Lure

Leho He‘e– The octopus lure of the early Hawaiians used a wide variety of stone sinkers. Hawaiian historian David Malo lists 24 names for the stones used as sinkers which were attached to a cowrie shell like this. The hook of the lure was fastened to a short stick sandwiched between the cowrie shell and a shaped-stone sinker, and the color of the cowrie shell played a role in the lure’s success. Fisherman lowered these lures from canoes when they spotted an octopus hole or in deeper water the lures were lowered and bounced along the bottom to attract an octopus.