tapa making.kava hut.tongatapu tonga

What’s Tapa?

Tapa-making is a traditional art form whereby the inner bark of certain trees is softened and pounded into sheets of cloth, then bound together using natural starches such as root crop. The tapa making tradition is found all across Oceania, but due to the labor-intense nature of its production, the craft has largely ceased in many countries. Serendipitously,  Tonga remains one of the few places where it is still made, and the market for its product now extends beyond the Kingdom to other Pacific nations such as Fiji.

In our [former] neighborhood of Houmakelikao, tapa (“ngatu”) is a major industry, where women labor under eaves of front porches and mango trees, pounding the inner bark of the paper mulberry tree for about eight hours each day (except Sundays, of course). Our neighbor Kaloni is a ngatu-making goddess, and I was lucky enough to shadow her over the course of a few weeks, where she demonstrated each step of ngatu making, starting with the paper mulberry trees that just happen to grow in a little cluster in our back yard.

These notes and photographs were taken a year or so ago, but due to some miscalculations in my photographing format (I took everything in RAW images by mistake and didn’t have the software at the time to convert them) I’ve just now been able to get things in order.

How to Make Tapa

And with that introduction, may I present Ngatu-making, step-by-step:

1.  Cut down the young shoots of the paper mulberry tree.  As you can see, these shoots are quite spindly, with varying shaped-leaves.

Paper Mulberry Tree in Tonga.Tapa Making

2.  Separate the bark from the trunk, often using one’s teeth to begin the process as Kaloni demonstrates here.

Stripping outer bark from paper mulberry tree.Tapa Making in Tonga
3.  Peel the outer bark from the soft, inner bark (the Phloem, I believe it is called) until the phloem is in one long piece and clean of the outer shell.  (The Tongan word for the phloem/inner bark is “Tu tu.”)

Separating bark from paper mulberry shoot.Tapa Making in Tonga

Peeling inner bark from outer bark of paper mulberry tree.Tapa Making in Tonga

mulberry bark separated and peeled.Tapa Making in Tonga

These tu tu strips are usually about 4 inches or so wide and ranging from 5 to 7 feet tall.

4.  Soak the strips of tu tu in a bucket of water to soften the particles (length of time ranging from overnight to a few days).

Peeled bark soaking.Tapa Making in Tonga

5.  Take a softened strip of tu tu and place vertically on a long, wooden anvil-like bench, so that only a section of the tu tu rests on the wood, and the remaining portion drapes over the side.

Kaloni beating TuTu with an Ika.Tapa Making in Tonga

6.  Beat the portion of tu tu with a wooden mallet called an ike.

First, you use the grooved side of the mallet and, once the tu tu is thinned somewhat, use the flat side until the tu tu has been beaten paper-thin (around 10 inches in width).  Kaloni explained that the grooved sides of the mallet are often comprised of patterned grooves unique to the owner and her family.

Beating bark to make tapa cloth strips.Tonga

7.  Continue beating portions of the tu tu until the entire strip has been thinned to paper and stretched from its original width to 10-12 inches.

8.  Join two strips of thinned tu tu together by aligning them side-by-side and pounding the fibers with the ike so that the strips of tu tu join together to form a long, wide sheet.

At times, a little starch from a root crop such as tapioca may be rubbed in to enhance the joining.  For Kaloni’s ngatu, sheets about two to three feet in width were formed in the above-described manner until a rather impressive stack of sheets were prepped. These sheets were then joined at the ends to create longer sheets comprising 2 to 3 feet in width by around 14 feet in length.

9.  At this stage, ngatu-making becomes a communal activity.

Various extended family members carry their own stacks of prepped tu tu to a large room, which in this instance, also serves as a kava hut and is located right behind our house. Women sit around a long, low table within the room. The top of this table is geometrically scored with markers that are used for measurement and alignment — and during the painting phase, design purposes — over which a fishing net has been affixed. This keeps the tapa from sliding about while the sheets of tu tu are joined.

Tapa Making in Kava Hut.Nukualofa Tonga

10.  Once everyone is situated around the table, one woman, in this case, the matriarch figure with the brown head scarf, calls the order for the first sheets to be unfurled upon the table.

