ili (fan)

This is a hand held fan from Fakaofo in Tokelau. It was woven by Meaalofa Faleasiu using coconut and pandanus leaves. It was collected by Te Papa as part of a co-collecting project about how people in Tokelau are living with climate change (2017).

Function and form

Hand held fans are made throughout the Pacific Islands. People use them to keep cool in hot weather, they present them as gifts and sell them to tourists as souvenirs. They use them decoratively as ornaments and display them in their homes. In performances, dancers often use fans as accessories, to complement their costumes and accentuate their body movements. People make fans from a range of materials including coconut and pandanus leaf, barkcloth (tapa) and wood. They embellish them with shells, beads, feathers, paints and dyes. The decorations can be pictorial and include text such as names of people, places or events.

Construction

The inner handle of this fan is made from unsplit coconut midribs and the overall framework is formed from these midribs split in two and fanned out. The framework is held together and comprised of strips of young bleached coconut leaf. The decorative patterns on the fan are formed by intersecting arcs of orange dyed leaf strips and a rectangular strip of black in the centre.The border of the fan is also decorated with black dyed leaf. The surface of the handle is covered in a pandanus leaf weave of brown and white checker squares.

Acquisition History

This fan was offered to Te Papa by Meaalofa Faleasiu as part of the Tokelau co-collecting project (2017).