The tapora is a definite basket made for harder usage. They are quickly made from a cocoanut leaf on the spot where required and are discarded after their immediate use is fulfilled, Fig. 154.

Figure 154.
The tapora basket.

A piece of cocoanut leaf of the desired length is selected from towards the tip end of the leaf. Before making the second cut, the leaflets on either side are counted to ensure that they are of equal number. The under sides of the leaflets are towards the plaiter and the butt end towards the left. The baskets vary in size according to the use to which they are to be put. For the purposes of this description, a piece of cocoanut leaf midrib is cut off, carrying seven leaflets on either side. In position, the upper set of leaflets run naturally towards the right.

Commencing at the left, the first leaflet is left in its natural direction as the first dextral, Fig. 155, D. 1. The second leaflet is bent to the left over the first to form the first sinistral, S.1. The following leaflets are similarly dealt with in pairs, the first of the pair retaining its natural direction as the dextral and the second being twisted back over it to the left to act as a sinistral. As the plaiting proceeds, the sinistrals pass over and under the crossing dextrals in a check stroke. It is really immaterial whether the second leaflet of the pair crosses over or under the dextral in the first stroke at the midrib, but whatever the first sinistral does has to be adhered to througout to maintain the check technique. When the plaiting has reached a sufficient depth, the dextrals are successively turned over at right angles and directed down the course of a sinistral. The turn is held in position by the next dextral. Thus in page 173

Figure 155.
Tapora basket, plaiting the side.

the Figure, the depth has been reached after the first dextral, D.1., has crossed four sinistrals, S1-S4. For the next stroke, the dextrals D2 and D4 are raised, when the new sinistral, S5, is bent into position. The first dextral, D1, is then bent over and laid along the course of the new sinistral, S5. In making the ordinary check stroke, the next dextral, D2, passes over D1 and holds the turn in position. On the next stroke, D3 and D5 are raised, and when S6 is laid in position, D2 is doubled over, laid along S6 and fixed at the top by D3. Thus, when the full depth is reached, with each re-arrangement of the dextrals, a new sinistral is placed in position, and a dextral turned down. The turned down dextrals, however, are only crossed by the top dextral as it is merely a temporary arrangement to keep them out of the way.

When all the leaflets on one side of the midrib are plaited, the plaiting is continued round the end by carrying on with the leaflets from the opposite side. The right end of the midrib is turned upwards and the first pair on the unplaited side continues the technique. Thus the first of the pair continues as a dextral, D8, whilst the second passes over it as a sinistral, and continues the check plait by passing under D7, over D6, and under D5. D4 is doubled down under it and the technique is carried on as before. The only difference on this side is that the sinistrals run in the natural direction of the leaflets and the dextrals have to be bent to the right to function.

When the end is reached, the disengaged dextrals will come round to engage the disengaged sinistrals shown on the left of Fig. 155. The result now is that the sides of the basket have been completed all round. From the upper page 174margin, the free ends of the sinistrals project upwards and those of the dextrals project downwards as in Fig. 156.

Figure 156.
Tapora basket, sides completed.

The open space bounded by the upward projecting sinistral wefts has now to be closed in to form the bottom or takere of the basket. This use of the word takere is taken from the bottom of a canoe. The free ends of the leaflets are plaited (hiri) into a three-ply braid. Ka hiri te takere o te tapora—"the bottom of the tapora is braided."

The braiding is commenced at the kauru tip end of the leaf midrib. The basket is stood on the butt end of the leaf midrib with the open part towards the worker. In Fig. 157A the upward directed sinistral wefts are shown on the inner part of the diagram whilst the downward directed dextrals are shown on the outer part. The elements on the left are numbered numerically and those on the right

Figure 157.
Tapora basket.

A. Bottom with free leaflets in pairs. B. Commencement of closure.

page 175alphabetically. The dextral which lies on the course of a sinistral received the same number or letter and they are dealt with in pairs. The first pair on the left and the right are left to the judgment of the plaiter.

