Designs on Feather Work. 205 



their implements whetlier of war or of peace so generally shown by the Papuans of 

 the western Pacific, nor the more subdued talent for decoration shown by their kins- 

 men to the southward, the Maori of New Zealand, the Tongan, Marquesan and 

 Mangaian. The exquisite diapers carved by the latter on ceremonial paddles, etc., 

 are unrivalled in Polynesia ; so are the Marquesan war clubs, and the New Zealand 

 house and canoe carvings. 



All these things are, however, by the way which leads only to the Hawaiian 

 decoration of flat surfaces in their desire to make these surfaces more attradlive and 

 distinguished. I have already'" called attention to the patterns used in their remark- 

 able feather-work, the triangles, crescents and circles of color contrasting with the 

 solid ground in the cloaks and capes, and have tried to show that these commonplace 

 figures when altered by the folds in which these robes were worn became most strik- 

 ing and attractive. If these costly and labor-filled constructions were to serve as 

 mats or as wall tapestries they would generally be considered of poor design ; in the 

 ever moving folds of a garment hanging from the shoulders of an active man they be- 

 came most fitting. Here the material on which the design was worked did not in the 

 least interfere with the free expression of any artistic impulse : almost as freely as the 

 tapestry needle traced the figures on the medieval "cloth of Arras" might the deft 

 fingers of the local artists have traced pictures on the net work to which the feathers 

 were attached; the mosaic feather-work of the Mexicans proves this.'^ One other 

 thing is to be noted in the feather decoration ; the Hawaiians had brilliant colors and 

 used them when they saw fit ; the rich orange of the mamo, the scarlet of the nwt, the 

 crimson of the apapane^ the green of the ou^ and the clear yellow of the 00 were cer- 

 tainly brilliant colors and well used. 



In another flat decoration, that of mats, it has been shown" that the material 

 decidedly curbs the fancy and, as they were braided in and neither stamped nor painted 

 on the surface, they were geometric in form as shown in Fig. 124 which is borrowed 

 from the memoir referred to. These simple designs seem well suited to mats, far more 



''Hawaiian Feather Work. Memoirs I, part i. 



''That the germ, at least, of pictorial decoration was in the Hawaiian artist seems to be shown in the very 

 remarkable quilts made by these people since cotton cloth and sewing machines have been brought to the islands. 

 These quilts form the treasure of the housewife much as the choice kapa of the olden time were cherished. When 

 the missionary ladies taught the native women to sew and make quilts the traditionary patchwork of New England 

 was the sampler; but the native women had no store of waste pieces as had the American housekeeper, and they 

 had to buy at the stores. It was considerable and careful work also to fit the squares and triangles accurately. When 

 the little hand sewing machine came to the islands all this was changed, and the quilter sewed on patterns of her 

 own choice, and very striking these patterns often are. Turkey-red seems the favorite color, but the interesting 

 part is that in adopting foreign methods of manufacture they did not also take foreign designs. Bread-fruit leaves, 

 are a very favorite selection, so are the radiating form of squids, and I have seen a most elaborate design of a horse- 

 man lassoing a bull in excellent form. 



"Mat and Basket Weaving of the Ancient Hawaiians. Memoirs II, part i (1906). 



