It is clear from Hermkens' (2013) research on the commodification of
tapa cloth and gender among the neighbouring Maisin that these women have not been empowered by the production for sale of
tapa cloth, even though they have been involved in this process for several generations.
He donned a ceremonial skirt of
tapa cloth, made from the bark of a mulberry tree, and swayed to the beat, waving his hands like a Polynesian dancer.
Instead, they were much more interested in collecting
tapa cloth. Almost all missionaries stationed in Collingwood Bay collected artefacts like barkcloth, and some of them even decorated their houses and tables with pieces of decorated tapa.
Colorful examples include:
tapa cloth from the Pacific region; Oaxacan woodcarvings from Mexico; dot paintings from Australia; wycinanki paper cuts from Poland; Hmong textiles from Laos; festival masks from Puerto Rico; metal cutouts from Haiti; molas from San Blas Islands; Zapotec weaving from Mexico; weaving from Guatemala; Kente cloth from Ghana; Huichol yarn paintings from Mexico; and feather work from the Amazon.
Beneath a small tent outside the museum, people gathered to learn about
tapa cloth, cedar bark basketry and Oregon's geology.
Included are molas by the Kuna Indians, embroidery of the Hmong, the kente weaving of Africa, and the stenciled
tapa cloth of the South Pacific.
Flint-knapper Jim Long,
tapa cloth maker Aimee Yogi, cedar-bark basketry expert Sheila Tasker and beadwork artist Wilma Crowe will give demonstrations.
In Abelam/Arapesh border villages, pieces of
tapa cloth are used in dances by women as aprons over the buttocks.
This very thorough and complete curriculum contains four units representing the rich diversity of textile design from four different world cultures: the San Blas Kuna Indians and their molas; the Hmong of Laos and their textile arts; the Ashanti of Ghana and their kente cloth; and the
tapa cloth of the Samoan people.
The inter-island exchange of
tapa cloth, mats, baskets, canoes and other items of wealth on Tonga was historically, like wealth production itself, a chiefly prerogative directly tied to chiefly relationships of kinship, rank, tribute and marriage (Kirch 1984).
One such curriculum resource is Kaleidoscope of Cloth, which explores a diversity of textile designs from molas and kente weaving to
tapa cloth and more.