lOO 



Mat and Basket Weaving. 



barter from one group to the other. Of the finer banana mats we have specimens from 

 Ruk in the Carolines, Santa Cruz in the New Hebrides, and Nine. The Santa Cruz 

 mats are remarkably well made and tastefully decorated, and are sometimes narrow and 

 long, with pleats and tufts for additional ornament. The beauty and durability of these 

 banana woven mats are so marked that it is surprising that a trade to foreign countries 

 has not been developed. I do not know what the condition of the native manufaAure 

 may be at present: perhaps, like so many good things of Pacific art, thej- have passed 

 b}' to give place to the cheap calico that civilization has brought upon the islands. 



I 



The Tol. — Besides the loom just mentioned, the people of Kiisaie in the Caro- 

 line Islands have another contrivance, by no means an orthodox loom, but still a 

 "webstuhl," as our German 

 friends might call it. To be- 

 gin with, the writer must again 

 confess he has never seen the 

 instrument used, nor has got 

 any intelligible information 

 from any one who has, and in 

 saying this he would disclaim 

 any intention to speak disre- 

 spectfully of the little machine 

 or of the intelligence of those 

 who would have enlightened i'ig. 98. framk for toi, weaving. 



him, if possible: it is simply in apology for not handing on in these pages some in- 

 telligible explanation of its working habits. The machine, as will be seen from Fig. 98, 

 is a biped with a long straight body, on top of which are inserted loosely certain pegs, 

 around which are wound threads of banana fibre colored to suit the work in hand. 

 Other spools of this fibre are at hand, if we can dignify a mere length of bambu, around 

 which the thread is wound, with the name of spool. Then there is a frame which may 

 possibly serve as the harness in an ordinary loom; there are shuttles of good form, 

 and battens of considerable weight to drive home the woof or filling, and there are 

 clam shells to serve as scissors. The threads, whether for the warp or woof, are of well 

 cleaned banana fibre dyed in various colors, and in lengths of about five feet. To 

 obtain the continuous length of thread these are neatly tied together b}' a double and 

 almost invisible knot. 



I have given the machinery, and I am forced to give the result without the inter- 

 mediate processes. There are two of these "looms" in this Museum, differing in size 

 and ornamentation, but each provided with the same attachments, and it is a subject 



