Talk:Poi (food)/Archive 1

Fire poi from NZ?
Are fire poi a distinctly New Zealand phenomenon? Fire poi are very common at summer festivals like the Gathering and Visionz and solstice/equinox partys on the South Island, if this is unique it warrents an article, are there any other examples of fire poi like activities elsewhere?

Actually, fire-poi has no Maori heritage: the Maori did not use fire with their poi. The addition of fire seems to be relatively recent, though there are other cultures that have traditionally used some form of fire performance, most obviously Polynesian fire-knives. I have also heard of (but know little about) a Greek firedancing tradition, and there's a village in Japan with a "hiburi" (???) winter festival that involves swinging very large burning bundles of rice husks. There are probably other isolated examples as well. adamrice

Reason for link removal
To the annonymous user adding an external link to this site without relevance: While there may be a connection between your web site and this subject, clicking on the link provides nothing concerning the topic of "poi" or any obvious way to find it. Wikipedia is NOT a collection of links, and links to commercial sites and personal web pages are discouraged unless they are direct to a web site that provides additional good encyclopedic information on the subject of the article. Your link satisfies none of the criteria that would allow such an external link, and without your making changes to where the link goes, your link will always be deleted. - Marshman 03:52, 3 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Would a direct link to the tutorials such as this one be fine for inclusion into the page instead? BTW I'm not the person who added the links :) Spiralx


 * Absolutely not. It leads to a page that has no obvious link to "Poi" and requires logging in to go further (it describes itself as a "restricted area"). The link at Wikipedia must go only to another article about "Poi", not a general site that might somewhere have a discussion about poi. - Marshman 17:40, 14 Oct 2004 (UTC)

To Marshman - how is a non-commercial website devoted to poi not relevant to the article on poi? I even changed it to point directly at the information this time... spiralx 15:25, 14 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * When I follow the links you provide, they do not go to a website about "poi" (I presume you mean the Polynesian dance form) some explanation on how they relate to the article. Then we can better judge the usefulness to our readers. Wikipedia is NOT a source of web links, so your external link addition must go directly to a site that amplifies the text in the article, not to a site where the reader must then search for a relationship to our article. - Marshman 17:36, 14 Oct 2004 (UTC)


 * I followed some links on the "members only" page and this webpage > Poidia has some merit. Right now, the prominent firstline there is just gobbledigook ("Welcome to the spherculism Encyclopoidia Omnimodus") that suggests nothing about the website or what it purports to cover. I think if the webmaster were to put some kind of English title on the top of the page and an explaination that clearly indicates the subject matter, it could be a valuable link. Right now, one has to wade through unfamiliar terminology to discover that there is a relationship to Poi dancing - Marshman 17:46, 14 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Seperate articles for food and juggling
Shouldn't this be two seperate articles? Orange Goblin 10:11, 28 May 2005 (UTC)
 * It certainly could be divided, although the terms are very much related, even though now refering to different cultural practices. I'd wait and see if either gets significantly more expanded, although I would not object to splitting them either. - Marshman 18:12, 28 May 2005 (UTC)


 * I don't see how they're related. The explanation about making poi (the food) by swinging kalo root as poi (the juggling tool) is one that i have only encountered here in wikipedia, but haven't gotten around to changing. Poi (food) is a Hawaiian word. Poi (juggling) is a Maori word that means "ball." Someone (ahem) should research this further and pin it down. If there is a connection, I'd like to see a citation. adamrice 02:05, 31 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Excellent point. I just assumed the person that wrote that in the juggling article knew what they were talking about. If what you say is true, the article should be split, maybe poi = disambig, poi (food), poi (juggling) or such - Marshman 02:56, 31 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Sounds like a good idea. Orange Goblin 07:26, 31 May 2005 (UTC)

