Created in myriad forms and varieties, Polynesian bark cloth,
often referred to by one of its Polynesian names, tapa, is
produced exclusively by women. Bark cloth is a paper-like
textile typically manufactured from the soft inner bark of the
paper mulberry tree, strips of which are pounded and then
felted or glued together to produce large sheets. It was the
only form of cloth in Polynesia prior to Western contact.
Employed in virtually every aspect of daily and ceremonial life,
bark cloths are, or were, produced in countless forms and
sizes, from smaller pieces used as garments or to wrap sacred
or precious objects to enormous ritual textiles, at times more
than one hundred yards (92 meters) long, which are displayed
and exchanged as ceremonial gifts during important life
passage rites such as marriages and funerals. While many of
its former functions have been supplanted by the introduction
of imported cloth, bark cloth continues to play a vital role in
ceremonial life in many parts of Polynesia, especially in the
western Polynesian archipelagos of Tonga, Fiji, and Samoa.