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Samoan Material Culture

Coconut-leaf mats

Coconut-leaf mats

The roughest type of floor mat was made from coconut leaves, hence the name polavai. In olden days it had considerable status, as it was the proper type of mat upon which to place the gods during religious ritual. The name lapa'au or tapa'au vai is connected with the ancient religious aspect of its use. The polavai are still in common use as the undermost layer in the carpeting of a house with floor mats. They are easily and quickly made and by taking the direct friction against the gravel of the floor they save the upper mats of pandanus leaves. See Plate XVI, C.

Younger leaves with more perfect leaflets are selected. Two six-foot lengths are selected to provide pairs of right and left midrib strips. The pairs of a kind are placed together so that their closed leaflets coincide, and a pair of leaflets used as one element in arranging the commencement. They are laid clown with the butt ends towards the worker, the under surface of the leaflets turned upwards, the midribs to the middle line and the strip from the right side of the leaf thus on the left. (See figure 111.)

Apart from neater workmanship, the floor mat is the opposite of the carrying sheet in which the outer edges are formed by the midrib strip and the two sides joined together by a three-ply braid in the middle line.

The polavai is the pola placed inside the house and, according to some Samoans, is the polataufale (pola within the house) in distinction to the polataufafo, the wall screen that hangs to the outside.

page 210
Figure 111.—Coconut leaf mat (polavai), technique:

Figure 111.—Coconut leaf mat (polavai), technique:

a, pairs of leaflets (one from each midrib strip) are crossed over the middle line alternately from either side, commencing with the left. When the whole series have been so dealt with, leaflets from either side are tied in a reef knot as a fa'alave (fastening) to prevent the ends working apart during plaiting. In crossing the leaflets over, the midrib strips are also turned where they lie and the upper surfaces of the leaflets now face upwards. The elements of each midrib pair also work slightly apart so that one is nearer the middle line and will be termed inner while the other is outer. b, The plaiting stroke is the check and the wefts are single, closed leaflets. The leaflets on the left side of the middle line, which come from the midrib strip to the right are plaited first. The material is therefore twisted around with the butt ends to the left. In this position the leaflets to be dealt with run naturally towards the right. The plaiting will therefore be left handed and start from the left. The first pair of leaflets from the left midribs (1) are cut off in the figure. The leaflets from the inner right strip (2) are treated as natural dextrals to form the working edge while the leaflets from the outer strip (3) are successively bent to the left with the right hand to lie in the shed as sinistrals. The first stroke is made by turning the end leaflet from the outer strip (4) to the left under the first natural dextral from the inner strip (5). With the check plait this is commenced; first dextrals and sinistrals are added on the right to build up a working edge. In building up the working edge, the sinistrals as they cross the left marginal edge must be turned in to function as dextrals and in doing so form the left edge. Thus, the first sinistral (4) after crossing under the first dextral (5) is given a half-turn over the next sinistral (6) after it is in position. The following sinistrals are given a half-turn over the sinistral above it and the left edge is formed. When a sufficient depth has been turned to assist in forming a convenient working edge, the top turned weft may be kept from unravelling by doubling back the sinistral above it and fastening it down by pushing it under a crossing weft on its plaited course. The working edge is carried along until it reaches the right end. c, The right edge is formed by turning in the projecting dextrals with a direct bend which does not reverse the surfaces of the weft. The lowest dextral (9') has crossed over the last sinistral (9). It is therefore turned in to cross under the projecting dextral above it (8') in order to comply with the check technique. Similarly (8') crosses under (7') and so on up the right edge. When the full depth of the plaiting has been reached, the ends of the plaiting edge are secured by doubling back wefts over the last turned in wefts of the sides and securing them temporarily under crossing wefts on the plaited part. The plaiting is now turned with the butt ends towards the right and the unplaited half in position before the worker. The natural direction of the leaflets is here towards the left. Plaiting therefore commences on the right. The naturally directed sinistrals are taken from the inner midrib strip and the leaflets from the outer strip are bent under the sinistrals to act as dextrals. The procedure is that of right-hand plaiting, where the working edge is formed by sinistrals worked by the right hand, while the left hand bends the dextral into the shed provided. The side edges are worked with the half turns on the right and the direct bend on the left. In the outer edge braid finish (fili) the plaiting edges left on each side of the middle line are finished off with a three-ply braid (10) made exactly in the same way as the wall screens (figure 90). The butt ends of the midrib strip are towards the plaiter with the true upper surface of the leaflets upwards. page 211The braiding then commences at the far ends of the plaiting edges. It is immaterial on which side of the middle line it is, the braiding principle is the same. The leaflet ends that incline towards the plaiter are added to the braid from the inner or plaited side while the leaflets that incline away are added to the ply in the middle position from the outer side. At the near end of the plaiting edge, the braid is continued on as a free tail, knotted and then turned back on the under surface where it is kept by anchoring the not under a couple of crossing wefts of the body. (See Plate XVI, C.)