Seeviann and U^il/iajjis on Tapa-making. 33 



which were near]_v one hundred feet long and thirtj^ feet broad. Most of the cloth 

 worn is pure white, being bleached in the sun as we bleach linen ; but printed Tapa 

 is also, though not so frequently seen, whilst that used for curtains is always 

 coloured. Their mode of printing is by means of raised forms of little strips of bam- 

 boo, on which the colour is placed, and the top pressed; indeed, the fundamental 

 principle is the same as that of our printing books, the little strips of bamboo stand- 

 ing in the place of our t3-pes. The chief dye employed is the juice of the Lauci 

 {Alenriics triloba^ Forst.), and the pattern, although rudely executed, often displays 

 much taste. Pis. 24-27. It is stated that in times when the Malo plantations have 

 failed to produce a sufficient quantity of raw material, recourse is had to the Baka 

 i^Fiais sp.); but this is only a makeshift, whilst the bark of the Breadfruit-tree seems 

 never to be resorted to as in other parts of Polynesia The yellow colour is im- 

 parted with turmeric, the black with mud and the leaves of the Tavola ( Termifialia 

 Caiappa, lyinn.), and the red with the bark of the Kura (^Morinda citrifolia, Lind.), and 

 that of the Tiri {Giitiifcrae ?)."=' 



The graceful effect of the wraps of white tapa about the loins of the finely 

 formed Fijian is well shown in the picture taken b}- m}^ friend Mr. J. W. Lindt of 

 Melboiirne, Fig. 11. The scene is a part of the Fire-walking ceremonj'. I am almost 

 inclined to take issue with Dr. Seemann when he calls the marking on the waist-cloths 

 rude, but I will let my readers judge for themselves of the examples given in Fig. 12, 

 or in Pis. 10-16. The bambu roll shown with the beater in a previous figure is an 

 ingenious labor saving implement, if not so delicate as the ruling pen of the Hawaiian 

 described in a subsequent chapter. 



On consulting the authorit}- from which Dr. Seemann seems to have obtained 

 some of his information on the technique, I find he has omitted many of the interest- 

 ing points which would not appeal to him as a botanist. The Rev. Thomas Williams, 

 for thirteen years a missionary of the Wesleyan creed in Fiji, writes, — "The process 

 of manufadluring the native cloth, or masi\ has peculiar interest, inasmuch as in some 

 parts — New Zealand, for instance — where it was once made, the art is now lost; and 

 among the Fijians, also, the manufadlure must inevitably cease, as the demand for 

 the niasi declines before the more durable textures of the Fnglish looms. 



"The bark of the malo tree is taken off in strips as long as possible, and then 

 steeped in water, to facilitate the separation of the epidermis, which is effedled b}^ a 

 large volute shell. In this state the mast is kept for some time, although fit for 

 immediate use. A log flattened on the top side is so fixed as to spring a little; and 



°^Viti: An Account of a Government Mission to the Vitiqn or Fijian Islands in the years 1860-61. Cam- 

 bridge, 1862. p. 348. 



MEMOina B. P. B. MuBEUM, Vol. III.— :i. 