(A side note of interest: in this picture, the woman is finishing a cookie from the pail of oatmeal chocolate-chip cookies I brought as a thank-you. She kept saying something in Faka-Tonga as she ate it about “palangi”, but no one would tell me what it was. Finally, Kaloni turned to me and sheepishly whispered, “She says, ‘next time, tell palangi to use more sugar!'” Well, I laughed at that, but from the look on the woman’s face, it was clear she did not find my attempt at healthier baking even a little bit amusing.)

Tapa making in kava hut. Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Lining up strips of tapa.Tapa Making in Tonga

11.  Once the sheets of tu tu are aligned to overlap on the table, the edges are joined together with a glue made from root crop.

This particular root crop looks just like a potato and Mele (Kaloni’s daughter) told me that it is called mahoa’a.  As this picture demonstrates, the mahoa’a is rubbed over the edges to be joined, creating a sticky texture. Mele explained that often, a paste from flour and water is used in lieu of a root crop, but the flour mixture is not as desirable because it attracts rodents and insects more than the root crop product. Mele also said that the root crop-based glue tends to stick longer than flour mixtures.

tapa making.kingdom of tonga

12.  Immediately thereafter, a moist cloth is soaked in a rusty, orange-brown dye (discussed later) and then rubbed over the joined sheets so that the geometrical pattern from the table-top manifests itself on the tapa.

Tapa Making; patching together tapa pieces and coloring with red dye

13.  If sheets do not align perfectly, these portions are cut out and patched together with scraps of the tapa cloth, as is seen below, and glued with more mahoa’a.

Coating underlying tapa cloth with starch to use as glue for patching

tapa making.patching pieces of tapa with root crop as glue

Pressing freshly patched tapa cloth together

14.  During this aligning and joining process, a giant sheet is eventually formed that consists of two layers, the bottom of which is perpendicular to the top, and welded into one homogeneous sheet with the mahoa’a and water mixture.

This particular gnatu was approximately 50 feet in length and width, and the process within the hut took approximately 4 hours!

Various stages of aligning and joining:


Lining new sheet of tapa cloth to join to bottom of completed sheet

Unfurling fresh sheets of tapa cloth to join together

Tapa Making in Kava Hut; double lining tapa cloth. Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Tapa Making: Reinforcing tapa cloth with a double layer

15.  After the final sheet is formed, it is laid outside to dry in the sun.

Tapa cloth drying in the sun outside kava hut.Tonga

16.  Once the sheet is dried, it is colored and/or decorated with earthy rust hues and dark brown tones.

Traditionally, these dyes came from various roots and clay — bark from the koka tree is often scraped, soaked in water and then strained to create a rusty red-brown hue.

Tapa design using flour for glue.Tongatapu Tonga

Dyes and Patterns Used to Color Tapa

This color is often used as a background color for the entire tapa. If the mixture is boiled, Mele explained that it turns to a dark brown color, which is often used for hand-drawn or stenciled patterns. The root from the mangrove tree is also traditionally used for dye, but because mangroves are under conservation in Tonga (they serve as a critical barrier to erosion  among other things), the harvesting of mangrove roots is, from what I understand, forbidden. I believe Kaloni said that the mud around the mangrove roots is often used for dye as well.

Tapa cloth ink and pandanus seeds

A final note on dye-sources that I found particularly interesting: Some of the ladies in the tapa hut explained that, in modern times, often the reddish-brown color seen on tapa products at the market is actually made from orange soda. It is cheaper and easier than the arduous task of harvesting raw products to create dye, but the ladies admitted that the sugars prove a problem with rodents, who can find the beverage-tainted tapa to be a tasty snack. Perhaps that’s why many products appear to be shellacked with a glossy coat of paint?

At any rate, back to painting. I’ve seen painting and decorating done in any manner of ways, including rubbing the entire tapa down with a moist cloth soaked in the rusty-red-brown dye or daintily detailing hand-drawn designs with the point of a pandanamus seed.  Often, the initial background color (the reddish-brown hue) is applied while the cloth is set upon the long, low table.  The moist cloth is rubbed over the tapa so that the pattern on the table-top manifests on the tapa, similar to a grave rubbing.

Patterns and stencils are often unique to a family or village, and the discerning eye will be able to distinguish its origin based upon that alone.

