HAWAIIAN GOODNESS
Even for the Mainlander
LEKAPĪ: Ka Pūniu
Coconut cups are a fun decoration and dish to create! It also serves a variety of purposes, historically and culturally. So before we go into how to make the cup, we'll go over these purposes and their Hawaiian names!
The directions will be in Hawaiian, but there are English steps at the end.
Below is some vocabulary I looked up and learned along the way while writing this post. E aʻo pono!
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ʻapu = Coconut cup; To drink [out of a coconut cup]
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Pūniu = Coconut bowl/calabash; Small hula drum
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Kilu = Small hula drum
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Hoka ʻawa = Coconut strainer for kava (ʻawa)
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Kohenalo = File [noun]
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Mālama o pā! = Be careful or you will be hurt!
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Pahē = Soft and about to spoil, as fruit
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Hoʻōne = To sand (use sandpaper on)
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Malino = Smooth, as a canoe with a smooth finish
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Noninui = Soft, pinkish porous stone, as used in polishing
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Waiehu = A rough stone used to grind and polish
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Hōʻiliwai = To flatten
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Apuapu = To file
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Kaekae = To polish; polished, finished
Crafting Vocab
[Marked with * throughout]
Historical Uses for Coconut Shells
A *pūniu is the generic term for a polished coconut shell, meaning you can use it to refer to the dish, no matter its purpose. That said, there are also more specific names, if you prefer, depending how you use the shell.
The Hawaiian name for a drinking cup made from a coconut shell is *ʻapu. This is also the word used for the verb “to drink [out of said cup].”
Separately, a calabash (large, wooden bowl) is called a ʻumeke in Hawaiian and is regularly seen across the islands. When a pūniu is used as a calabash, it’s called a ʻumeke pūniu and are mini-versions of these bowls! Calabashes, big and small, have a variety of purposes, but they are especially fun to eat poi out of.
The pūniu is used to make a small drum fastened to the knee, beaten as a secondary instrument for a hula dance. “Pūniu” can still be a word to refer to this drum, or, more specifically, it can be called a *Kilu. The instrument is native and unique to Hawaiʻi.
Lastly, the coconut shell can be made as a colander to strain kava (ʻawa, in Hawaiian). This is called *Hoka ʻawa. I accidentally made this dish when I used the wrong side of the coconut to make a cup - apparently, the part of the coconut that has three circles on the end is actually thinner than the rest of the shell, so I punctured a hole through one of the circles while sanding. Whoops!
E Hana Kākou i ka Pūniu!
Pono e loaʻa kēia mau mea:
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Hoʻokahi niu
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Ka peni māka
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Ke pahi olo
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Ke puna (e hoʻohemo ka ʻiʻo i ka niu)
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Ka pepa one (=sandpaper)
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Ke *kohenalo nui
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Ka ʻaila
1. Ke kaha ʻana i ka niu
Ma mua o ke olo ʻana, makemake ʻoe e olo i hea? E kaha ʻoe i kekahi laina i laila ma ka niu apau. Kau ka peni māka (ua hoʻohana au iā Sharpie) ma luna o kekahi mea a ka lōʻihi pono. Kaha i ka laina e hulihuli ana i ka niu (mai hulihuli i ka peni māka).
2. Ke olo ʻana i ka niu
Olo i ka niu ma kēia laina, i ke pahi olo. Hiki ke olo iki i ka laina apau, a i ʻole hiki ke olo i hoʻokahi maka ma ka laina.
~~~Akahele! *Mālama o pā!~~~
3. Ka ʻiʻo o ka niu
Lawe aku i ka ʻiʻo ma waho o ka niu. Ua hoʻohana au i ke puna, akā hiki ke hoʻohana ʻia ke pahi, ke ʻō, a pēlā aku. Hiki ke hoʻomākaukau i ka haupia a i ʻole ka ʻaila niu i kēia ʻiʻo niu ;)
Maʻalahi kēia hana inā he niu kahiko kāu no ka mea *pahē ka ʻiʻo.
4. Ka *hoʻōne ʻana i ka niu
Hoʻohana i ka pepa one e hoʻōne i ka niu ma loko a ma waho. *Malino loa!
I ka wā kahiko, hoʻōne ka poʻe Hawaiʻi i nā pōhaku o ka pele a me nā pōhaku o kahakai, e like me ka *noninui a me ka *waiehu!
5. Ka *hōʻiliwai ʻana i ka niu
*Apuapu i ka lalo o ka niu i hoʻōne ʻia i ke kohenalo nui e hōʻiliwai. Pono e kū i ka niu me pilikia ʻole!
6. Ke *kaekae ʻana i ka niu
Kau ka ʻaila i loko a i waho o ka niu malino i hoʻōne ʻia. E kali i hoʻokahi hola ma mua o kou hoʻohana ʻana.
A eia ka pūniu!
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Ua pono au e hana hou - ʻaʻole au i hana pololei. He puka ko lalo no ka mea ua hoʻohana au i ka ʻaoʻao hewa (me ka ʻekolu kinona pōʻai) :ʻ)
~~~
In English
You will need:
- One coconut
- A marker
- A saw
- A spoon (to remove coconut meat)
- Sandpaper
- Large file
- Oil
Directions:
1. Choose where on the coconut you’d like to cut (how tall or short you’d like your cup). Find an object that tall, and place your marker/Sharpie on it. Draw by turning the coconut (NOT the marker). This will create a perfectly straight line, ready to cut through.
2. Saw through the coconut. You can do this by cutting a little bit all around your line (this risks making small, uneven cuts - but they’re not very noticeable), or you can saw all the way through one point on the line (this risks accidentally missing your line - but the cut is nice and even).
3. Take out the meat of the coconut.
4. Sand the coconut inside and out (to be able to clean it after use).
5. File the bottom of the cup so that it can stand on its own without tipping over.
6. Finish the cup by applying oil inside and out. Wait one hour, and it’ll be ready for use!