Which size of taro is used to make poi?
Is poi made from the really big taro or the little ones (or both)? Badagnani 00:06, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Do Native Hawaiians eat taro without mashing it first?
Is poi the only traditional way Native Hawaiians eat/ate taro? Poi making is so labor intensive (using those stone pounding tools of various sizes), and taro so delicious cut into slices and steamed or boiled, or fried until golden brown, I wonder why poi seems to be the only way Hawaiians ate it. Badagnani 00:06, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Answer: by aglutinizing the taro starch, breaking down the cellulose and pectins, it creates more surface area, thus making the speed of digestion faster. Natives use the same process in Africa to produce fufu from plantains, yams, and other starches. Also the same process is seen in Asian countries when making noodles (pounding). This way the starch is absorbed more rapidly, and more calories can be ingested before satiety kicks in due to stomach fullness from the fibers and water in whole starches. Of you used whole cooked taro, without pounding it, as your staple, you would have to eat more often during the day, especially if you led an active lifestyle. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.140.44.124 (talk) 05:16, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

"Fresh poi is sweet and excellent all by itself"
"Excellent" isn't a particularly objective word. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.235.12.85 (talk) 22:51, 18 February 2007 (UTC).
 * Since removed. -- Beland (talk) 03:24, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Needs to be evaluated
This text was just removed. The question is, is it accurate?


 * "(poi can be known as two-finger or three-finger, alluding to how many fingers you would have to use to eat it, depending on its consistency)."

Badagnani 19:11, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Do Native Hawaiians eat taro without mashing it first?
Is poi the only traditional way Native Hawaiians eat/ate taro? Poi making is so labor intensive (using those stone pounding tools of various sizes), and taro so delicious cut into slices and steamed or boiled, or fried until golden brown, I wonder why poi seems to be the only way Hawaiians ate it. Badagnani (talk) 18:44, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Tone of article
Genetic farming, illegal occupation??? Is this the language of a respected encyclopaedia or just some sensationalising babble? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.121.214.46 (talk) 02:40, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

Reads like an advertisement
Five of the citations on this article are to the web site of a failed poi distribution company. Descriptions like "one of the mostest easiest to digest foods on earth" are clearly unencyclopedic. I've added the advert template. Bluej100 (talk) 00:24, 5 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Since cleaned up. -- Beland (talk) 03:17, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Reads like an advertisement written by a third-grader
I've added the template for grammar and style as well.

"Poi helps reduce weight in the thighs"
The source article given doesn't seem particularly scholarly. And the claim that poi helps reduce weight in the thighs is conspicuous by its absence.-- Sreesarmatvm talkcontribs 16:09, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

poico.com is not a reliable source
The author of poico.com had a financial conflict of interest; they were advocating greater consumption of poi. The medical claims there are exaggerated, and should not be cited. I'm removing them in favor of citations to scientific studies themselves, and neutral analysis. -- Beland (talk) 02:03, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Poi mentioned in Thor Heyerdahl's Fatu Hiva
This food is mentioned several times in Thor Heyerdahls book Fatu Hiva. In the Wikipedia article there is hardly any mention of it's fermentation except for the category. Mr Bill Truth (talk) 10:41, 18 November 2014 (UTC)

Here is a bit more to give an idea to improve the article. See Wikipedia Breadfruit article, Uses section. Also in Fatu Hiva (Marquesas Islands, the Poi there is also made from fermented breadfruit. Here's a bit from Food Culture in the Pacific Islands By Roger Haden Page 98, 99. That should give a bit more info.  Thanks 08:22, 20 June 2015 (UTC)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mr Bill Truth (talk • contribs)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 3 external links on Poi (food). Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20111008141943/http://www.mauimagazine.net/Maui-Magazine/July-August-2007/Powered-by-Poi/ to http://www.mauimagazine.net/Maui-Magazine/July-August-2007/Powered-by-Poi/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20111008141943/http://www.mauimagazine.net/Maui-Magazine/July-August-2007/Powered-by-Poi/ to http://www.mauimagazine.net/Maui-Magazine/July-August-2007/Powered-by-Poi/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20111008141943/http://www.mauimagazine.net/Maui-Magazine/July-August-2007/Powered-by-Poi/ to http://www.mauimagazine.net/Maui-Magazine/July-August-2007/Powered-by-Poi/

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 06:41, 9 December 2017 (UTC)