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Tapa Cloth.
South Pacific
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HOME
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| Bark cloth,
or tapa, has been produced throughout the islands of the
South Pacific--in both Polynesia and Melanesia. The people
of Tonga, Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa and other islands have made bark
cloth in distinctive styles for both functional and ceremonial
purposes. The cloth has played important roles in weddings,
funerals and events associated with royalty. The decoration
features geometricized plants and fish, but also may include coats
of arms. Special designs have been sometimes made to commemorate
important events. I'll briefly describe the tapa-making process
used in Tonga. |
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Most commonly the bark of the
paper mulberry or breadfruit tree is used. The bark is stripped
from young saplings, and the white inner layers are peeled off
for the tapa. These narrow strips are soaked in water
until softened; then they are pounded with grooved mallets,
which spreads the bark into increasingly wider strips until they
are about ten inches wide. The edges are then overlapped and
glued with manioc root juice, breadfruit, or arrowroot starch to
make wide sheets.
"Printing plates" for each design are typically made
of hibiscus bark and coconut fiber stitched to a pandanus-leaf
base. |
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Then, on a long log,
the tapa is stretched over a series of these design plates, and
the tapa is rubbed with dye to stain the surface in areas where
the design is raised.
Finally, after the tapa has dried, dark outlines and details are
hand painted, using crude brushes made from sticks with frayed
ends. A variety of natural plant dyes are used.
Natural brown dyes, for example, have been made from clay and
tree sap. |
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Large, traditional tapa cloths are nearly
always divided into rectangular compartments, then frequently
subdivided with geometric patterns. Motifs are repeated in
series. Large Tongan ngatu made for ceremonial use (launima)
were measured in sections and numbered (up to 52) along the
edges. These huge textiles were typically cut into four or five
large pieces and distributed among guests.
You may come across different names for tapa. In Tonga, bark
cloth is called ngatu, in Samoa it is siapo, and
in Fiji, masi. |
For
examples, see:
W-4205,
Tapa Cloth, Tonga
W-1089, Tapa Cloth, Tonga
W-1090, Tapa Cloth, Tonga |
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For a
variety of textiles go to our HOME
page. |
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