Ngatu Pepa (Vilene Tapa)

This ngatu pepa (Tongan barkcloth made from Vilene) was made by the ‘Ilo Me'a Fo'ou (New Creations) Tongan Women's Group, based in Upper Hutt, Wellington. Originally ngatu (Tongan barkcloth or tapa) was made from the bark of the paper mulberry plant, but this ngatu is made from a synthetic material called Vilene. It is made like barkcloth, with layers of material pasted together to form one piece which is decorated by hand with distinctive Tongan designs. Pieces of ngatu are often very large, up to 100 metres in length, and this example is more than 12 metres long.

Vilene, a new material
Tongans in New Zealand continue the tradition of making ngatu because of its cultural significance as a valuable item for ceremonial exchange. But ngatu makers had difficulty importing local materials from Tonga, so they began to experiment with new materials. One of these was the fabric Vilene. It was readily available in textile stores, and layers could be pasted together in the same way as barkcloth is constructed, with a paste made not of arrowroot tubers and tapioca but hot water and flour.

Decoration
Ngatu pepa is decorated with the same techniques as barkcloth. The designs are imprinted on the finished cloth using a kupesi or rubbing board, which has a raised pattern on it. A dark brown dye is rubbed over the material to bring out the pattern and then overpainted and decorated with dark brown and black fabric dyes. In some cases red brick dye and black ironmonger’s paint are also used.The makers of ngatu pepa wanted it to look as close to the ‘real’ ngatu as possible, and used the original colours of dark red, brown, and black, with an off-white border.

Ingenious adaptation
The ‘Ilo Me’a Fo’ou Tongan Women’s group was one of the first groups to experiment with Vilene and Reemay fabrics in the mid 1990s. Other groups in Auckland were also exploring the use of these two fabrics and materials such as calico and paper. Tongan women were ingenious and creative in adapting cultural practices to new conditions in New Zealand, and their ideas were popular with groups in Tonga as well as in Aotearoa.

‘The blending of the old and the new in materials and imagery symbolises the adaptation of Tongan peoples to their new home. It shows that the skills, knowledge and values of the past can be a guide for future generations.’(1)

Reference

(1.) Mallon, Sean and Pereira, Pandora Fulimalo (eds.) 2002. Pacific art niu sila: the Pacific dimension of contemporary New Zealand arts. Te Papa Press: Wellington

Text originally published in Tai Awatea, Te Papa's onfloor multimedia database (2007)