Ngatu (Tongan tapa) used as bundle wrap

This is one of two long pieces of ngatu (Tongan tapa) used to wrap the tapa bundle commissioned as a part of the 'Ahu: Ngā Wairua o Hina project.

Small pieces of tapa originating from Falevai in the Vava'u Islands of Tonga were gifted to the project by Sulieti Fieme'a Burrows, and her daughter Tui Emma Gillies. These were joined together by the project participants in Tahiti creating these wraps.

“Tapa has always been in my family, in my DNA. I learnt from my mother and she learnt from her mother and it just went right back centuries."

Tui Emma Gillies, 2023

Background

In 2021, with the Te Papa Foundation’s support, Te Papa acquired a rare book of tapa cloth samples, one of many assembled by Alexander Shaw in 1787. The samples were cut from larger pieces of tapa collected on Captain Cook’s voyages to the Pacific (1768, 1772, 1776) and represent tapa-making practices from various islands including Hawai‘i, Tahiti and Tonga. While the books contain only fragments of much larger creations, they highlight the variety of textures and artistry attained through the practices, knowledge, and skills of Pacific peoples.

Held in Tahiti in 2023, 'Ahu: Ngā Wairua o Hina brought tapa makers of Tongan, Sāmoan, Niuean, Fijian, Hawaiian, Tahitian, Pitcairn-Norfolk Island, and Māori descent. Over five days this group worked together to re-establish their living relationships to the cloth held within the Alexander Shaw book. Through a process of wānanga this group of makers created two tapa bundles, incorporating the ideas of past, present, and future. Today, one of the bundles resides with Te Papa and the other with Te Fare Iamanaha-Musée de Tahiti et des Îles.