item details
1985 / 1990
Overview
This is a monomono - a type of machine sewn patchwork or appliqué bedcover or quilt made by Tongan women for use as koloa (a form of textile wealth).
Monomono: origins and history
The origins of monomono date to the late 1800s, when French Marist nuns and the wives of missionaries introduced the techniques for making crocheted and quilted bedspreads to Tongan women (Veys 2009:138). However, it is only since the 1970s that quilts acquired a cultural significance beyond that of utilitarian bed linen, when women started to make them as a form of grave decoration (Herda 1999:163-165).
In the early decades of the 21st century, Tongan families present monomono at a range of cultural occasions including title installations, birthdays, weddings and funerals. They usually accompany other higher ranking forms of koloa including ngatu (decorated tapa cloth) and kie (woven pandanus leaf mats).
Significance
This monomono was made by Fusipala ī Pangai Moala Latu in the United States and brought by her to Wellington for the first birthday of Margaret Latu. It features a radiating diamond pattern in sequinned material, of deep pink, silver and black. The quilt is padded with lace around the edge of the monomono with a small tufts of white wool in the centre of the quilt and in between the radiating stars. This is an American quilting pattern called Star of Bethlehem or Lone Star.
This monomono was one of a number of items given by the makers as gifts on the occasion of Margaret’s first birthday (the quilts/bedspread). These events took place in Wellington, New Zealand.
References
Herda, P. S. (1999). The changing texture of textiles in Tonga. The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 108(2), 149-167;
Veys, F. W. (2009). Materialising the king: The royal funeral of King Tāufaāhau Tupou IV of Tonga. The Australian journal of anthropology, 20(1), 131-149;
Veys, F. W. (2017). Capturing the ‘Female Essence’? Textile Wealth in Tonga. Sinuous Objects, 185.
Yates, Rachel & Pahulu, Ane. (2022). Making Monomono: Ane's Pani Style 13 August - 9 September.