Poi Pounder

A poi pounder (pōhaku kuʻi ‘ai) made of grey stone. The stone has one smooth side and one rough side. The bottom is rounded, the top is flat.

There was a variety of pounding and grinding implements used in Hawai’i, including stone mortars (pōhō pōhaku) and pestles of varying forms, which were used to process nuts, berries, roots, and materials for oils, pigments, and dyes. Stone pounders (pōhaku kuʻi) were used in the preparation of poi from taro (kalo), a staple food in Hawai’i.

Poi pounders (pōhaku kuʻi ‘ai), typically fashioned from dense basalt, appeared in three principal forms: knobbed, ring, and stirrup, each differing in grip and technique of use. The preparation of poi was labor-intensive: cooked taro was peeled, placed on a wooden board (papa kuʻi poi), and rhythmically pounded with water added incrementally until a thick paste (paʻiʻai) was achieved.