I 



Mat Sails nf Pandainis. 47 



strips of matting as woven are passed from the board and neatly rolled np. The strip 

 of mat has four dark strands of dyed hibiscus fibre woven in on top of the usual strands 

 of pandanus ; this is a favorite method of ornamentation among the Marshall Islanders. 

 The weaving commenced on the left side, and the strands were cut to about twent}- 

 inches in length, being long enough to pass around the three strands of pandanus used 

 to form the border at the right and reach the left edge again, where after being woven 

 in about half an inch, they were trimmed off. It might be noticed that at regular 

 intervals along the left-hand border some strands were allowed to protrude ; at this 

 edge, as stated, the fresh strands were applied, and when secured four ends out of every 

 seven were trimmed off, the three remaining butts being left to guide the weaver in 

 inserting the black ornamental strands. This strip is 4.7 in. wide, while the breadth 

 of the strands varies from 3/32 to 1/8. 



"Having woven a great length of sail mat the strips were placed together with 

 edges overlapping and sewed with a thread made from coconut fibre or twisted pan- 

 danus, the edges of the strips, on the edges of the sail being turned under and double 

 sewed with the coconut fibre, which material is also used to bend the sail to the spars. 

 A sail made in this fashion is verv stroncr and will stand a ercat strain. It is about 

 twice as heav}- as an ordinary mat, and little heavier than canvas, and if wet becomes 

 dangerous to use if suspended from the mast. The Micronesians, in a rain storm, 

 prefer to lower the sail and roll it up in an envelope of pandanus or banana leaves which 

 they generally carry for that purpose. The Hawaiian sail was made in strips, but that 

 of Tahiti seems to have been composed of several large square mats sewn together, and 

 could not have been a very strong combination. In all cases the work of weaving devolved 

 on the women, while the men attended to the sewing and shaping of the sail." "' 



Narrow strips of matting like those made for sails were woven by the Samoan 

 women for the game of Lajoga (pron. lafonga), in which it served as a sort of alley. 

 These mats were about 7 in. wide and 17 ft. long. Two of these mats and a complete 

 apparatus for playing this interesting game of skill are in the Bishop Museum, the 

 latter the gift of Lieutenant Edw. E. Goodhue, U. S. N. 



Satchels of Pandanus. — A form of pandanus weaving from Micronesia and 

 Fiji must now be noticed, of which tliere are examples in most large museums. Four 

 from the Gilbert group are shown in Plate II, Nos. 7096, 7095, 7094 and 3349, and 

 there it may be seen that they are formed like the mats previously described from Ebon, 

 of broad leaves which are split in j^laces to receive the small black strips which serve 

 both as ornament and binding. 



I do not know the exact use of these satchels, and the carr3'ing capacity of those 



'•'Occasional Papers, vol. i, no. 2, p. 26. 



