Tapa
date: label: Accession Date
content: 1875
name: label: Collector
content: Col. Albert B. Steinberger
label: Donor Name
content: Col. Albert B. Steinberger
notes: label: Notes
content: THIS INFORMATION GIVEN BY K.P. EMORY, BISHOP MUSEUM, 6/24/41. ORIGINALLY THIS BARK CLOTH WAS LISTED AS PART OF THE STEINBERGER COLLECTION AND HAD BEEN MARKED MARSHALLS ON A WIRED TAG, ALTHOUGH THE SPECIMEN ITSELF IS MARKED SAMOA. FROM CARD: "13,699-700. NO.13,699, TAPA, LARGE SHEET. SAMOA. COLLECTED BY GUSTAVUS GOWARD. (THIS INFORMATION GIVEN BY K.P. EMORY, BISHOP MUSEUM, 6/24/41.) TAPA NOT MADE IN THE MARSHALL ISL. SO THE SAMOAN DESIGNATION PROBABLY HOLDS."
label: Notes
content: Rectangular siapo (tapa) constructed from two layers of tapa running in a parallel orientation pasted together with an adhesive. Traditionally arrowroot was used as an adhesive. The branch holes were filled with u'a during manufacture. The overall design/pattern was applied freehand and no upeti (design or pattern board) was used. However, the parallel lines impressed into the back of the tapa appear to be from the ribs of a laufala (pandanus leaf). This is supported by the small pieces of laufala (pandanus leaf) found on the backside of the siapo. The impressed lines are in the back center and do not extend to the edges on the fringed sides. Three sides appear finished and one side is cut. It is likely that the tapa was square before the border was cut off on one side. Two opposite sides are fringed with cut tapa. The border on the three finished sides depict i'a (fish) and isolated ula (lobster). The use of fish and lobster is unique to this tapa and Regina Meredith and Uilisone Fitiao have not seen it on any other Samoan tapa. Both Lama (black candlenut) and o'a (Bishofia javanica) which imparts a glossy dark brown coloration are used as colorants (dyes) in the tapa. The colorants are heavily applied in the center. The central design, mainly the dark parts, resembles the Aliao motif that would also be used on a male tatau (tattoo). The lighter designs in the same area closely resemble the anufe in tatau, or/and half of the fa'agogo (bird) in Siapo. The application of the o'a dye to highlight the siapo patterns seem to be in 1, 2 and 3 cotas, which makes the central part of this siapo very stiff. The siapo (tapa) contruction and design information was provided in 2014 by Regina Meredith of American Samoa, siapo (tapa) maker, artist, and teacher, and by Uilisone Fitiao of American Samoa, tufuga ta tatau (master tattooist) and siapo (tapa) maker. Following the classification used by Roger Neich and Mick Pendergrast 1997, this is a siapo mamanu, with a freehand painted design (p. 201 in Kaeppler, Adrienne L. Animal designs on Samoan siapo and other thoughts on West Polynesian barkcloth designs. Journal of the Polynesian Society 114 (3):197-226. 2005; tapa is illustrated in Figure 1, p. 198 in article.)
label: Record Last Modified
content: 31 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: American Samoa (not certain), Samoa (not certain) / United States (not certain), Polynesia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Samoan
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 003313
label: USNM Number
content: E13699-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Barkcloth
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 328 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 297 cm