Polynesian Barkcloth: A Fabric For Every Purpose with Rachel Delovio

Tapa is the common name for cloth made from the inner bark of trees. The name “tapa” is derived from the Hawaiian word kapa, that encompasses a variety of barkcloth and the Samoan word tapa, for the uncolored border of a barkcloth sheet. Throughout Polynesia, the paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera), a plant native to eastern Asia, is most often used for tapa making. In the Pacific, the paper mulberry does not flower or set seed, so it is propagated from cuttings and cultivated specifically to make barkcloth. Tapa is made by beating strips of bark together into a larger fabric using wood tools on a wood or stone anvil. Plain tapa is usually white or cream colored and is decorated in several ways, depending on the island: freehand painting, transferring a pattern with a rubbing process involving ochre, creating a watermark with a wood beater, and printing designs using a carved bamboo stick. To paint or print designs on the tapa, dye was traditionally made using parts from native plants (e.g. root, bark, flower, etc.). Before contact with Europeans, tapa was used for clothing, bedding, swaddling babies, as well as for ceremonial purposes. Of the six pieces of Polynesian tapa in the Museum’s collection; one is identified from Samoa and the other five lack provenience to the island of origin.
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