Overview
Well I would say it is probably one of the best of the best fine mats that we used to have in Samoa way back in the old days. It would be famous. You can tell, because it is fine, it has a good colour and when you lift it it is like material, not a mat. We cannot get these types of mats in the islands these days. To me it is something from way back, the beginning, more than a hundred years ago. That’s why I’d say it’s so important. Iutita Mauga Mallon
In Samoa a special type of mat - the ‘ie tōga - is never used on the floor of a fale (house), but plays an important part in Samoan culture.
‘ie tōga or fine mats are the most precious type of mat and represent most of the wealth of Samoan families. They are exchanged and presented at weddings and funerals, and at special occasions such as the blessing of a newly-built fale (house) or the opening of a church. ‘ie tōga are sometimes worn at special occasions.
At a wedding, ‘ie tōga and other gifts are presented to the groom’s family by the bride’s family. The greater the number of ‘ie tōga and the more history they have, the more clearly the bride’s family show their status and worthiness. In return the groom’s family will collect and present a sum of money to the bride's family, and will later redistribute the ‘ie tōga to members of the groom’s extended family. These exchanges display a mutual respect that enforces family ties.
At funerals ‘ie tōga are given to the family of the deceased and gifts of mats and food are given in return.
‘ie tōga also have a role in the ifoga (ritual apology). This ‘ie tōga is said to have been used for such an ifoga. A young man left his wife and children to go overseas where he married again. His family presented this mat in an ifoga to the first wife’s family to make amends for the young man’s desertion of his wife and sons. The former custodian of this ‘ie tōga was one of those sons.
This ‘ie tōga is made from a smaller variety of pandanus known as lau‘ie and preparing the weaving materials can take many days. Once prepared by soaking, drying and bleaching in the sun, the leaves are slit into thin strips - the thinness of the strips determining the fineness of the mats.
Weaving the ‘ie tōga can take a long time - even years. In the 1800s, young women would start their own mats or complete ones started by older sisters. Today, it is more common for mats to be woven by a group of women working in a fale lalaga (weaving house).
‘ie tōga have an unwoven fringe and a strip of red feathers. These feathers were originally from Samoan or Fijian parakeets but nowadays dyed chicken feathers are substituted. The marks of a well-made fine mat are its softness, shine and fineness.
Text originally published in Tai Awatea, Te Papa's onfloor multimedia database (2007)