Food Bowl

A wooden bowl (‘umeke lā‘au) with a rounded bottom. Variegated wood. Used for storing and serving poi, meat, and fish. The wood is most likely kou (Cordia subcordata). The bowl has been mended in three places. On the bottom are two large patches (poho). On the side, near the rim, is a third mend (pewa) tapped into a depression bridging two sides of a crack.

The ‘umeke lā‘au were used for food preparation, storage, serving, and communal consumption, as well as for ritual and political purposes, including the holding of offerings and sacred foods. Their construction was a labor-intensive process that began with the careful selection of durable and visually appealing woods such as kou, milo, kamani, and ʻōhiʻa lehua. The timber was soaked or buried in iron-rich mud to prevent cracking and enhance the grain before being shaped externally and hollowed with stone adzes and coral tools. Surfaces were progressively abraded with lava, coral, pumice, and plant materials, then finished with kukui nut oil to achieve a smooth polish, while structural flaws were reinforced with pewa (rectangular patch that resembles a fishtail) insets. Variations in size and thickness corresponded to specific functional demands, from stable, thick vessels for pounding and storing poi to finely finished bowls reserved for chiefly households and ceremonial use. The selection of wood also varied with the construction of different vessels, as milo was favored for smaller bowls, kou was highly valued among the aliʻi (nobility) for its beauty and rarity, and koa was generally avoided for food vessels due to its effect on taste.