414 Memoirs Bcniicc P. BisJiop Miiscuui 



paper pulp ami in this condition it was very easily injured. This ])ulp was then wrapped in 

 ver_v large leaves ( apparently from a species of Caladiuni ) and taken into the house, where 

 it was kept for two or three days. There was no fi.xed ijeriod for this storage, the time de- 

 pending upon the condition of the pulp. After this "ripening" the pulp was beaten again with 

 a square beater on a wooden anvil, rinsed in fresh water, and spread out to dry, the edges 

 weighted with stones. The finished tapa was made up in large bundles which were hung from 

 the ridge pole of the house until needed. (See PI. l.x.xiv, C.) 



A slightly different method of making tapa from breadfruit bark is de- 

 scribed in a manuscript translated by Handy. 



This account states that the bark was cut with a stone knife, peeled from the branches 

 of a living tree with the teeth, beaten on a stone anvil for a long time, crushed and worked 

 in fresh water, and done up in bundles to ripen. After ripening for four days, the pulp was 

 beaten again on a stone anvil and finally on a wooden anvil. 



An informant of Xuka Hiva said that in the final stages of manufacture 

 layers of mulberr_\- and breadfruit bark were frequently laid upon one another 

 and beaten into a single piece, the upper side of which would be of one material, 

 the other side of another. Used tapa was sometimes rebeaten. 



Some of the tapa collected has evidently been oiled, although it is not cer- 

 tain that this was done with the intention of making it waterproof. The Bishop 

 ]\Iuseum ])ossesses a tapa, ascribed to the ^Marquesas, one side of which is 

 covered with a dark red glaze, but as there is no other evidence that this process 

 was used in the Marquesas the specimen probably is improperly ascribed. Much 

 white tapa was dyed yellow with a solution of saffron. Jardin (^^) says he was 

 tiild that the natives extracted a blue dye from the leaves of a species of Cordia. 

 and adds: "I have never seen this practice and I have never seen their cloth dyed 

 that color." 



An interesting feature of Alarquesan tapa is the use of the watermark 

 of the ordinary grooved beater to produce ornamental effects. One specimen 

 has been beaten with such skill that at first glance it appears to be cloth woven 

 with heavy weft and light warp threads. The ridges and grooves made by the 

 beater extend across it in continuous lines except for a narrow strip along either 

 edge, which is beaten at right angles to the body of the piece, giving the ap- 

 pearance of a border. Another specimen seems to have been beaten with alter- 

 nate strokes from right and left so that the watermarks cross each other and 

 produce a series of small diamonds. Designs were never painted on ]\lar([itesan 

 tapa. 



The importance of tapa making in the life of the Alarquesans is indicated 

 by the many terms in use. The following have been taken from Dordillon's 

 Dictionary : 



[154] 