The first sinistral on the left, S1, is pulled taut with the right hand, and the dextral corresponding, D1, is drawn up from under the crossing weft. The latter is untwisted and straightened out into its natural position across the sinistral, S1. The first free sinistral on the right, Sa, is then drawn over D1 as in Fig. 157B. These wefts now provide the three elements for commencing the three-ply braid. The first right dextral, Da, which is paired with Sa, is left where it is.

Turning to the left, the next pair is S2 and D2. The sinistral, S2, is pulled across the three elements already in position, whilst its dextral companion, D2, is drawn up from under the crossing weft. It is crossed over S2 and over the braid elements on the left to occupy a middle position as in Fig. 158A. Thus the sinistral element of the pair is discarded for the time being after being crossed by its dextral companion, but the dextral itself enters into the plaiting of the braid. It is immaterial whether the previous middle element, Sa, remains in the middle with D2 or joins the left element, Dl. Whichever it joins, they form a single ply in the braid. A couple of turns of the braid may be made following the usual braid technique of bringing the outer ply alternately from either side over the middle element. Thus from Fig. 158A, the right outer element, S1, is brought over D2 to the middle line.

Figure 158.
Tapora basket, continuation of closure of bottom.

Attention is now directed towards the next pair on the right, Sb and Db. The dextral is left where it is and page 176the sinistral Sb falls naturally into position along the course of the last element, which came in from the right, S1, as in Fig. 158B. It enters into the composition of the braid with S1. A couple of turns are taken, when attention is directed to the left.

The next pair is S3 and D3. The sinistral is again pulled taut across the braid and crossed by the dextral, D3, which after being pulled up from under its last crossing weft crosses its sinistral pair on the way to the middle of the braid to take part in its composition, Fig. 158C.

Enough has been done to demonstrate the technique of the braid. After the start, attention is directed alternately to the pairs on the left and on the right. Of these pairs, only one element is used to plait into the braid. On the left it is the dextral which is lifted from under the crossing weft holding the downward turn in position. The left sinistral is merely pulled taut across the braid and kept in position by its dextral companion crossing it, as shown by S2 and S3 in Fig. 158C. The first left sinistral is the only one used in the braid. On the right side, it is the free sinistrals that enter into the braid, therefore the dextrals on that side are left where they are, turned down on the outer side of the basket, as shown in Fig. 156.

From Fig. 158C, the next sinistral on the right, Sc, continues the plait, and so on alternately from side to side until the end is reached by using up all the left dextrals and right sinistrals. The object is now to go back along the bottom and fix the elements hitherto left out (the left sinistrals and right dextrals) by incorporating them in a continuation of the three-ply braid.

Second Braid. The bottom of the basket is now turned and the end of the plaited three-ply braid doubled over. This reverses the position of the unplaited elements, for the turned down dextral wefts are on the left. The unused sinistrals now come into the braid from the right, Fig. 159. With regard to the sinistrals, if Fig. 158C is referred to it will be seen that though the sinistrals S2 and S3 were crossed by their dextral pairs, D2 and D3, they did not enter into the braid. The crossing by the dextrals merely continued the check plait of the basket. Thus they are still free and come in from the right as shown in Fig 159. Their normal direction is now in the normal line of the braid elements. Similarly, when the dextrals on the left are pulled up from under the crossing weft, their normal direction is page 177

Figure 159.
Tapora basket, second stage of braiding the bottom finish.

also in the line of the braid elements. Thus we have a set of elements on either side that are simply added alternately to the braid by bringing them over the near ply into the middle position. Hence in the completed part of the braid in Fig. 159, D1 was first added from the left. Then the order was S1 from the right, D2 from the left and S2 from the right. On the left, D3, and D4 are shown in their original position before being pulled up and straightened. D3 should really be drawn up and joined with the ply, A, whilst the sinistral, S3, is ready on the right to be joined in with the ply, B. The next stroke must come from the left so that the ply C must be brought over B to the middle, and at the same time the next weft from the left, D3, will be pulled up, straightened and fall naturally into position on the ply C. This simple technique is continued until all the free ends are used and the end of the braid is reached. The ends are plaited on as a free braid and tied into an overhand knot. The knot is pushed through the end of the basket into the inside, and if the braid is long enough it is brought out and then in again.

The double braiding makes a very strong finish that will not loosen under a heavy weight.