1798 G. Vancouver Voy. Discov. N. Pacific Ocean II. ii. vii. 198 We returned to the royal habitation, where we found Titeeree and Taio at dinner on raw pickled fish, and poey taro; that is, a mess made of the taro root, not unlike a hasty pudding.

1815 J. B. Whitman Acct. Sandwich Islands (1979) 36 I stopped to observe an old man who was employed in forming a stone pestle, such as the natives use to beat up their taro to make poey.

1823 C. S. Stewart Jrnl. 18 May (1828) vi. 133 This immense bulk of person is supposed to arise..from the abundance and nutritious quality of their food, especially that of poe, a kind of paste made from the taro, an esculent root, a principal article of diet.

1826 W. Ellis Narr. Tour Hawaii xi. 293 The house..was soon furnished. A sleeping mat spread on the ground,..a few calabashes for water and poë.

1833 A. Smith in M. D. Frear Lowell & Abigail (1934) 72 Their [sc. the Hawaiians'] ‘staff of life’ is poi, which is made by baking taro in the ground and pounding to the consistency of thin flour paste.

1878 A. Brassey Voy. Sunbeam xvi. 289 Poi is generally eaten from a bowl placed between two people, by dipping three fingers into it, giving them a twirl round, and then sucking them.

1905 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 24 Apr. 8/5 A luau is a square meal with roast pig and poi in it.

1954 J. Sheridan in J. Macdonald Lethal Sex (1962) 162 We ate with the Hawaiian family..steamed laulaus (salt salmon, butterfish, and pork wrapped in ti leaves), poi and coconut pudding.

1968 O. Wyndette Islands of Destiny ii. 85 All five of his wives were enjoying with him a typical Hawaiian meal: baked pork, poi, and sweet potatoes.

1994 Chile Pepper Dec. 25/1 One of the most entertaining activities was watching the tourists taste poi, a wallpaper paste-like substance made from taro root.

1817 J. L. Nicholas Narr. Voy. N.Z. I. 318 They made Mr. Marsden a present of a ball called a poe, with which the ladies amused themselves by throwing it repeatedly backward and forward; it is..made of their cloth or canvas, stuffed with the down of the bull-rush, having a long string appended to it.

1843 E. Dieffenbach Trav. N.Z. II. iv. 57 Another game is with one ball (poi) suspended from a string.

1859 A. S. Thomson Story of N.Z. I. i. x. 196 Poi is a game played with variegated balls, about the size of large oranges, to which strings are attached. The string is held in one hand and the ball is struck with the other.

1869 Trans. & Proc. N.Z. Inst. 1868 (1875) 1 367 The old men often amused themselves with..encouraging the younger ones..in playing with the poi-ball.

1900 Canterbury Old & New 155 The poi, danced by Maori maidens, who..manipulated a couple of balls.., one in each hand.

1905 W. Baucke Where White Man Treads 87 When the feasting and gaiety had subsided..we all lazily awaited the lining up of the poi maidens.

1935 ‘J. Guthrie’ Little Country vii. 147 The tiny pois danced against arms and shoulders and breasts.

1945 R. Park in Coast to Coast 1944 42 There'll be girls dancing the poi.

1949 P. H. Buck Coming of Maori (1950) ii. ix. 243 The string of the poi was held in the right hand and the ball was twirled and beaten back with the left hand while various movements were made over the shoulder, to the sides, the thighs, the knees, the head, the poi balls being kept twirling in perfect time to the songs sung by the leaders.

1958 S. Ashton-Warner Spinster 47 The Maori love-songs..and the poi tunes and the melodies they use in canoes.

1977 N.Z. Woman's Weekly 10 Jan. 35/2 A calendar which features Maori poi dancing at Rotorua.

2000 S. Broughton et al. World Music: Rough Guide II. i. 224/2 The Maori repertoire includes poi dances, performed by women using balls (poi) attached to a string, which are swung in intricate patterns by the dancers.