12 



Mat and Basket Weaving. 



FIG. 12. VARIOr.S F.iX.S. 



Before leaving the coconut fans a point in their con.stru(?tion may be noted. 



While the method described where the fan grows from the midrib is the common one, 



and perhaps the most natural one, there are often loose leaves that maj' be used for 



the purpose, and then the fan 



is started at the outer rim as 



a mat would be, and constantly 



narrowing the weave the ends 



are at last braided together to 



stiffen the blade and gathered 



to form a handle. This struc- 



ure is shown in Fig. 12, 



and may be termed the centrip- 

 etal, while the former is the 



centrifugal sj'Stem. In tlie 



illustration the first fan is 



Hawaiian and made of pan- 



danus leaves; the second is also Hawaiian but made of palm; the third is from the 



Marshall group and is 

 of coconut leaf, the 

 handle neatly plaited 

 with coco cord and 

 edged with pandanus 

 and hibiscus; while 

 the fourth is from the 

 Carolines and well 

 woven from palm, but 

 was covered on the 

 edge coarsel}' with for- 

 eign cloth. 



Samoan Fans. — 



To those who have only 

 seen the skeleton form 

 of fans usually pui-- 

 chased by travelers, or sold in the curiosity shops, the variety of form and construction 

 of Samoan fans (///) is surprising. Take, in the illustration (Fig. 13), the central 

 triangular fan which recalls the common Hawaiian form, but is of entirely different 

 construdlion. In the Hawaiian fan, it will be remembered, the weaving is uniform 



.S.\MO.\X FANS. 



