Hawaiian Poi Dog
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The Hawaiian Poi Dog is an extinct breed of pariah dog from Hawaiʻi which was used by Native Hawaiians as a spiritual protector of children and as a source of food.
Hawaiian Poi Dog (left) in sketch by Louis Choris, c. 1816–17
Ancient Hawaiian petroglyphic depiction of a native dog, Hawaii Island
A lei niho ʻīlio made from the teeth of the poi dog and olona fiber, Bailey House Museum
A female from the Honolulu Zoo program, c. 1969
Kurī
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The Kurī is an extinct breed of Polynesian Dog kept by Māori people. It was introduced to New Zealand by the Polynesian ancestors of the Māori during their migration from East Polynesia in the 13th ce
Hawaiian Poi Dog
…The original Hawaiian poi dogs were descended from the Polynesian Dogs brought to the Hawaiian Islands by the Polynesian people. Genetic studies on the New Zealand Kurī dog indicate that the origin of this dog (and therefore probably the Hawaiian poi dog) to be Indonesia. Referred as the ʻīlio in the Hawaiian language, the…
Otago Museum Kuri OMNZVT2162 03
Kurī specimen, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 1924