Ngatu (tapa cloth)

Ngatu is the Tongan term for tapa cloth or decorated bark cloth that is made from the inner bark of Hiapo (paper mulberry tree). The pieces of bark are beaten with a mallet, widened and joined together to make larger pieces of cloth. Groups of women work together to decorate the cloth with natural dyes and pigments. Motifs and patterns are often inspired by the natural environment or associated with important people and events. Ngatu is highly valued not only in Tonga, but also amongst Tongan diasporic communities that have settled in New Zealand and around the world.

History

This ngatu was made by Ma'ata Tavake Savou from Ha'alaufuli in Vava'u, Tonga. It was made originally for Savou's grandson Logan's first birthday, and was given to Logan's paternal grandmother, Shirl Strom to celebrate the occasion.

Strom was a breast cancer survivor but sadly passed away in 2011. At her funeral the ngatu was divided. Half was placed in the casket and the other half was given to Trish McBride, a family friend and celebrant at the funeral.

Construction

This ngatu is unique in its design, as it has been decorated with motifs adapted from playing cards. Images include the king and queen of diamonds, and the king and queen of clubs. On half of the cloth is the text: Koe pele a siu'ilikutapu.

Significance

Ngatu is commonly used throughout the Pacific for gifts and exchanges at important ceremonies including births and weddings. In this instance, the "value of ngatu to mediate not only status and kinship relations but also complex intercultural ones" (Lythberg, 2013, p. 89) can be recognised. This ngatu was gifted to Shirl Strom, a non-Tongan based in Wellington, from the Savou family in Vava'u Tonga. They came to be connected through their grandson Logan, and the ngatu is symbolic of a connection that moved across cultural and geographical boundaries.

Ngatu or tapa cloth provide a visual record of different stories and events, some of which include the introduction of electricity in a Tongan village, and the sighting of Halley's comet in 1910. This ngatu records playing cards iconography in a distinctive way. Like in many countries, card games can be a central point of entertainment in the lives of people.

Acquisition history

Trish McBride offered the ngatu to Te Papa in 2013 to honour the memory of Shirl Strom and the maker, Ma'ata Tavake Savou.

References

Lythberg, B. 2013. Polyvocal Tongan barkcloths: contemporary ngatu and nomenclature at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Tuhinga 24: 85- 104

Neich, R., & Pendergraast, M. 1997. Traditional tapa textiles of the Pacific. Auckland: Thames and Hudson