This past year, I grew gourds to make an ipu heke for my hula class. I only have the really round gourds which make the tops of ipu heke, but recently planted a new batch of gourds for the bottom half. I did end up putting two of my small round gourds together to make an ipu heke. Our kumu hula advised us that we are to give our ipu a name that is meaningful. I put a lot of work into making mine, from growing it from a tiny seed. to picking the right gourds, and to drying and cutting the gourds. My ipu heke is really cute – it’s small and round, and it’s like my baby. I’ve named her “Ipo” for sweetheart. I’ve attached a picture of her along with one of my gourds I currently have drying so one can get an idea of what a gourd looks like while you’re preparing it.
My husband was also quite busy. He’s making a poi pounding board. The above are pictures of the piece of monkeypod he is using to make this board. I’m excited he is making his own. My ipu heke took months to make from the drying to process to the cleaning to actually putting the pieces together. His board will take longer. The monkeypod piece is quite large and thick, and will need some time to dry.
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