Shoulder dress of plaited pandan fibres decorated with red woollen thread

Description:

This poncho is braided from pandanus leaf and decorated with wool. Samoa is known for its refined weaving techniques with pandanus leaf. Before we can start weaving, the material has to be prepared. First, the serrated edges and central rib of the pandanus leaf are removed. The matted underside of the leaf is pulled off over a length of approximately 4 cm and the leaves are left to dry in the sun. They are then rolled up into bundles. The rolled bundles are wrapped in green leaves and heated in an oven for half an hour. The heating makes it easier to remove the shiny top layer. Next the leaves are tied in a braid and hung in the sea to bleach for two weeks. Finally, the leaves are laid out to dry in the sun, the underside is scraped to remove unnecessary fibers, and they are split into narrower strips that will be used for weaving. \In the 18th and 19th centuries, woven mats were often decorated with very valuable red feathers from a local species of bird (Coriphilus fringillaceus) or from a bird from Fiji (Lorius solitarius). Red feathers were part of the trade items that people from Samoa traded with people from Fiji. From the arrival of Europeans in the 18th century, feathers were increasingly replaced by red wool that was readily available. \The poncho form was introduced from Tahiti where high-ranking people wore a tree bark cloth in the shape of a tiputa, a kind of poncho. In Polynesia, it was only on Tahiti and the Cook Islands that clothing covering the entire body was worn. This appealed to the English missionaries who encouraged all converts to wear this type of tree bark cloth. When the catechists of Tahiti went to Samoa to preach the faith, a tiputa was seen as a sign that the wearer was a good Christian.

Format:

image

Collections:

National Museum of World Cultures Foundation

Content partner:

National Museum of World Cultures Foundation

Availability:

Not specified