro plant because it grew from the first-born son of Wākea (sky father) and Papa (earth mother). To make the nutritious starch, taro root was steamed in an earth oven, peeled, and then mashed with a poi pounder.
Archaeologists categorize poi pounders into three types: knobbed or conical form, stirrup, and ring form. The ring pounder allowed for a two-handed grip as opposed to other pestles. Other ring pounders have been found on Oahu, Moloka'i, Maui, the Big Island, and on Kaua‘i.
