3/8 Memoirs Bcniicc P. nishop Musciiiii 



called ka'aca which was worked into them in the course of the rolling, hut ap- 

 parently there was no decorative intent. Colors other than red and black do not 

 seem to have been used. The method in d}-eing the cord black was not ascer- 

 tained, hut it was probabl}- the same as that used in dyeing sennit black. 



Next to the fau bark the material in most common use is coconut liljer. 

 This fiber is of two kinds, that from the husk, which is short and rather 

 stifif, and that from the leaf sheath, which is longer and more flexible, but lacks 

 the strength of the husk fiber. Husk fiber is used for all ordinary cordage and 

 is obtained by beating fresh moist cocinut husks with stones until the tissues 

 have been crushed and the fibers can be separated by hanil. In the leaf sheath 

 the fibers are arranged in thin layers which can easily ])e se])arated with the 

 fingers. Sheath fiber is said to have been employed for the large nets used in 

 turtle fishing, and for the lashings of some chiefs' houses and sacred structures. 

 It was also occasionally used for the thin cord employed in pai'ahiiia and as 

 strings for musical bows. 



The heavier grades of coconut fiber cctrd are usually plaited, but the 

 smallest cord is twisted from two strands while a somewhat heavier twisted cord, 

 in a single strand, is used in one form of ornamental plaiting". Ordinary cord 

 (PI. Lxv, D 1) was made by plaiting three untwisted strands of fiber, additional 

 fibers being worked in as the plaiting progressed to keep the strands of uniform 

 size. 



The plaiter seated himself and, hokhng- the end of the cord with his toes, phiited upward 

 and away from the body. The ornamental cords used for hue nets and drum lashings were 

 ])laited from many strands — five, six, eiglit, and from nine to fifteen inchisive. They apjiear 

 to have been ahvays in the form of flat ribbons, and it is rather curious that no square four- 

 strand coconut fiber plaits were seen although this tecliniciue was employed for some bark 

 ropes. 



Two forms of plaiting were used, one of which ga\-e a liroad thin hand 

 ha\-ing the ai)])earance of twilled fabric (PI. lxv, D. 3), while in the other the 

 strands ran in diagonally to the center of the band, where they ])assed alternately 

 over and under (PI. lx\', D. 2). The ends of cords made l)v the first techni(|ue 

 were usually finished by short sections made by the second. In large cords made 

 by the second technique two longitudinal strands of twisted fiber were usually 

 used as a base, the strands of the plait passing alternately o\-er and under these 

 in a sort of figure eight motion. In well made cords of this ty])e the Imse strands 

 were completely covered, and the finislied |)roduct gave the effect of being made 

 from two cords tightly twisted in opposite directions and placed side by side. 

 Many strand cords made by plaiting together elements which were themselves 

 plaited do not appear to have been used. 



[iiS] 