Tapa cloth pattern for Methodist Convention.Tonga

What is Tapa Used For?

The end product is what is called ngatu, and it is used for weddings, funerals and other special ceremonies (smaller pieces are used for clothes, costumes, and so forth).

The picture  below is of a wedding Jacinta invited me to for her brother-in-law, Paolo.

Wedding Tapa Cloth.Tongatapu Tonga

King George Tupou V’s Funeral in Tongatapu

And when King Tupou V passed away in 2012, huge sheets of ngatu were strewn over the road in which the funeral procession progressed, from the royal palace to the royal ceremony.

Kaloni said that a properly-made sheet of ngatu can last up to five years, and one the size of 50 feet squared can be sold overseas for around 2000 Tongan Pa’anga (roughly $1,140 USD at the time of this post).  A lot of money by Tongan standards, certainly, but when you consider the immense labor involved, it is quite a bargain.  Just watching this amazing process was a huge honor, and all it cost me was a little bit of pride lost over my baking!

Below are some pictures of ngatu taken during King George Tupuo V’s Funeral in early 2012:

Tapa laid upon street for Kings Funeral
Tapa Carpet at King Tupou V Funeral.Tongatapu Tonga

Carrying King George Tupou V across tapa cloth.funeral procession in Nukualofa Tonga

Tapa at King George V Funeral.Royal Tombs. Tonga
Update on the soda-dye factor:

Sam and I discovered the soda-dye trick the hard way upon returning to the U.S.

Right before leaving Tonga, we purchased a Tongan pillow from the local market. This pillow, which is actually a carved piece of wood that slopes in the center to cradle one’s lower head, had just been freshly varnished prior to purchase and had an usual orange hue. We promptly packed up said pillow and had it shipped with our other things back to the states. When our shipment arrived three months later, we unwrapped our pillow and discovered it completely covered in mold about a half a centimeter deep! I was suspicious at the time we packed that thing, but in our flurry to move, I didn’t pay as much attention as I should have to the “varnish”. Oh well. Lesson learned, and after scrubbing the pillow and scraping off the mold, we lost our orange tint as well. A little linseed oil brought it back to life and now it is featured, mold-free in our living room!

20 thoughts on “How to Make Tongan Tapa Cloth (Ngatu)”

  1. I have a piece of cloth and thought it could possibly be Bharat Tongan. Would you be able to assist me in finding out through a picture?

    1. Hi Mary,

      I wish I could help, but I don’t live in Tonga anymore and I am certainly not an expert on Tongan tapa patterns. I could send your photo to my previous neighbor and ask if she has any insight, but I can’t guarantee a response. If you would like to give it a go, please send me your photo via email and I’ll do my best to pass it along. Jesse (at sign) tongatime (dot) com

    1. Hi Val,

      Thanks for visiting! From what I understand, the “glue” in tapa-cloth making is typically a root crop similar to a potato that is cut in half so that the inner starch is exposed, then rubbed over the tapa portion that needs to be glued. If it is too dry, I’ve seen it dipped in water first or, alternatively, a wet rag can be rubbed over the part that needs to be bound before the root crop is applied.

      I’ve also seen people use a paste made from flour and water to create a glue for tapa cloth, but I’ve been told that this is a less traditional method. I hope that helps. :)

      And good luck with your fans!

  2. I am doing a project about the ohe kapala, and I know that you guys are experts. I was wondering if I could ask you guys questions? What is the importance and connection of the ohe kapala to the traditional culture. What is the importance and connection of the tapa to the traditional culture.
    Thank you, and I really would appreciate if you could answer these questions.

    1. Hi John,

      Thanks for visiting Tonga Time! Your project about ohe kapala (traditionally carved bamboo stamps, right?) sounds really interesting! Unfortunately, I am far from an expert on this; so far, in fact, that all I know is what I googled! I don’t recall seeing these bamboo stamps while living in Tonga, but it looks like an amazing art form to preserve. Hopefully your project will go toward that effort.

