Writing: Tapa Cloths

W.a.l.t Writing aspects of an information report structure - indentify the significance of Ngatu in the Tongan culture
we've been researching about tapa cloths and writing an information report about them.

(this is part of our tongan studies)

                               Video

Ngatu ~ Tapa Cloths

What is a Ngatu?

A Ngatu is the tongan name for tapa cloth/decorated bark cloth. It’s a Treasure and an old tradition in pacific culture. In the old days  in tonga, Tapa cloth was used for many reasons, It was used for clothing, bedding, painting to be hanged and many more. When cotton material was introduced it replaced most tapa cloths It is used to wrap the newborns, and the dead.  It is now used on formal occasions, Ceremonies, Weddings, Birthdays and funeral

How do you make Ngatu?

For how it is made. A large group of both men and women make the tapa cloth. So it starts with the mulberry tree, there is a outer layer and an inner layer. The Outer layer gets scraped off exposing the inner layer of bark, also the outer layer is not needed. The Inner layer is peeled from the tree and dried out in the sun. After it has been dried, it is soaked in water to make them soft. Afterwards the bark is beaten on an anvil with a wooden mallet called the ike. One side is flat while the other is course with fine grooves. The course side is used first, before the end the flat side is used. When the strips are thin enough, they’re taken and beaten together with the ike to make a large sheet. Edge’s that don’t want to stick, are rubbed with starch of tapioca and other things to have

Them stick together. Afterwards they then dry it in the sun again.

The Tapa cloth is decorated by stenciling, dyeing, rubbing or stamping. The tapa usually form a grid of squares, each having the patterns and designs of their natural environment and sometimes foreign symbols.

This Writing has covered what a Ngatu is, how it’s made and the significance of it.

This is probably the finished product.