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Samoan Material Culture
Fishing baskets
Fishing baskets
The 'ato types of baskets have fairly wide interstices between the wefts which become wider as the material dries. For fishing purposes, closer wefts and a more permanent use required a different technique. Such baskets (ola) were in Savaii divided into three classes: ola malu, ola tu, and si'u ola.
1. The ola malu of Savaii are small deep baskets used by women to carry small fish and shell fish collected in the lagoon. A strip of fau bast is run through between the wefts close under the rim of one side and the ends are tied round the waist. Both hands are thus freed. Three varieties range from 8 to 12 inches wide at the rim to 10 to 12 inches in depth. Leaflet-bearing midrib strips are used and the plaiting stroke is the check. The midrib strip ranging from 16 to 24 inches in length is split off as thin as possible. The page 196upper part of the lateral surface of the strip is carefully split off so that it carries with it, the attachments of the leaflet midribs. As it is torn off, it carries the leaflet midribs with it and leaves each leaflet split into two and attached close together to what is to form the rim strip. The lower edge of the rim strip is also trimmed and the lower free natural edges of the leaflets are removed. In the neater basket (Plate XIV, A, 1), the two wefts thus provided by each leaflet are 0.4 inches wide. In the larger, coarser basket (Plate XIV A, 2.) the wefts are 0.6 inches wide. By using two midrib strips a closer plait and a narrower weft is made possible. The baskets figured have each a different method of commencement at the midrib strip.
The larger ola malu from the south coast of Savaii have only one midrib strip which is from the left side of the leaf, thus forming natural dextrals. (See fig. 102 and Pl. XIV, A, 2.)
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Figure 102.—Basket (ola malu), commencement:
a, The left element of each leaflet pair (numbered odd) is turned to the left to function as sinistrals and the right elements (numbered even) continue in their natural direction as dextrals. Each sinistral as it turns to the left makes its first check stroke over the dextral on the left. The exception is the first weft on the left (1) which, having nothing to cross over, is turned to the right over the next sinistral (3) and functions as the top dextral. The usual check technique is carried out. When the plaiting reaches the right end of the midrib strip, no special technique is used for binding the two ends together as in the 'ato. The last element on the right end of the strip is naturaly the right element of a pair and, being a dextral, will be kept down. The lowest sinistral (3) will naturally pass above it and thus lie in the prepared dextral shed in its natural order. The space between the two ends is thus automatically filled in without any complications. With the use of one midrib strip, the leaflet wefts are left as wide as possible to narrow the interspaces between the wefts but they are not completely closed. Very little of the leaflet midrib was removed so that the half leaflets are close together at the upper points of attachment on the midrib strip.
In the next variety a closer plait is obtained by using two midrib strips and a narrower weft is thus possible.
In the basket (Pl. XIV, A, 1) from the north coast of Savaii two midrib strips each supply a different set of naturally directed wefts. (See fig. 103.)
A third ola malu has also two midrib strips with narrower wefts. It commences in the same way as the form shown in Plate XIV, A, 1, but half way along the strip a change in arrangement takes place as shown in figure 104.
The depth of the basket body is in marked contrast to the width. It forms a deep bag more suitable for holding objects when the carrier is continually stooping down and groping amongst the stones. Depth is secured by adding page 197working sections to the commencing section in the usual way. The additional working sections naturally differ from those in sheets by having no end edges to turn in. The new working section is built up with an oblique edge formed by a dextral on the left. When the section comes round to the starting point the open triangular part is filled in exactly as the ends are closed at the commencement. In the 'ato type, owing to the wide wefts, the depth of the basket was secured by the first working section.
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Figure 103.—Basket (ola malu) commencement:
a, The sinistral wefts are placed over the dextral and its strip is nearer to the plaiter. The first sinistral (1) is left free and the first dextral (1') is raised. The second sinistral (2) passes under the dextral (1') which is dropped and the next dextral (2') picked up. The next sinistral (3) thus passes under (2') and over (1'). The dropped dextral (1') is picked up, the raised dextral (2') dropped and the next dextral (3') picked up. The next sinistral (4) is placed in the shed. The picking up of alternate dextrals and placing the next sinistral in the shed provided carries on until a working edge is provided. The working edge is then continued on to the right end of the strip. b, The right end is brought around and is thus on the left in the figure. The last sinistral (10) has passed under the second last dextral (9'). The last dextral (10') is raised with the alternate series of dextrals (8,' 6,' 4') while (9') and the other alternates (7,' 5') are left down. Into this shed, the first sinistral (1) from the commencing end of the strip fits naturally and the end is closed automatically by the usual technique.
The bottom is closed by a double braid as in the 'ato, but, instead of doubling over the end of the first braid course, it is continued on in a free tail.
The ends of the baskets are reversed and the second set of free wefts commenced as a fresh braid. The technique after the three initial plies have been established is exactly the same as in the second course of the 'ato braid. At the near end, the braid is continued as a free tail.
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Figure 104.—Basket (ola malu) commencement:
The two wefts from each leaflet stead of following the same direction are diverged in opposite directions. The dextrals still make their first stroke over the sinistrals but the diverged dextrals (2') from the lower strip pass behind the upper (dextral) strip before it passes over a sinistral the original sinistrals (3) from the lower strip and the diverged ones (4) from the upper strip are shown.
