Ipū kūkui / Pohokūkui

Ipū kūkui / Pohokūkui. Stone lamp. This is a two part object - A stone lamp with a dried kūkui nut. The stone lamp is in the form of a spherical shaped mortar. It is heavy to handle. It is dark grey in colour with darker variations around the cupped rim. There are faded white blemishes around the exterior sides. The stone is volcanic and its perforated texture would be referred to as pōhaku wahine (female stone). This would have been used to hold a ni'au (coconut frond midrib) skewered with kūkui nuts (candle nuts) and lit from the top. The oil from the kūkui kernels would cause them to burn for several minutes. Its size and staining show its use as a dye pot. The single dried kūkui nut is spherical in shape. Its exterior features ridges and overall colour is of a dark brown tone and white crevices. The kūkui nut is light yet full to handle.