Potu

Potu are made in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be embellished with different forms of applied and structural decoration. Potu are made for a variety of purposes such as gifts, sleeping mats and floor covers. This is a unique example of a circular hand woven potu made in Niue.

Materials

Potu are primarily made from processed laufa (pandanus leaves) and banana fibre. Since the turn of the twentieth century Niuean women have incorporated non-indigenous materials such as wool as applied decoration to enhance the visual appearance of their potu.  

This potu is made of strips of processed laufa with dyed strips of brown, pink, purple and yellow laufa incorporated into the structure of the potu to form an interlacing spiral pattern.

Significance

The art of lalaga (warp and weft close weaving) is an important part of Niuean culture and is practised predominantly by women. This potu was made by a young woman living in Niue and was presented to the museum by the director of Taoga Niue in 2014.