Kapa (Tapa) Barkcloth

[Illustration: Kapa barkcloth]

 

Kapa barkcloth (also called tapa) was made throughout many tropical areas but the finest kapa was found in Polynesia, and the highest quality kapa in Polynesia was produced in the Hawaiian Islands. 

The fermentation process and second beating used to produce Hawaiian kapa gave it a homogenous quality that was generally free of defects, with a quality considered superior to kapa made in other locales. 

Hawaiian kapa also displayed the greatest variety of design and texture.  The intricate geometric designs that Hawaiians stamped onto kapa were found nowhere else in Polynesia.

 

I hole ‘ia no ka i‘e i ke kau o ka lā.

The time to cut designs in a tapa beater is when the sun is high.

Do your work when you can do your best.

                                                (Pukui: 1164-127)

 

Kapa barkcloth (also called tapa) was usually made from the bark of the Polynesian-introduced wauke tree (Broussonetia papyrifera, paper mulberry).  Kapa was also made from various native plants including māmaki (Pipturus species), ma‘aloa (Neraudia melastomifolia), and ‘ākala (Rubus species).

When growing wauke, lateral buds were pinched off to ensure the straight, unbranched stems that made better kapa.  In 18 to 24 months the plants are harvested to be made into kapa barkcloth

The inner and outer bark was then separated from the stem by making a cut for the whole length of the section and then peeling the bark from the core in a process called pehē.  The bark was then flattened by rolling it into coils with the inner bark facing outward. 

The fibrous inner bark (‘i‘o o loko) was then scraped or peeled from the non-fibrous outer bark (‘ili lepo o waho), producing the bast strips that were then soaked and then beat into kapa.

To make kapa, lengths of wauke stem were cut from the plant, and then a sharp shell was used to separate the dark, outer bark from the desired white inner bark, which is comprised of many long fibers.  The strips of inner bark were then soaked in water, pounded with a round beater (hohoa), soaked again and fermented, and then pounded with a square beater (i‘e kuku).

[Illustration or Photo: Hohoa (round beater); i‘e kuku (square beater); kua pōhaku (flat stone); kua kuku (wooden anvil)]

 

The Kapa-Making Process

The first stage of kapa beating was typically done on a flat stone (kua pōhaku) using a rounded beater (hoahoa), while the second stage of beating was done on a wooden anvil (kua kuku). 

The yellowish wood of kāwa‘u (Zanthoxylum dipetalum) was especially favored for making the wooden anvils because, when struck by the square kapa beater (i‘e kuku), the wood of kāwa‘u produces resonant tones.  These tones sometimes accompanied chants said during the kapa beating process. 

Another wood known as kāwa‘u (Ilex anomala, Hawaiian holly) was also used to make kapa-beating anvils.  Pūkiawe (Styphelia tameiameiae) was also used for making kua kuku, the kapa-beating anvils that were used in the second-stage beatings while making kapa barkcloth.

Kapa beaters were usually made from a particularly hard-wooded species known as koai‘e (Acacia koaia), a species closely related to koa (Acacia koa).  Koai‘e (also called koai‘a) is a native tree whose unique characteristics (gnarly trunk, narrower leaves and extremely hard wood) have distinguished it as a separate species. 

According to the Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai‘i: Revised Edition,[i]the tree referred to by the Hawaiian term koai‘e was considered to be a particularly hard-wooded variety of koa, though not distinct enough from Acacia koa to distinguish it as a separate species, or even a subspecies (it was considered a variety of Acacia koa). 

The Electronic Supplement to the Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai‘i,[ii]however, distinguishes Acacia koaia as a separate species. (See Koa section in Native Plants and Ferns of the Hawaiian Islands, Chapter 8.)

Kapa beaters were also made from other hardwood trees, including uhiuhi (Caesalpinia kavaiensis), ‘ōhi‘a lehua (Metrosideros species), nīoi (Eugenia species), and kauila (Colubrina oppositifolia).

After the first beating, the strips of bark were sprinkled with water and covered with leaves of mai‘a (Musa species, banana) or wrapped in kī (Cordyline terminalis, ti) and then placed in water.  The strips of bark were then left to ferment for about ten days.

