Kilts

The term titi as applied to kilts is a reduplication of ti (Cordyline) from the leaves of which the kilt was made. The meaning has broadened out from actual material to the idea of a number of vertical elements suspended from cords tied round the waist. With other material than ti, qualifying words are used. Kilts made of fau and fangai'o bast become titi fau and titi fangai'o. The term titi, by itself, means a kilt of ti, but to make it perfectly clear when speaking of different kinds, it is a titi lauti. Here lau (leaf) is introduced before ti to prevent such an awkward combination as titi ti. The more modern dance ornament of strings of feathers hanging from a waist cord receives the name of titi 'ula, from the red feathers ('ula) which formed the original material.

Kilts may be conveniently grouped into the two classes of titi and 'ie. In all titi, the strips are first attached to a braid or cords which form the waist attachment. Some types may be plaited afterwards. The 'ie commence with the plaiting technique and the waist attachment comes last.

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Kilts of Cordyline leaf (titi lauti). Different varieties of ti are recognized, such as:

Ti fonua or ti vai, with long wide leaves.
Ti tongotongo, with darker leaves and reddish tips.
Ti 'ula, with red leaves.
Ti fangasa.
Ti tonga.
Ti talo.
Ti usi, a bush variety with long narrow leaves.
Ti vao, a bush variety, with short wide leaves.
The first four varieties are those principally used for kilts.

The ti fonua, from the size of its leaves, provided the kilt for everyday wear. It was also used as a wrapping for food to form 'ofu. Hence the connection of 'ofu with the commonest garments as pointed out by Pratt (23, p. 52). Both ti tongotongo and ti fangasa were used for dance kilts owing to their color. The ti'ula was better still and was worn by the village maid and the young chiefs at village festivals. The ti was planted near the village and about the houses. Hence the saying:

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The ti grows in clumps and there are always some leaf heads that can be used. Hence another saying: "E fa'apupu a ti e le ngase" (A clump of ti will not die).

The green, growing leaves are ti usi and those that are turning yellow and have fallen to the ground are ti pala'au. The golden-colored leaves are used to form anklets and armlets or a garland for the head (ti palea).

The base ends of suitable green leaves are pinched through with the thumb nail or cut and this portion with the stalk ('au) removed. The leaves may be plaited whole or split (tosi) with the thumb nail in such a way as to leave them connected together at the base with an unsplit portion.

The commencement of the usual kilt is with a three-ply braid (fili). The braiding may be done with the butt ends of the leaves alone or three strips of fau bast may be knotted and Commence the three-ply braid as in figure 136. The latter is the neater commencement as it provides a cord at the commencement end for tying, though a piece of bast can readily be tied to this end afterwards. The braid connecting the leaves together, serves as the waist band of the kilt. The length to which it is plaited depends on the type of kilt required. The titi lauti fall into two types, the narrow and the wide: a, the narrow kilt (titi fa'ale'a'u) was designed to provide the cover demanded by modesty without unnecessarily concealing the figure. It was practically a narrow apron, used in various dances but especially in the almost naked poula dance at night. By using this form, the village maid revealed the perfections of her well made figure and the young chief (manaia) enabled the designs of his tattooing to be fully admired. Before important functions, portions of the young chief's tattooing were gone over again with a tattooing instrument and pigment to darken it and thus show it up more. The term 'a'u means to surround or to meet as with the ends of a wide kilt. By using the negative le, titi fa'ale'a'u means a kilt made not to meet. Early writers state that the narrow kilt was also worn by men as an ordinary garment. b, In the wide kilt (titi fa'atuso'o) more leaf strips were added to the plaited band until the hanging strips completely surrounded the waist when the ends were brought together. From so'o, to join, the name titi fa'atuso'o means a kilt made to join at the ends. The garment was always worn by women on ordinary occasions and by men as an alternative to the narrow kilt. The term sulu is to fasten on a kilt and sulunga titi is the part which is fastened. Women fastened it over the right hip, and men fastened it behind. Women preferred longer strips of material for their kilts so that they resembled skirts rather page 252than kilts. From the long hanging strips, they received the additional name of taunga loloa. Hence a woman's long deep kilt received the name of titi lauti, from the kind of material, titi fa'atuso'o, from the technique, and taunga loloa, from the length of the hanging strips.

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Some kilts are made very thick by using two layers of leaves attached in opposite directions at the band in order to balance the oblique direction as they enter the braid. (See Plate XXI, A.)

The foundation of the waist band is four strips of bast plaited into a braid as in figure 137. Here the back-ply from the left crosses two plies and the ti leaves are added to the plies crossing from the left.

Kilts were also named after the variety of ti used; as, titi fonua, titi tongotongo, and titi 'ula. The titi 'ula of the red variety of ti was also called lauti 'ula (red ti leaves) to distinguish it from the feather titi 'ula. They were fringed for dancing, hence the saying as applied to the equipment for the dance: "Le fonga tele ma le lauti 'ula" (The big top knot of hair and the red ti leaf kilt).

