April 23, 2024
Fijian Masi - Tapa Bark Cloth - 72" x 24"
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Tapa is a barkcloth made in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, primarily in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, but as far afield as Niue, Cook Islands, Futuna, Solomon Islands, Java, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Hawaii.Practiced exclusively by women, tapa making is one of the most important and diverse art forms in Polynesia. Tapa is not a woven material, but made from bark that has been softened through a process of soaking and beating. The inner bark is taken from several types of trees or shrubs, often mulberry and fig, and designs are applied with paints and vegetable dyes of light brown, red, and black. Bark cloth is manufactured for everyday needs such as room dividers, clothing, and floor mats, as well as ceremonial uses in weddings and funerals. Both now and in the past, the display and exchange of large pieces of tapa form important components of ceremonial life in many areas of Polynesia. It has a symbolic and long-standing history in Fiji. Indigenous Fijians, the Taukei, use Tapa today for most every ceremony.This tapa 72 by 24 inches and was acquired in Fiji in 1976.
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