36 Ka Hann Kapa. 



form pieces of fifteen or tliirt_y feet square; and upon these the ladies exhaust their 

 ornamenting skill. The middle of the square is printed \\\l\\ a red bro\vn, by the 

 following process. Upon a convex board, several feet long, are arranged parallel, at 

 about a finger-width apart, thin strips of bamboo, a quarter of an inch wide; by 

 the side of these, curved pieces, formed of the mid-rib of cocoa-nut leaflets, are arranged. 

 Upon the board thus prepared the cloth is laid, and rubbed over with a d3-e obtained 

 from the lauci {Alcjiritcs triloba^. The cloth, of course, takes the dye iipon those 

 parts which receive pressure, being supported by the slips beneath, and thus shoM s 

 the same patterns in the colour employed. A stronger preparation of the same dye, 

 laid on with a sort of brush, is used to divide the square into oblong compartments, 

 with large round or radiated dots in the centre. The kcsa^ or d3'e, when good, dries 

 bright. Blank borders, two or three feet wide, are left on two sides of the square ; 

 and to elaborate the ornamentation of these, so as to excite applause, is the pride of 

 every Fijian lady. There is now an entire change of apparatus. The operator works 

 on a plain board; the red dj-e gives place to a jet black; her pattern is now formed 

 by a strip of banana leaf placed on the upper surface of the cloth. Out of the leaf is 

 cut the pattern — not more than an inch long — which she wishes to print upon the 

 border, and holds by her first and middle finger, pressing it down with the thumb. 

 Then taking a soft pad of cloth steeped in the dj-e in her right hand, she rubs it 

 firmly over the stencil, and a fair, sharjD figure is made. The jDractised fingers of the 

 women move c^uickly, btit it is, after all, a tedious process. When finished these large 

 squares are used as mosquito curtains, a comfort which the Fijian enjo^-s, but of which 

 his neighbors are ignorant [the Samoans had it]. In the work above described the 

 Lakemba women excel. On the island of Matuku very prett}' curtains are made; 

 but the pattern is large, and covers the entire square, while the spaces between the 

 black lines are filled in with red and yellow. 



" On Kandavu a strong kind of masi is made, called ////, which is the work of 

 men, who leave the women to do the garden labour. The becoming turban worn 

 by Fijian men is a finely prepared masi of only one thickness, and of a gauze-like 

 appearance.'"'' 



Samoa is a group where the manufa6lure is still carried on, but merel}- for the 

 supply of curiosity dealers, and it may be supposed the work is not improving. Still 

 we have little of the old art recorded. Wilkes was at the groi:p in 1839, and we may 

 suppose the siapo was still well made. He describes the cultivation as conducted in 

 the same way as at the other islands, but the beating has some peculiarities. He says: 

 "The mallet used for this purpose is about two inches square, and about fourteen 



^'Fiji and the Fijians. Loudon, 1858. i, 65. 



