When I was young, my father had a tapestry hanging on his wall. It was large, and earth-colored, and covered with great designs. I'd like to share these designs with you (with thanks to my sister for providing the photos):

My dad had spent a couple of years in New Zealand. One of his friends was from Tonga, and gave him this gift as a token of friendship and respect. We didn't know the meaning of the symbols, but we knew that the cloth meant a lot to him.

In later years, I have researched this cloth. I suppose we often seek memories from our childhood. But this venture revealed a history that was beyond my childhood. And even beyond my dad's initial exposure to it.

There has been a rather recent resurgence of interest in the subject. And now, I suppose, I can share with you some of what I have learned.

HOW IS IT MADE?

Tapa cloth is also known as "bark cloth," because that's just what it is. It is cloth made from tree bark. It's usually from a mulberry tree (Broussonetia papyrifera). However, it's also been made from the breadfruit tree (Artocarpus); remember, that's what Captain Bligh (of the ship Bounty) was trading for in Tahiti when his crew finally mutinied. And tapa cloth also comes from other barks, including trees in the Ficus and Hibiscus families.

As I was growing up, we had a mulberry tree out in my backyard. I never gave it a thought (other than to climb it and eat the mulberries). Also, although I now live in a different state, I recently noticed a mulberry tree in my condo complex As intriguing as the coincidence is, neither of these trees would have been chosen to make tapa.

You see, I also found out that the bark doesn't go easily into the cloth. Even from the beginning of its life, the plant is watched, pruned and cared for. All this work is necessary in order to make the cleanest possible tapa (fewer branches mean fewer holes in the cloth). That's the man's job in the manufacturing process.

Once the man cuts down the tree- in most Polynesian cloth-making societies - the majority of the work is turned over to the women.

Here is a brief overview of how the tree becomes cloth (keeping in mind that different cultures will include their own differences):

1. A straight sapling (maybe about a yard long) is cut.
2. The worker peels back the bark, turning it inside out.
3. A knife is used to separate the soft, pliable inner bark (the bast) from the outer bark (the outer bark is thrown away).
4. The bast is laid on a board and, while being kept wet, scraped with a sea shell (or other tool).
• The scraping cleans away remnants of the outer bark.
• It also softens and spreads out the fibers.
• The scraping produces a clean, white product.
5. The cloth is then beaten with a beater (you may have seen one of these for sale on eBay).
• Note that, in modern times, the scraping step is sometimes left out, and the cloth is beaten.
• Un-scraped cloth isn't as clean; but, for pieces produced mainly for the tourist trade, it doesn't seem to matter that much.
6. The beating continues (with several layers of cloth at a time) in a definite rhythm.
• The beating starts with a wide-grooved face.
• Near the end - when the cloth is the right thickness - the beater is turned over and the smooth face completes the job.
7. The individual sheets are then separated, stretched out, and weighted down with stones to dry.

And that's the cloth. Some cultures use it raw and unpainted. But, if that was the case with all barkcloth, you wouldn't really know it was tapa.

After the bark becomes cloth, the specific design work begins. The design helps differentiate where the cloth was made, but they can vary even within the same culture. The design methods include:

• Rubbing against a design template fashioned out of leaves or (more recently) carved into wood.
• Rubbing against a template that contains colored dyes (some of which rub off onto the cloth).
• Painting the cloth to follow the design after the rubbing.
• Painting the cloth freehand (without following an indented rubbing).
• Painting the cloth using stencils. Yes, stencils; I'm not kidding.

When dyes are used, they are made from natural elements. The colors vary from yellows to reds to blacks (with an occasional blue).

Please understand, this is an abbreviated version of how the cloth is made. Imagine doing the full process. Imagine sitting out to complete the cloth over a period of days or weeks. And imagine it without modern tools.

So you see, tapa isn't just a pretty picture; it's got a lot of elbow grease mixed in. As to what makes the picture different, a lot of that deals with where a particular piece is made.

WHAT IS IT USED FOR?

Tapa cloth was, by design cloth. The islands where it was prominent did not have the process to weave cloth. So they used what they had, and earned a place in history.

Since making the cloth was very time-consuming, finer and more elaborate pieces would be used for ceremonial purposes. It was used as gifts or trading goods. Large quantities of the cloth were signs of wealth or royal birth. And some tapa was designed only to be worn by royalty.

Over time, industrialized methods of producing cloth made it to the Pacific. This made other cloth cheaper, and more likely to be worn by those with less material possessions. This highlighted the use of tapa and ceremonies and by island kings and queens.

And yet, it was something cultural that the poor might still want to have or give, if only in a small amount. Even today, there is something about tapa cloth. Whether for clothing or decoration, it has value in the effort that must be put into its creation. Which is why a nice piece is so valuable today.

The specific piece you buy was probably not made for an island king. But, then again, you never know. :-)

WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

Nowadays, most tapa cloth comes from Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. This seems to be the case in different stores on Hawaii that I have contacted or worked with. It is also the case on eBay.

The Auckland Museum has over 1,000 objects of "bark cloth" and the tools used to make it. They admit that it is not always possible to verify the origin of an item as portable as bark cloth. Such was often traded and exchanged around the islands. But, with the best resources available, they identify cloth that appears to have come from the following islands:

• Cook Islands
• Fiji
• French Polynesia - Austral Islands
• French Polynesia - Tahiti
• Hawaii
• New Caledonia
• New Guinea
• New Zealand
• Niue
• Pitcairn Island (remember the Bounty mutineers who took Tahitian wives there?)
• Samoa
• Solomon Islands
• Tonga
• Vanuatu/New Hebrides
• Wallis and Futuna

And, yet, even they have the most from Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.

