The wood of this tree is used for various purposes: among the Polynesians it is used for spears, rafters for their huts, fences &c.; and it also makes excellent charcoal. When the tree has ceased to bear, it is most valuable, and is imported into the European markets under the name of _porcupine wood_. Among the Singalese it is used for rafters, laths, shingles, chairs, ladies’ work-boxes, &c.; but during the period of its most abundant bearing, (considered to be between ten and thirty-five years’ growth,) the heart is of so soft and spongy a nature, that it is merely used for fences, water-pipes, &c. The fronds are from eighteen to twenty feet long, and composed of a strong, tough stalk, diminishing from the base, and has a number of narrow leaflets[121] ranged on each side. The Singalese split the fronds in halves, and plait the leaflets neatly, so as to make excellent baskets; and, under the denomination of cadjans, form the usual covering of their huts, as well as the European bungalows. Many of the natives’ huts are constructed there, as well as in Polynesia, almost entirely of materials derived from the cocoa-nut tree. The Tahitans also plait the branches (_niau_) for screens, or a covering for the floors; for similar purposes, and also as a thatch for the huts, it is also used by the natives of the islands of Rótuma, Tongatabu,[122] and other of the Polynesian islands. The Tahitans call these screens _paua_, and they also manufacture neat baskets, one kind of which is called _arairi_, and another kind of basket called _oini_; a shade for their eyes, called _tapo niau_, is made of the plaited leaves, and placed by the natives over the eyes to protect them from the unpleasant solar reflection from their sandy roads and beaches; the yellow leaves (_rau-para_) are preferred for the purpose, their colour being much admired. The leaves were used in many of the religious ceremonies of the Tahitans, and was also an emblem of authority; it was sent by the chief to his dependents when any requisition was made: through the cocoa-nut leaf, tied to the sacrifice, the god was supposed to enter; and by the same road the evil spirits, who, it was imagined, tormented those affected with diseases, were driven out. Bunches or strings of the leaflets were also suspended in the temple on certain occasions, and answered the same purpose as beads in Roman Catholic worship, reminding the priest, or the worshipper, of the order of his prayers.[123]