Twisted cords

Two-ply twisted cords were usually made of fau songa by the milo process on the bare thigh. The plies were lengthened by adding a fresh strand of material to the shortening ply with an overlap and then rolling them together on the bare thigh before rolling the two plies round each other. The specimen figured (Plate XVIII, C, 2) was made for a small fishing net. The cord has not been used in water and the material is between ecru-olive and buffyolive in color.

Two-ply twisted cords of breadfruit bast were seen in a special type of seine net at Leauvaa in Upolu but had, however, been made at Safune in Savaii. The younger shoots of the variety of breadfruit known as 'ulu manu'a were used. The bast was scraped on a board in the same way as in preparing paper mulberry bast for bark cloth. The cords were fairly thick but varied in different parts of the net.