      The only Tonga resources I can think of off the top of my head that might help would be possibly a community resources contact through University of the South Pacific in Tonga or, the Tonga Langafonua Handicraft Center in Nuku’alofa, Tongatapu, Tonga. I think this is the email to the handicraft center: langafonuagallery(“at” sign) gmail(dot)com

      I hope these links prove helpful and good luck on your project! I’d love to hear more about it once it is completed. :)

  3. Just scrolling through your posts and finally making it across this one proves just how long it has been since you’ve left the isles of Tonga. Thank you so much for making Mom “famous” as shes quoted hehe it was a real pleasure getting to know you and Sam whilst you lived next door to us. Mom misses your oatmeal cookies and how you would take the time to stop by and chat to her. She will definitely love these photos when I show them to her. Ofa atu from the Kingdom!

    1. Thank, you Mele! Your family made our two years in Tonga such a warm, memorable experience. We were so fortunate to have you as our neighbors! And your mom is so talented. Her dedication to tapa-making is wonderful, and I will never forget how resourceful she always was. It seemed to me that she should make something out of anything! Like the time we had our Christmas picnic at the beach, and she made a beautiful picnic tablecloth out of woven palm fronds, right on the spot! Thank you for being so generous to Sam and me; we will never forget you and your family. Ofa atu from the White Mountains!

  4. Hello,

    I have a 6″x6″ piece of tapa that is about 75 years old. My mother was a Navy nurse at Pearl Harbor during WWII and she brought it back to the mainland. SHe left it to me. It has been folded for decades but is in pretty good condition. There is a crease don the missdle that I would like to smooth out. Also, some of the edges have shredded a bit. Do you have any suggestions on how I can restore the edges and how to remove the fold creases? Thank you so much for you help. I really treasure this piece.

    1. How lucky you are, Carol! My husband and I shipped a decorative tapa piece (featuring a sea turtle) to our home Stateside when we left Tonga, but when it finally arrived, it was completely ruined by mold. :(

      I am not sure where to direct you, but I came across this site that handles vintage tapa pieces, and they might be able to provide some pointers: https://blogs.uoregon.edu/mnch/2020/01/13/directors-welcome/.

      I will also reach out to Kaloni (the star of my tapa-post) and see if she has any advice. If I hear back, I’ll let you know. ;)

  5. hi there I was wondering if you could tell me how to tell the differences between a Ngatu and Siapo?
    cheers

    1. Hi Catherine,

      I believe Siapo is the Fijian word for Ngatu. I am not an expert on this in the least, but my understanding is that “Ngatu” is used both in Tonga and in Samoa.

      1. Malo e lelei J.L. McCreedy,

        I am replying to your comment because I noticed the information that you have given out are false. I know that you mentioned that you are not an expert on this, but I thought you would have looked it up before replying. I don’t know if you have known the differences between the terms by now, but I just wanted to correct you with the right information. The Pacific term for tapa cloth used in these three islands are; Siapo is the Samoan term, Masi is the Fijian term, and Ngatu is the Tongan term.

        Malo ‘Aupito
        Moe

        1. Thank you for setting me straight, Moe! I actually did look up the terms for Ngatu in other Pacific countries, but apparently my results were not as helpful as your comment. Thank you for sharing your insight and for clarifying the correct terminology.

    2. Ngatu is the final stage (almost complete) of tapa making, Siapo is the name given to the plant that they use to make the ngatu.

  6. I have a question, what does authentic tapa cloth actually feel like? I felt some on display, and it was really rough, I can’t imagine it feels like that on your skin right? otherwise it wouldn’t be the choice for clothing how does real tapa feel?

    1. Hi Quade,

      Perhaps someone with more experience will chime in, but from my own, I will say that new tapa is definitely much more stiff and often scratchier on the skin than your average clothing fabric. Tapa, at least in Tonga, is worn by wrapping it around a person like a sarong (as opposed to wearing it as a shirt or skirt/pants), but often with multiple wraps or layers. It is usually worn on special occasions, and not something worn day-to-day. Also, at least in Tonga today, the folks wearing tapa often wear it over other clothes or undergarments, rather than directly on the skin. At least that is what I’ve witnessed. As for the softness, I have felt some tapa that is much softer, and I think this is from use. I think the older it is and the more used it is, the softer it becomes, as is the case with most textiles. It could very well be that there is also a way to soften the fibers during the tapa-making process, but I don’t recall witnessing that detail.

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