Made of small shells it could also be used as a crown (lei po'o).
On the basis of the material used, we distinguish the non-perishable lei made with feathers, bone, hair, teeth, shells and perishable ones made with flowers, leaves and small fruits.

The conception of this type of ornament is Polynesian, but it is in Hawaii that it has reached greater quality of expression: the materials were selected for beauty, color, symbolism, therapeutic value, fragrance. After the discovery of these islands were introduced new materials including:

glass, ceramics, semi-precious stones, which were incorporated into the making of necklaces. With tourism, production has become an important economic activity: today, alongside the traditional necklaces are those made with silk, paper, current coins in the United States, plastic, ribbons.
Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii

East Polynesia

The dough for the popoi is beaten for a long time with the pestle on a thick wooden table, hoana, slightly concave, to soften it.
Isole Marchesi

Mazzuolo for kahu, vegetable cloth made by women. The engravings and the reliefs on the surfaces of the mallets vary according to the different phases of the manufacture.
Isole Marchesi

Pestle used in the preparation of popoi, daily food consisting of the fruit, mei, the bread tree (Artocarpus altilis) mixed with water or coconut milk.
Isole Marchesi

The quality of the materials and the manufacture indicate that it was used in sacred works, for example in the construction of war canoes. The functionality of this type of tool was such that the Tahitians, in the eighteenth century, bought European axes to replace the stone blades with those of iron while maintaining the traditional body.
Tahiti, Society Islands

Per confezionare i costumi maschili e femminili da danza si utilizzano, dopo averle tinte, le fibre lunghe, morbide e resistenti ottenute dalla parte interna della corteccia (more) del purau, uno degli alberi più diffusi in gran parte della Polinesia orientale.
Tahiti, Isole della Società