What is a Siapo?

Asked by: Gloria Celestie

Siapo is the Samoan word for a fine cloth made from the bark of the Paper Mulberry tree. In Fiji, this linen-like barkcloth is called Masi, in Tonga it’s Ngatu.

How do you make a Siapo?

Barkcloth made in Samoa is called siapo. Siapo makers use the bark of the u’a (paper mulberry tree) to make their cloth. The bark is carefully peeled off the tree in strips and then the inner bark is separated and scraped clean. It is then pounded until it widens into a larger size.

What are Siapo patterns?

Siapo is Samoan tapa that is colored using a variety of techniques and variety of local dyes to be discussed later. Tapa is a fabric-like material made from the bark of the paper mulberry tree (Broussonetia payriferia), which is known in Samoan as an u’a tree in Figure 4.

How are the patterns made on the Siapo?

Siapo ‘elei uses a design board (upeti) to imprint designs on the bark cloth. An unfinished cloth is placed on a upeti that has been covered with dye; the top surface is then rubbed to transfer the design from the board to the cloth.

What is a Samoan tapa?

Tapa, a general term used to describe Polynesian bark cloth, is made from the inner bark of the Broussonetia tree that has been hand beaten, scraped, pressed, and patterned to create printed cloth. In Samoa, two methods are used to produce large pieces of printed bark cloth.

Who invented the Siapo?

In summer of 1966, Joan Griffis was recruited by the National Association of Broadcasters to work as an on-air teacher in American Samoa.

Why is IE toga important?

ʻIe tōga are valued because of the quality of the weave and the softness and shine of the material. They are only made by women and form an integral part of their role, identity, and skill in their community.

How do you make tapa art?

And soaked in water then pounded thinly and evenly. With a traditional four-sided mallet when enough of the single sheets are ready they are glued together with arrowroot or tapioca.

What is Samoan art?

Samoa is an island country in Polynesia, which is an area of the Pacific Ocean. Traditional Samoan arts include tatau, siapo, and ie toga, which are body art, decorative fabric, and fine mats. Current Samoan artists, like Fatu Feu’u are inspired by traditional Samoan art and share it with the world.

Who was the first chief of Samoa?

His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II

In 2007, Samoa’s first head of state, His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II, died at age 95.

What does Siapo mean in Samoan?

Siapo is the Samoan word for a fine cloth made from the bark of the Paper Mulberry tree. In Fiji, this linen-like barkcloth is called Masi, in Tonga it’s Ngatu.

What is Samoan barkcloth?

A paperlike textile predominantly manufactured from the soft inner bark of the paper mulberry tree, strips of which are pounded and then glued or felted together to produce large sheets, barkcloth was the only form of cloth in Polynesia prior to Western contact.

What is a tapa Polynesian?

Cloth made of bark is generically known as tapa across Polynesia, although terminology, decorations, dyes, and designs vary through out the islands.

What is the difference between tapa and kapa?

Tapa cloth (or simply tapa) is a barkcloth made in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, primarily in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, but as far afield as Niue, Cook Islands, Futuna, Solomon Islands, Java, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Hawaii (where it is called kapa).

What does tapa mean in Hawaii?

Known as “siapo” in Samoa or “ahu” in Tahiti, the present term was most likely derived from the Hawaiian word “kapa” (pronounced “tapa”) meaning “the beaten.” Tapa, a prized commodity, was the chief item of trade amongst the islanders and with Western explorers.