The ordinary wearing ti leaf kilt lasted only a day or two. It was part of the women's duties to plait a new kilt for the menfolk, ready to put on in the morning. It is the kilt of green leaves that is meant by the name titi lauti. When dried and withered, it was called a titi pa'upa'u or titi mangumangu, both adjectives meaning dry. The discarded dry titi were often used by old men whilst weeding amongst the stones of the platform or loosely paved areas surrounding the houses. They sat on the ground and moved forward by sliding in the sitting position instead of rising. The sliding movement is called se'ese'e and the cast off kilts used in weeding thus received the additional name of titi se'ese'e. Hence when anyone attempts to make use of a person to do unpleasant work, the following saying is quoted: "A fai ea a'u mou titi se'ese'e" (Do you wish to use me as an old dry weeding kilt).

The dance kilts are sometimes dyed black when they are termed titi pala, tualua, or pa'anga.

The chief's name for a ti leaf kilt is salinga, savalinga, or nau. Pratt (23, p. 224) states that the district of Matautu, Savaii, used the name noa. He also gives fusiua as a general name.

The kilts of fau bast (titi fau) differ from the ti leaf kilt in not having the braid commencement (fili). The long strips of bast are attached to one or two horizontal cords, the ends of which are used to tie the garment page 254around the waist. The method of attaching the fau strips to the cord is termed fatu. In technique, the fau kilt is termed titi fatu to distinguish it from the braided kilt (titi fili). The method of attaching the strips differs in the single and the paired waist cords. The waist cords may be two-ply twisted strips of bast or a single thick strip twisted on itself to form a round cord.

With the single cord attachment, the method is exactly the same as in making a kava strainer. (See fig. 138.) The two-cord attachment is shown in figure 139.

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The attachment of strips is continued toward the right until the kilt is long enough to pass round the waist. The completed kilts thus consist merely of strips of bast hanging from a single or double cord and constitute the true titi fau.

The kilt figured in Plate XXI, B, is unusually long and has been colored yellow in a solution of turmeric root (ango).

Kilts of fangai'o bast. The bast of the fangai'o splits readily into very thin layers which have a fine, lacelike appearance from the open texture of the fibres. A particular looped ornamentation is made with this material to form hanging strips for dancing kilts. (See Plate XXI, C.)

The hanging strips end below in a tuft of long strips. The tufts are fastened to a vertical strand either by tying them at one end or looping the strand round the middle of the strip forming the tuft. The vertical strand serves as the basis for attaching the loop. The loop technique is termed fatu fa'afeti'i. (See fig. 140.)

The waistband commences with three fairly thick strands of fangai'o bast plaited into a braid. After plaiting for a few inches, a loop ornamentation is introduced into the braid. (See figure 141.)

The kilt is used in dancing but owing to the spaced nature of the hanging strips, it is put on over some other garment as additional ornamentation. This type of kilt is now usually colored with various foreign dyes and made largely page 256for tourist traffic. From the use of braided suspensory cords, the kilts are classified as titi fili

Pandanus leaf kilts. Dancing kilts (titi fala) are made of strips of pandanus leaf and though the material may be lau'ie they are referred to as titi fala. The kilt figured in Plate XXII, C, is made from the discarded under layer of lau'ie provided by the preparation of material for fine mats. It is thus really a by product. The strips are about 0.5 inches wide.

Two suspensory cords of two-ply sennit twist are used as a waistband but the pandanus strips are attached to them in a different way to that in fau kilts. (See fig. 142.)

The ornamental wide strips in the kilt described were dyed with 'o'a native dye and also with some foreign trade dye. Some strips consisted of the full leaf unsplit into layers and ornamented with narrow, dyed strips from the upper layer of the lau'ie which were sewn across in various patterns. Though the idea of sewing patterns is foreign, the foundation technique of the kilt is native. Such kilts have 110 high status, but in the making used waste material made available by some more important activity, thus saving labor.

The feather kilt (titi 'ula) is shown in Plate XXII, A. The feathers are attached to fine two-ply twisted cords in small bunches. (See figure 143.)

The titi 'ula is worn outside of other garments for dances and festivals. As the name 'ula implies, the feathers consisted of the red feathers of the parrakeet, usually obtained from Fiji. Some say that the kilt also is an introduction from Fiji whilst others maintain that it is old Samoan. The scarcity of red feathers which barely met the demand for the highly prized page 257fine mats favors the former contention. Kilts made of the green feathers of the Samoan parrakeet are more common than those made of the red, but the name titi 'ula is now applied to any feather kilt irrespective of color. The feather kilt is kept in a bamboo cage (Pl. XXII, B.) wrapped completely in a thin sheet of bark cloth and suspended from the roof with a long cord by which the cage may be lowered when required.