These baskets have thus a free tail at each end of the bottom. The braided tails are made extra long. In the smaller form, they are longer than half the depth of the basket. They are turned up along the outside of the ends for a few inches, pushed through to the inside, then brought outside again and the knotted ends are left on the outside. In the larger basket the tails are not so long and the knotted ends, after a short course outside, are pushed through to the inside. (See Plate XIV, A.)
2. The ola tu are large leaflet baskets made with two midrib strips from opposite sides of the leaf to supply natural crossing wefts. The plaiting stroke is a twilled-two changing towards the bottom to lines of check. The sinistral bearing strip is placed above the other and the closed leaflets are used. The free edges of the leaflets are trimmd, but the leaflet midribs are left intact. The baskets are thus stronger and stiffer than the malu type which, owing to the removal of the leaflet midribs, are soft and pliable.
The fa'a'au commencement by horizontal twilled twos is exactly the same as in the wall screens. The first dextral on the left is, however, lifted after the first sinistral. This results in marked differences of appearance in the plait along the rim. Where the two midrib strips have worked a little distance apart, the transverse row of sinistrals is deep and marked. Where the midrib strips are close together only the attachments of the sinistrals to the outer strip can be seen and the dextral horizontal row appears prominent near the rim. The appearance of a change of technique is given but it is not so. (See two ends of the rim in Plate XIV, B.)
As in the ola malu no special weft join is used when the ends of the strip are brought together. Any long ends that may be left on the midrib strip are turned up with the wefts and plaited in.
The horizontal twilled twos are continued but here and there twilled threes have been introduced to level the line of plaiting which has been affected by a curve in the rim. Narrow strips are also torn from the free edges of the wefts to narrow the wefts and thus narrow the basket towards the bottom. Thus wefts which are 0.8 inches wide are 0.6 inches towards the bottom. Within 6 inches of the bottom, the twilled twos give place to check.
The bottom is closed with the two-course, three-ply braid each ending in a free tail as in the ola malu. The knotted tails are pushed through to the inside close to their origin at the bottom and after a course inside, the knotted ends are pushed through to the outside.
The ola tu is used by women to catch fish which are driven out of the heaps of stones in the lagoon that have been erected to attract them as resting places. These baskets have been termed fanga i'a (fish trap) which, however, is a functional and not a generic name. They must not be confounded with the true fanga i'a trap made of vines with a single-pair twine.
page 1993. The si'u ola forms a receptacle for the catch of fish either on the canoe or after it is brought in to shore. Like the ola tu, it is a twilled basket made with the closed leaflet wefts and finished at the bottom with a two-course braid each braid with its own tail and knot. The crossing wefts are also supplied by two midrib strips from opposite sides of the leaf. The basket, however is much smaller and the strip receives special treatment.
The strip from the left side of the leaf has each leaflet twisted forward in its natural direction over the leaflet in front of it. (See figure 105.)
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Figure 105.—Basket (si'u ola) rim twist and join (so'o):
a, The leaflet towards the butt end (1) is twisted over 2, then 2 over 3, and so on throughout the strip. This resembles the twisting technique followed in the laulau platter but is simpler, being confined to one leaflet strip whereas in the platter a pair of strips were treated together. The other strip supplying the sinistrals is similarly treated. The two double strips are then placed in position for plaiting with the midrib strip towards the worker and the sinistral bearing strip uppermost. The fa'a'au commencement by horizontal twilled twos is the same as in the wall screen but the first dextral is raised beyond the first sinistral and kept raised until the second and third sinistrals have passed under it to establish the twill. The two midrib strips are kept close together throughout and the si'u ola has thus a neat twisted rim in which the midrib strip cannot be seen from the outside. This contrasts with the rougher rim of the ola tu. In Tutuila, the dextral wefts were more commonly supplied by one strip without the leaflets twisted. In twisting the leaflets, the first leaflet twisted over that in front of it has no leaflet passing under the arch that it forms. Also the last leaflet has no leaflet left over which it may be twisted. When the ends of the midrib strip are brought together, the first empty arch is shown by (1) and the last leaflet by (10) b, The last leaflet (10) is then simply passed under the arched first leaflet (1), drawn taut, and the join is completed. The outer sinistral strip is similarly treated. The filling in of the end gap between the marginal wefts is then carried out for the join is not made until the working edge has reached the end of the strips.
In the si'u ola figured (Plate XIV, C) the slight narrowing at the bottom is due to the natural narrowing of the wefts and not to special paring of the wefts as in the ola tu.
After establishing the horizontal twilled-two commencement, the twilled twos are worked in vertical rows on the body and end in check at the plaiting edge. The bottom closing technique is identical with the ola tu but the two knotted tails were pushed through to the inside and left there. One tail in the ola has been pushed through so close to its origin that it is not obvious from the outside and at first gives the impression of the doubled-over technique of the 'ato ending in one tail.
In Aunuu Island, a type of ola is made with the outer sinistral leaflets twisted on the strip whilst the inner dextral leaflets were added untwisted. page 200The leaves were first cut into five or six inch sections and laid out to dry. The left, or dextral bearing strips, when twisted were joined as in figure 105, to get the length but the dextral short strips were added on the under side as required by the plaiting. The rest of the technique was as above but the knotted tails, after being pushed through to the inside, had the knots pushed out again. These baskets were 12 inches deep, 18 inches wide at the rim and narrowed to 11 inches at the bottom. They were called ola malu but differ considerably from the ola malu of Savaii.