38 
When the bark is beaten out it is called “ Tapa ”, and the breadths 
arc pasted together with paste made of the flour of Arrow-root 
or Taro. When dried, it is printed, after which it is called 
“Gnato”. The pattern is devised by the King’s family, the 
type or pattern is raised upon the leaf of the Pandanus, and, 
contrary to other prints, the side which receives the stamp is the 
wrong side, the reverse being the right side. King Josiah Tubo, 
to show what could be produced in this way, had a piece of 
cloth made, which was, as I am informed, two miles in length 
and 120 feet wide. When finished, it was necessary to spread 
it, and the ground had to be cleared to display it upon. When 
the first piece was cut off there was a great feast of pigs and 
yams; it w^as all distributed, and the specimen sent to the 
Garden is a part of it.* It is worn round the waist in a large 
fold, covering the body from above the hips to the knees, and is 
secured round the middle by a girdle of mat or tapa. The only 
distinction in dress of the King or his sons, consists in the 
girdle, which is of Tapa, in the raw state, and of a dull white 
colour. By loosing the girdle the cloth can be drawn over the 
whole body, and is so worn in rainy weather. 
In some islands, as at the Navigators, it is made, not by 
beating, but by scraping or pressing out with cockle shells upon 
a flat board, held between the knees; this operation is performed 
by the water side, and the cloth is kept constantly wet; but 
it is of inferior quahty. 
Kava. 
When on a visit to the Tue Tonga, at Tonga-ta-boo, this 
Chief asked me if I would have some Kava, saying he knew we 
(hd not drink it, but, if I pleased, he woidd have some made; 
which offer I accepted. This great man, whose person is held 
sacred by the natives, sat upon the mat w^hich covered the floor 
of the house, his back resting against one of the pillars which 
support the roof. The centre of the room was a clear space; the 
opposite side was filled with natives, who sat in silence, forming a 
semi-circle before him. They sit cross-legged like the Turks. A 
man being called from amongst them, crouched down in a most 
humble manner as he received his orders from the Tue Tonga, 
and having with his right hand touched both his (the Tue Tonga s) 
* Among many valuable contributions made by Sir Everard Home, to our 
Botanical Museum at Kew, are specimens of tbis cloth and the apparatus or 
preparing it.—En. 
