There are other qualities that extend the physical use of ipu. The late indigenous Hawaiian scholar and historian, Samuel Mānaiakalani Kamakau (1815-1876) portrays the cosmological role ipu played in the creation story from an excerpt published in ‘Ke Au Okoa.’
“It was thus that Papa gave birth: she gave birth to a gourd, a calabash with its cover, ‘he ‘umeke a he po‘i; Wākea threw the cover up, and it became the sky; then Wākea threw out the inner core, ‘ka haku oloko’, and it became the sun; as he threw it up, the seeds became stars. Wākea saw the whiteness of the soft core, the ‘pala haku’ of the gourd and threw that up, and it became the moon; the white layer, ‘papa ke‘oke‘o, of the gourd Wākea scraped and threw up into space and it became clouds; the juice of the gourd he poured into the clouds, and it became rain. The calabash from the separation of the gourd by Wākea became land and ocean.” (Oct. 14, 21, 1869)
Papa is the earth mother, and Wākea is the sky father. The story of them birthing a gourd and using its contents to create the heavens and the earth illustrates the abundance that ipu has continued to offer today. Whether this is through domestic use, cultural performance or cosmological stories, the ipu has continued to carry the rich history and culture of Hawai'i.
Image caption: Hula ipu heke (gourd drum). Collection of Auckland Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, 11397