Fishhooks
When you go fishing today, you don't make your own equipment.
You buy a rod and reel, some fishing line, a fishhook or two, and maybe some bait then head down to the water to try your luck.
In traditional Hawaiian society there was no place to buy fishing equipment. You made it all yourself. Lawai'a, or Hawaiian fishermen, were experts at their job and understood which materials to use for their gear and how to catch a variety of different i'a, or fish.
The makau, or hooks were usually made from a small piece of shell or bone that was carefully drilled and then shaped. How long to you think it would take you to shape even one of the smaller makau in this case?
Kaula or cordage was woven together from fibers like the 'a'a pulu niu, or coconut husk, but was also made from other plants such as the olonā.
Kaula was used as fishing line to lower the makau into the water, but kaula also held together fishhooks that were made of more than one piece. Bigger fishhooks were built out of two parts, usually a point of bone or shell and a shank of wood. The two parts were held together with kaula. Multiple part makau are called composite hooks.
The knots and lashing patterns on fishhooks can be very complex. Look closely at the lashings on the composite hooks. The lashings are very intricate and beautiful.
Makau = muh-cow
Lawai‘a = luh-vye-uh
‘I‘a = ee-uh
Kaula = cow-luh
‘A‘a pulu niu = ah-ah poo-loo knee-oo
‘Olona = oh-low-NAH