Other resources say that some tapa may have also been made in Africa, Indonesia, the Philippines, South America and South-East Asia. But they also point out that it is mainly found in islands in the Pacific, and seems to come from, yes, the same three island chains.

So, let's focus on those three.

FIJI

Tapa cloth from Fiji is also known as masi. You see a lot of that around recently. Especially on eBay. And especially in smaller sheets.

Fijian tapa is rather distinctive. It seems to use a lot more black (at least on the pieces that I have seen). But, it is most noticed by the rows of smaller, relatively even designs. Those designs, by the way, were made with stencils (I told you I wasn't kidding before).

In older days, the stencils were made from available natural materials, such as banana leaves with slits cut in them. Recently, the artists use discarded X-rays or film negatives.

The patterns are also worked out by folding the cloth to help orient it for the rows of designs. The designs themselves are often black. They include rectilinear themes, and manage to keep up with the times. For example, one Fijian tapa cloth included a stylized muzzle-loading musket as a stenciled design.

I don't have any with muskets, but here is a nice piece of Fijian tapa (about 34 x 60 inches):

A couple of features of Fijian masi include:

• It is designed in advance to be a specific size.
• It is a long rectangle (often about twice as long as it is wide).
• It has a border wrap (a combination of stenciled images) as well additional borders that become increasingly smaller as it focuses towards a central design strip.

As stated, it is very distinctive, and usually easy to recognize.

TONGA

Tongan tapa is also known as ngatu. I have specific interest in this variation, because it was what sparked my interest in tapa in the first place.

From my research, I have learned some interesting things about designs that you commonly see on Tongan tapa. For example, the following meanings exist:

DOVE - Peace

LION - British royalty (to show solidarity with Britain in World War I)

EAGLE - Aristocracy

PINE TREES - The Norfolk pines lining the road to the royal palace

TONGA COAT of ARMS - A special design in itself. This includes the quote:

"KOE OTUA MO TOGA KO HOKU  TOFIA"

which translates into English as:

"God and Tonga are my heritage."

Note that TONGA is spelled: T-O-G-A; in this case, the "G" is pronounced "NG" (you get an added cultural bonus).

Another design is the "Pangaikafa Matahihifi" motif. It means, "slanted eyes," and the eyes are often paired at the apex. Other designs include "Tokelau Felatoa" (cross-section of a tuna) and "Kalao"(the Mapa seed pod), which you can see below:

One of the big things about Tongan tapa is, well, that it is big. Or can be. In fact, it can be huge. I don't have any that are a hundred feet or more in length, but here is a photo of one that's over 14 feet long.

This cloth helps show a couple of distinctive characteristics of Tongan ngatu:

• It will usually contain at least some of the designs I have shown.
• It is usually created in rows, with each row having a set of designs (that are repeated on the next rows).
• The ends (at least one) will usually be unpainted, with every other row numbered.

Tongan tapa stands out as a nice piece of history (for the islands as well as for my family). And it has also kept up with the times. For example, when Halley's Comet was seen over Tonga in 1910, many tapa cloths added a design (like a sun with a tail) to commemorate it.

SAMOA

Finally, tapa from Samoa is also known as siapo.

It seems to me to be a more mellow variation. This style deals mainly with designs in nature, which are often stylized into geometric shapes.

Here we see a full cloth, with a set of repeating designs:

The designs here are very basic. Other designs (on cloths that I have not personally owned) are more complex. But they still follow symmetry and natural motifs. For example, here are some graphics which I have created; they are my artist renditions of actual tapa cloth designs:

Finally, here is the corner of a piece with a definite natural design:

Samoan siapo does have a couple of features that show up consistently:

• As you can see by the edge in the last photo, it was designed to be a specific, manageable size (which differs from the way Tongan cloth can go on and on).
• The Samoan cloth that I have seen tends to be square (in contrast to the Fiji emphasis away from the square).
• You will also note that the symmetrical designs are repeated throughout the cloth (rather than by row as the Tongan cloth repeats, or by decreasing circles as the Fijian cloth is designed).

The Samoan tapa, although of a milder format, is still classic, and has a friendly, natural look to it. It is often distinctive by its lack of distinguishing marks. These features are clear enough that you should be able to tell the difference between it and most tapa from Tonga or Fiji. 

WHERE DO YOU GO FROM HERE?

Well, if you're looking to buy a piece of your own, eBay is a great venue. You should be able to see plenty of offerings. One search you could try would be:

tapa cloth

Or you might try a more specific search of:

vintage tapa cloth (masi,ngatu,siapo)

If you just want to see it, you might try the Auckland Museum. If you don't happen to be in New Zealand (where I hope to visit someday), they also have a website.

Perhaps you'd prefer to sit down in a comfortable chair and read about tapa cloth. There is a book out that illustrates many of the Auckland Museum's exhibits. It is: "Pacific Tapa" by Roger Neich and Mick Pendergrast. Of note, "Traditional Tapa Textiles of the Pacific" (by the same authors) is the same book (down to the Index); the only difference is the cover. Not coincidentally, both authors were employed by the Auckland Museum when it was written in 1997.

There are plenty of books, web pages and other writings on the island cultures, several of which I have read. But not many of them deal solely with tapa cloth.

Still, you can look for information about tapa cloth in books on various cultures. For starters, you could search for the topics of Oceania, Polynesia, or Pacific Islands. You might read up on one of the big three: Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. Alternately, you might want to check out some of the cultures where tapa is less common.

If you're looking to buy, see, or just read about tapa cloth, this primer should give you the base to launch from. And who knows, maybe someday you'll be sharing your wisdom in an eBay Guide, and teaching me more cool things about tapa cloth.

Until then, happy eBaying!