the malo puali is the warrior's style of girding, waistband just under the ribcage, and pola (flap) twisted into the waistband so there is nothing easy to grab during hand-to-hand combat. Although characterized as a warriorʻs style of girding the malo, the earliest depictions of Hawaiians by Cook and others shows that this style was used by most if not all men. Could it be that the use of the pola (front flap) was influenced by missionaries, who did not approve of exposure of this kind?
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