14 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM ■roL. 79 



nut oil. The titi fatupona was a girdle which lasted for a week or 

 longer, and was the type worn commonly in earlier times. 



Necklaces of a permanent character are made from various seeds 

 and shells, and are commonly used as gifts at parting. The seeds 

 used generally are those of the lopa samoa {Leucaena glauca) , which 

 are brown, and those of the sanasana {Coix lachrymajohi) , light 

 bluish white. These are perforated and strung, either of one sort 

 or of two or more sorts mixed in a definite pattern, and often mixed 

 with the shells of land snails, forming very pleasing necklaces. Arm- 

 lets of small white shells were worn by the men above the elbow. 

 Some pierced their ears for flowers. A long comb made from the 

 stem of the coconut leaflet was a common ornament for the w^omen, 

 and was worn in the hair behind the left ear. These combs are 

 much inferior to the beautifully carved combs of whalebone used by 

 the Maori of New Zealand, which are very rare. The splendid ex- 

 amples collected by Wilkes, now in the National Museum, are among 

 the few extant specimens of this form of Polynesian carver's art. 



Mats. — The early Fijians and Samoans prized fine mats and con- 

 sidered them their most valuable property to serve as a medium 

 of exchange. They were preserved with great care, some of them 

 passed through several generations, and as their age and historic 

 interest increased they were the more valued. Many of the oldest and 

 best mats had distinct names given them, and acquired great value 

 if they had been used as " top mat " at any great occasion, such as at 

 the marriage of some celebrated taupo (village virgin) or at a 

 peacemaking on the conclusion of some war. Many of the most 

 valuable mats are old and torn shreds of the original mats, but they 

 are eagerly sought after by the Samoans. 



The fine mats are made of the leaves of a species of pandanus 

 (paono) leaf scraped as thin as writing paper and slit into strips 

 about one-sixteenth of an inch wide. Fine mats are made by the 

 women, and when completed are from two to three yards square. 

 The}^ are straw or cream color, are fringed, and in some instances 

 ornamented with borders of scarlet feathers. A small species of 

 parrot is kept in captivity for this purpose. These fine mats are 

 thin and almost as flexible as a piece of calico. Few of the women 

 of to-day can make them, and many months or even years are some- 

 times spent in making a single mat. 



Another kind of mat is the ie sina, a white shaggy mat woven 

 or plaited so as to be smooth on one side and shaggy on the other. 

 When bleached white they are rather like a fleecy sheepskin. The 

 projecting fibers may be as long as 6 inches. The shaggy mats 

 often were colored with red clay or a red earth mixed with coco- 



