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| Masi or tapa |
Masi is a very traditional artwork here in Fiji. The art is
completely done by women, while men typically do carving or woodwork. Masi is
made from the inner bark of the mulberry tree. In the South Pacific, there are
many different styles of tapa. However, here in Fiji we call it Masi and we are known for our finely detailed
and geometric ornamentation's.
To give you an idea just how
special this piece of artwork is, let me give you some details about how it is
made. First the artist (usually women) must choose and cut down the mulberry
tree. The women then use their
teeth, and then a sharp knife to separate the layers of the bark from the tree.
They use the core (the lewena) of
the tree for the cloth. Once they have the inner core, the women must beat the
masi for hours and hours. It almost sounds like an orchestra of natural drums,
even as the sun is rising and you just want to sleep. This process of beating
the cloth is done several times to give layers to the prints.
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| Women beating the tree bark into cloth |
All the colors of the masi are natural and come from the
environment. Brown dyes are from the inner bark of the mangrove tree, the deep
brown color comes from umea which is a type of clay and soot is used to create
the black color and is mixed with a little umea and kesa juice. Kesa juice is
from the bark of a Kesa tree.
Traditionally, unprinted pieces of masi would hang down from
the ceiling in the village Chief’s bure (hut). This piece was extremely sacred
because it was the way the Chief and the High Priest communicated with the
gods, and it was known as the cloth of the gods. In traditional ceremonies, chiefs
(or chief guest) will wear a deep rich red color masi. During a wedding, the
bride and groom also wear Masi and is also worn for special birthdays such as
the 1st, and 21st birthday. Masi is also used to wrap a
newborn baby, while at the other end of life it decorates the room where the
body lies before burial and also covers the coffin within the grave.
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| Draped over the coffin |
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| Masi being worn during a traditional wedding |
Each symbol has its own meaning and derivatives, mostly from
the natural environment. Before Christianity, Fiji used to worship nature and
all its glory. So the majority of the designs actually represent animals,
plants, or traditional Fijian customs.
If you want to learn a little more about masi or tapa go here!
As always, here are the links to my albums of pictures :-) Enjoy!!
Instagram name: tdoak08
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