7.27.2010

The Poi Pounder


Informant: Male/26/European ancestry
Location: Koloa, Hawaii

When I was a boy, I never believed in any of the Hawaiian superstitions or traditions. My house has a lot of Hawaiian history that could be found in the most normal of places. I found a King Kamehameha coin in my back yard, and borrowed my friend’s metal detector to see what other kinds of treasures I could find and possibly sell for a profit. 

The detector picked up a signal, and I unearthed from my backyard an ancient poi pounder. It made no sense to me that a metal detector should detect rock. I decided it would be awesome to take to show and tell the next day, so I put it on my nightstand and went to bed. 

That night, I had the worst nightmares I have ever had in my life. I was dreaming that Hawaiians were stabbing me with spears, all over my body. Finally in my dream I got stabbed in the hand, and I woke up. When I looked at my hand, there was a line of blood running down it. When I wiped it away, there was no wound. 

I didn’t waste any time. At four in the morning I grabbed a shovel and a flashlight, found the place where I dug up the poi pounder, and put it back in the ground. I apologized profusely. The next day at school I told my friends what happened, and they scolded me saying “Don’t you know that only a Kahuna can remove those things?” to which I replied, “I never believed that stuff!” “Well, I bet you do now!” 
I certainly do.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

How does a metal detector detect rock?

Kateri said...

According to the author, he said that's the weird thing. It shouldn't have.