The Ngatu

This is about Tongan tapa, or ngatu as it is called in Tonga.

Tapa making has a long history in Tonga. Europeans first heard about it when James Cook visited
Tonga in the late 18th century, but it had begun many years before that . He must have been impressed,
because not only did he write about all the different ways in which it was used, but he also collected pieces
to show people in his home country, England, what it looked like. Not only that but I am going to tell you how it's
made and all the other things.

In the old days, tapa was used for many different purposes such as bedding, sheets and towels, but now
that cotton materials have become available, tapa has been replaced to some extent. It takes skill and effort
to create tapa cloth and it is now used mainly for special occasions. Tapa is given as gifts or offerings at funerals,
weddings, and jubilees(anniversary) etc. As well as being used as a decoration, tapa may also be worn at weddings
and other similar joyful celebrations. The giving and receiving of tapa binds Tongans together and helps to retain
cultural values of honor, obligation and respect. Fortunately the tradition of creating and using tapa is still very
strong in Tonga, and many women are skilled tapa makers and decorators. As you walk around
Lapaha( a place in Tonga) the sound of tapa being beaten is frequently heard from dawn to dusk as the
women are busy making tapa.  Making tapa brings women together, as it is usually done in groups. They still make
tapa in the traditional way, but over time new patterns have been added. Villages, and often families, may have their own
distinctive patterns.

Tapa is a living art form.  To understand what tapa is about, you need to know about the Tongan way of life.
You also need to know how Tapa is created, what it looks like, and how Tongan people use it and the value of it.

What is a Ngatu?

A ngatu is a tapa cloth is a barkcloth that is made in the islands of the pacific Ocean. This tapa cloth is mostly
known in the Islands and how this was known throughout the world from the one and only captain Cook, because
off cause it says that on the top.

How is a ngatu made?

In Tonga men take care of the growing and harvesting of hiapo (paper mulberry tree) to make ngatu, but the
preparation of ngatu is carried out only by women. A woman may have her husband or brother grow hiapo
for her or, today, she may buy it at the market. The process of preparing the bark from hiapo takes a long time
and a lot of skill!Firstly, the cut stems of the hiapo are set aside for a few days to allow the main wood of the stems
to shrink away from the bark. The woman will then make a notch with either a knife or shell, and pull the bark away
from the inner wood. Then she pulls the layers of the bark apart with her hands, separating the outer layer of the
bark from the white inner layer called tutu. It is now about as thick as a piece of cardboard. She then winds the
tutu around her hands, ties it, and leaves it to dry in the sun for a few days. Next she rolls up the dried strips,
ten pairs at a time, and stores them. When the tutu is ready to be beaten, a woman will soak the roll of dried
strips in water for a few hours (depending on how old and therefore how thick the tutu is), then scrape the strips
to remove any bits of outer bark or other debris that may darken the tutu. She then puts the rolls of tutu back in
the water to soak.Only two tools are needed for actually beating the tutu. The tutua (a sort of anvil) is a piece of
wood shaped like a log. It is a usually a few metres long and about 20 cm wide, which means a number of women
can beat tutu at the same time. The tutu is hit with an ike (hardwood mallet). An ike weighs about a kilogram and
is four-sided. One of these sides is flat, the other sides have grooves going down them. After pulling a strip of tutu
between her fingers to get rid of excess water, the woman places the strip on the far side of the tutua and pulls it
towards her, beating it with the ike. Once she has beaten the entire strip of tutu, she turns it around and starts
again. She does exactly the same thing with another strip, then joins the two together by folding one strip over
the other. She then repeatedly beats the combined 10 cm wide strips with the ike. Any folds in the tutu are tapped
with the flat side of the ike. Eventually she creates one piece of barkcloth now nearly 50 cm wide called a feta'aki.
The feta'aki is then set out to dry and flattened. And how is it flattened? Put under a sleeping mat and slept on!
Now the bark cloth is ready to be decorated, and when they say decorated they are meaning drawing pictures that
 have meanings behind them for example the manulua; the manulua means the two birds or the group of two birds
that comes together which means that two families or groups come together to form a new union.

The Value of a Ngatu; Well in the old days the value of the ngatu was using it as bed sheets and towels again
just like it is said on the top. But now that we have cotton and all the materials that we have these days Natu
is now used for special occasions such as weddings, funerals and much more. But only that they are used for
special gifts to give to the high leaders.