Small Vessels, Ipu.

Ipu rau hau. This is surely the most simple and primitive of all receptacles. An impermeable hollow was page 47required to contain a liquid during the short period of a meal. The liquid was the relish or sauce made from the expressed liquid of the scraped mature cocoanut mixed with sea water and termed tai hakari. A hollow was made in the ground beside the person sitting down to eat. Over this hollow the large green leaf of the hau was placed and pressed down to conform to the hollow. Into the leaf-lined hollow the tai hakari was poured, and the food was dipped into it ere being conveyed to the mouth. Hence the name of ipu rau hau—the hibiscus leaf cup.

Ipu hakari. The usual vessel for drinking purposes and to contain the tai hakari relish at a meal was a cocoanut shell split in half. They were kept as part of the household stock and in time had quite a polished appearance.

Wooden ipu, if used in olden times, had been quite forgotten.