Materials and Technique

The plant universally used is the paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera). The name in common use is u'a, while the other name of tutunga is unknown to many of the younger people. The name u'a is also applied to a young breadfruit tree and to a net prepared from its bark. Tradition states that the plant was brought from Fiji and that Suai-fonua brought the tutunga to Fonga-savaii and Faiaai in the Salenga district of Savaii.

The use of any plant except u'a is now denied, and breadfruit bast is restricted to making cords for a type of seine net. The paper mulberry,page 284planted from cuttings (maunu), is cultivated in the food plantations. Saplings are used while a second growth (tuapipi) is also utilized.

Peeling the bark. The bark was peeled (sasae) from the wood (aumafuti) and the process termed sae u'a. The name for any bark is pa'u but that of the paper mulberry was also referred to as u'a. The saplings now generally used are about as thick as the thumb, though smaller sticks ('auli'i) may be used to provide material for patching holes. Large saplings are unsuitable as the bark is too tough to beat out into sheets.

The bark is separated at the butt end, usually with the teeth, and a short longitudinal slit made down one side. It is said that the longitudinal slit must be on the convex side of any curve in the stake. The reason given is that the texture of the bark is more complex on the concave side. The bark as it is pulled off, will split cleaner on the convex side, whereas on the concave side the edges are left ragged. The bark is worked down from the butt until the left hand can grasp the freed bark. Holding the wood with the right, the bark is pulled away from the wood in a long tube which splits on the convex side from the initial cut. Towards the tip end, care has to be exercised as the projecing buds of leaves adhering to the wood tend to split the bark on either side of them and leave portions attached. Any such tendency is watched and the base of the knob pushed off with the thumb nail to free it with the bark. When the strip becomes too small, the bark is cut off.

Peeling off the bast (fofo'e). The bast is usually separated from each strip, immediately after stripping it from the wood. The inner bark or bast has no specific name but is referred to as pa'u pito i totonu (the part of the bark on the inside), as against pa'u pito i tua (the part outside). The strip of bark is wound around the left hand, commencing with the butt end with the inner surface outwards. The somewhat tubular strip of bark is thereby opened out and flattened.

The strip is opened out in its length and a transverse cut made through the outer bark near the butt end. The outer bark is lifted up, with the edge of a knife or a piece of bamboo, until it separates across the width of the strip and sufficiently down its length to allow the left hand to grasp it. The bast is held down on the right thigh by the right palm while the left hand pulls the outer bark away from it. The two separate quite readily along a natural plane of cleavage but care is exercised in separating with the thumb nail any portions of outer bark that tend to stick to the bast. This applies especially towards the tip end where the leaf buds are. When the tip end has run out, the strip is reversed and the portion of the butt end on the butt side of the tranverse cut dealt with similarly. (See Plate XXXII, B, 1.) During the separation, the strip is kept taut between the two knees, or legs. The outer bark is discarded and the bast thrown into a bowl of water. Each strip of page 285bark is dealt with by the above two processes before proceeding to the next stage. The second stage gets its name from fofo'e (to peel).

Scraping the bast. The scraping of the bast (fai u'a or fafai u'a) requires a scraping board, a number of shell scrapers, and a strip of bamboo for a knife.

The special scraping board (papa fei u'a) is dubbed out of iliili or other wood and was formerly smoothed clown with coral. An average sized board is 37 inches long, 18.5 inches wide, and about 0.75 inches thick at the edges. Sometimes a piece from the side of a canoe is used.

Shell scrapers (Pl. XXXI, B) are referred to generally as 'asi though 'asi is also the name of a specific shell. Three kinds are used: Asaphis violacea, Antigone reticulata, and a species of Area. The names applied by the Samoans vary both in districts and with the particular use of the shell.

The 'ofe knife is merely a strip of dry bamboo about 0.25 to 0.5 inches wide and of any convenient length.

Scraping the bast is clone in a stream when such is available. Otherwise a wooden bowl containing water forms part of the equipment. The board is propped up at a convenient angle against a stone or other support. The lower end rests on the ground where the worker seats herself. Though the whole process is termed fai u'a, the actual scraping is valu u'a. There are usually four stages of scraping and rubbing and a different shell is used with each stage.

