The first cut.....wow, there was a clock inside?
June 3rd 2006............
Kapa
Kapa, meaning the beaten thing, is the Hawaiian word for bark cloth. Bark cloth was used for clothing, bedding, lantern
wicks, and burial blankets. Hawaiian kapa is considered the finest of all Pacific Island bark cloths because of the
variety, quality, workmanship, color, and design. You can identify Hawaiian kapa by the patterns used in decorating or
the colors of the dye.
Historically, the women of Hawai`i made the kapa. The most skilled of kapa makers were called loea. A kapa beating house
or hale kuku was built for these skilled women. The actual beating of kapa took place outdoors when the weather was
good; however the application of dyes was done indoors.
Wauke, or paper mulberry, made the best bark cloth. It involved acquiring the inner bark of the mulberry branches then
softening it by soaking in water. The softened bark was laid over the kua kuku (wooden anvil) and struck with a round
beater, the hohoa. In the final phase of beating, a four-sided striker or i`e kuku was used to embed the watermark
patterns. These beaters had designs carved on each side. Its special function was to watermark the wet kapa by striking
it on the smooth surface of the kua kuku. Watermarks can be appreciated by holding the kapa up to the light.
The dried fruit of the hala tree (pandanus) was used as a brush to apply the dye to the kapa. Designs were also applied
using bamboo strips engraved with geometric designs. This method was used for block printing designs in a repeated
pattern. Bamboo liners, or lapa, resembled a table fork with one to nine prongs. The lapa was dipped into dye and
pressed against the kapa to form lines in a variety of combinations.
Tapa from the Pacific is made from the inner
bark of the
Paper Mulberry tree (Broussonetia papyrifera) and also in some
cases the Breadfruit tree (Artocarpus).
Useful Links...........
3-http://www.canoeplants.com/wauke.html
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