AP Art History 250: 219. Hiapo (tapa)

Hiapo (tapa)
Niue. c. 1850-1900 C.E. Australia. Tapa or bark cloth, freehand painting

Tapa traditions were regionally unique and historically widespread throughout the Polynesian Islands. Eastern Polynesia did not experience a continuous tradition of tapa production, however, the art form is still produced today, particularly in the Hawaiian and the Marquesas Islands.

Form

Fine lines, detailed geometric designs such as spirals, concentric circles, squares, triangles, and diminishing motifs
Along the edges of the cloth are intricate representations of native plants
Animated freehand drawing process may represent mana
Bark cloth is an involved process, performed entirely by women

Bark is pounded flat with a wooden tool (felting)
Several pieces of bark are stuck together with a paste from plants such as arrowroot
Designs are either pounded in with a carved beating tool or by rubbing over a stencil

Function

Tapa were used for clothing, bedding, and wall hangings
Tapa would also be displayed on special occasions
Still exist today as parts of funeral rituals and burial rights
Tapestries could function as a type of currency -- they could be exchanged for food and work/services
Used for ceremony or to designate status

Worn during rituals, exchanged in marriage or other events, used to wrap babies and sacred objects
If a family has no tapa to give away, they are considered poor

Content

Certain designs and textiles were designed for people with high social standing or rank

Important figures and high-ranking individuals would wear these decorated cloths at important stages in their lives

Different cultures and islands would present similar pieces of cloth to places they travel to by boat
Similar pieces of bark cloth have designs representing local wildlife and marine animals (such as jellyfish and starfish) and occasionally depictions of humans
As the designs on a particular piece of tapa cloth are unique to the maker’s island, township, or region; all pieces of this type of cloth are unique

Context

The cloth is from Niue, a small Polynesian island country located 1,500 miles northeast of New Zealand

Its location next to Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook islands allowed for lots of trade with Christian missionaries in the region

The making of tapa cloth was traditionally seen as a women’s art as it is a type of weaving and works with soft materials

Women’s art would often also use materials such as flowers or leaves
In Polynesia, textiles were seen as a woman’s wealth

Tapa cloth is used across many other islands in the Pacific, such as Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji, introduced by missionaries
Cross-cultural connections

A more contemporary version of the tapa may have originally been introduced to the island of Niue by Samoan missionaries brought to the island by the British, though it is thought that there was an earlier tradition related to this type of cloth making that was native to Niue
Used to wrap sacred objects as seen in the God staff