Scraping (valu u'a). A strip of bast is placed longitudinally on the middle of the board with the butt end towards the top and the surface that was next to the outer bark uppermost. On this surface, streaks of green coloring matter adhere and the first scraping is to remove them. In Manua and Tutuila, the shell of the Asaphis violacea (pipi) is used (Plate XXXI, B, 1.) In Savaii, the rough untrimmed edge of the Arca is in vogue (Pl. XXXI, B, 2) except at Safune where the pipi is common. The Arca shell so used is termed 'asi valu. A shell full of water is dipped out of the bowl and dropped on the upper part of the bast strip so that it runs down over it. The scraping is made with backhanded movements upwards and away from the body, the outer surface of the shell being towards the worker. Every now and again a shell full of water is dropped on the bast. When the green coloring matter and coarser particles of outer bark have been scraped off, the other stages of the process are completed before another section of the same strip is moved up. (See Plate XXXI, C.)

Rasping (mangeo or pae). The next stage consists in rasping the surface of the bast with the rough outer surface of an Antigone reticulata shell. (See Plate XXXI, B, 3.) In western Samoa, the shell is called mangeo and in eastern Samoa, pae. In each area, the process receives the local name page 286of the shell. The outer rasping surface of the shell is held downwards on the bast with the hinge part towards the worker. Both thumbs grasp it on the outside whilst the fingers exert downward pressure on the inner surface of the shell which faces upwards. The movements are again upwards and outwards. They loosen interfibrous material that the first scraping was unable to remove. A little water is splashed on every now and again with the shell. The surface of the bast is left rough with little particles sticking up after the rasping is completed.

Smoothing (pae or fa'amalu). This process consists of smoothing down the rough surface left by the rasping and at the same time removing any loose particles or ends. Here there is some confusion between the methods of western and eastern Samoa. In western Samoa, the pae is an Arca shell that has had its slightly irregular natural edge ground to an even sharp cutting edge. (Plate XXXI, B, 4.) This edge is used as in scraping. It removes the loose pieces and irregular ends; The movements are up and out and water continues to be used. The process is called pae which in eastern Samoa has been given to the Antigone reticulata shell and the process of rasping.

In eastern Samoa, the shell is also the Arca but the back is used as in rasping. The back or outer surface is grooved but the ridges are not serrated as in the Antigone reticulata. It thus acts quite effectively in removing loose particles and smoothing down the bast surface. In Tutuila, the variation existing in some villages was the use of the back of the shell continued on into the next process, whereas in others, a different shell was used. The process was called fa'amalu as was also the shell used for the process, though the general shell name was 'asi.

Drying (to). In western Samoa, the process of expressing as much of the moisture as possible was termed ta. The shell used was an Arca that had been ground from both sides to form an even, obtuse-angled blunt edge. (See Plate XXXI, B, 5.) Water was dashed on and scraped off to clean the bast. The last movements were applied with firm pressure to remove as much of the moisture as possible. The shell was held as in scraping.

In eastern Samoa, the shell used in the previous process was further utilized with firmer pressure to effect the drying purpose. The back was used and the process combined with the former was called fa'amalu. In some villages, however, an Arca shell corresponding to the western Samoa ta was used in the same way but was called langalanga.

After the section of bast has been subjected to the four processes, the strip is moved up so as to allow the next section to be done. In this manner, the strip is finished in sections. The last section with the end of the strip is reversed in direction so that the end is efficiently dealt with by the upward page 287sweeps of the shells. In western Samoa the scraping movements are always from butt to tip except for the butt end which has to be turned. In eastern Samoa, however, I noticed a woman doing the reverse.

In Leone, a woman used both a pipi (Asaphis violacea) and an 'asi (Arca) for the first scraping process and a langalanga as well as a fa'amalu for the two last processes. She also used an Antigone reticulata rasp. Thus she used five different shells as against three in some villages and four in western Samoa. After the drying stage, the fai u'a process is completed as far as the individual strip is concerned.