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Samoan Material Culture
Sennit two-ply cord
Sennit two-ply cord
A fine cord (Plate XX, B, 1) not quite 2 mm. in diameter was used for such purposes as tying stone sinkers to nets. The two plies could be rubbed together on the bare thigh by the milo process but owing to the rough nature of the sennit, it was usually made by twisting the plies with the hands and plaiting towards the body as in ropes, the commencing end being fixed to a post or stake. The fresh strands are usually joined to the shortening ply by simply overlapping the ends.
A coarser two-ply is made by strands rolled together with a binding fibre (fa'ata'a) such as are used in three-ply braid. Besides the simple join by direct overlapping, two other methods are used. (See figures 125, 126.) In page 234both the above figures, the doubling over of the new element is shown passing transversely over the twist. In the actual cord they are hardly distinguishable.
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Figure 125.—Two-ply cord, joining ply (so'o):
a, the ply (2) is the shortening ply; b, the new strand (3) is directly laid over the short ply (2) from below with its short end (3') projecting upwards past the point of joining; c, the other ply (1) is twisted around over the reinforced ply (2); d, the projecting upper short end (3') is doubled down over the other ply (1); e, the twisting is carried on and both the short end (3') of the new strand, and the short ply (2) is buried so to speak in the twists, while the new strand (3) continues the ply (2).
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Figure 126.—Two-ply cord, alternate join:
a, the alternative method is exactly the same in result but the opposite in commencement technique. The ply (2) is again the shortening ply. b, The new strand (3) is added from above with its short end (3') on the long ply (1); c, the ply (1) with the short end (3') is twisted over the short ply (2); d, the long end of the new strand (3) is doubled down over the short strand (2); e, the twisting is carried on with the same results as in figure 125.