Unknown Maker, Samoan

Long wrap skirt (lavalava)

Maker

Unknown Maker, Samoan

Culture

Samoan

Title

Long wrap skirt (lavalava)

Year

1900-1945

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

bark

Geography

Place Made: Samoa

Dimensions

Length: 109.2 cm (43 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Captain and Mrs. Robert Chew

Object Number

46.489

Type

Exhibition History

Cloth Without Weaving
Beaten Barkcloth of the Pacific Islands
Nov 01, 2000 – Feb 18, 2001

Label copy

According to one Polynesian legend, the tapa-making goddess Rina was banished to the moon by the god Tangaroa because he was disturbed by the incessant noise of her anvil. Beating the thick bark strips into thin sheets is often a communal activity for the women, and some groups harmonize their rhythmic beats during tapa-making or even telegraph messages to nearby villages by the ringing of their tapa anvils.

Image use

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Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Samoan
Long wrap skirt (lavalava), 1900-1945
Beaten bark fiber, freehand painting with cut border
Length: 109.2 cm (43 inches)
Gift of Captain and Mrs. Robert Chew 46.489

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