After maturing, the layers of fibers were finely beaten together into a rectangular piece of velvety soft kapa.  The added fermentation process and second beating made Hawaiian kapa superior to kapa produced elsewhere. 

Finishing stage beaters were known as i‘e kuku ho‘ōki, and were carved to make various attractive patterns on the finished kapa.  The resulting silky fabric was sometimes scented with the leaves of the maile vine (Alyxia oliviformis), the powdered wood of ‘iliahi (Santalum species, sandalwood); the inflorescences (flower clusters) of hala (Pandanus tectorius, screwpine); the orange-blossom scented flowers of kamani (Calophyllum inophyllum, Alexandrian laurel); the underground rhizomes of ‘awapuhi kuahiwi (Zingiber zerumbet, shampoo ginger), the seed capsules and stems of mokihana (Pelea anisata); and the fragrant laua‘e fern (Phymatosorus scolopendria, a post-contact introduction). 

The sap of the ‘ama‘u tree fern (Sadleria species) was sometimes sprinkled on the kapa strips during the beating process.

 

Decorating Kapa

Patterns were stamped onto the finished kapa cloth with blocks of wood carved with designs.  In post-contact times, more intricate geometric patterns were created with a highly refined method of printing using bamboo stamps known as ‘ohe kāpala.

The process of decorating the kapa involved dipping the carved wood block or bamboo stamps into a shallow stone bowl containing colored dyes (see Traditional Dyes section below), and then pressing the design onto the kapa. 

Each impression aligned with the edge of the previous impression, thus forming a pattern.  The intricate bamboo stamp printing methods utilized by Hawaiians, though a post-contact technique, was nevertheless found nowhere else in Polynesia.

 

Traditional Dyes

of Ancient Hawai‘i

 

Plant (Part of Plant Used for Dye)

Color of Dye

Origin        

 

‘Akala (Fruit)

Pink/Red

Endemic

 

‘Ala‘ala Wai Nui (Leaves, Stems)

Grayish/Green

Indigenous / Endemic

 

‘Alaea

Red Ocherous Earth

Red / Pink / Orange                          

 

Alahe‘e (Leaves)

Black

Indigenous

 

‘Ama‘u (Young Fronds)

Red

Endemic

 

‘Awapuhi Kuahiwi (Rhizome)

Polynesian Introduction

 

Hame (Fruit)

Red / Dark Purple

Endemic

 

Hau Hele ‘Ula (Flower Petals)

Pinkish/Red

Endemic

 

Hōlei (Stem, Bark, Roots)

Yellow

Endemic

 

Huahekili Uka (Fruit)

Black

Endemic

 

Kalo (Corm)

Red

Polynesian Introduction

 

Kamani (Husk of Fruit)

Brownish

Polynesian Introduction

 

Kauila (Leaves and Bark)

Bluish

Endemic

 

Kō (Charcoal from Leaves and Stems)

Black

Polynesian Introduction

 

Koa (Bark)

Red

Endemic

 

Koki‘o ‘Ula‘ula (Flower)

Red

Endemic

 

Kōlea Lau Nui (Sap)

Red

Endemic

 

Kōlea Lau Nui (Charcoal from Stem)

Black

Endemic

 

Kou (Leaves)

Brown

Indigenous

 

Kūkaenēnē (‘Aiakanēnē) (Inner Bark of Stem)

Yellow

Endemic

 

Kūkaenēnē (Fruit)

Purple/Black

Endemic

 

Kukui (Husk of Fruit)

Grayish

Polynesian Introduction

 

Kukui (Inner Bark of Trunk)

Brownish/Red

Polynesian Introduction

 

Kukui (Soot from Burning)

Black

Polynesian Introduction

 

Kukui (Inner Bark of Root)

Reddish/Brown

Polynesian Introduction

 

Mai‘a (Skin of Trunk)

Black

Polynesian Introduction

 

Ma‘o (Leaves)

Greenish/Gray

Indigenous (or Endemic)

 

Milo (Shell of Fruit)

Yellowish-Green

Polynesian Introduction

 

Nānū (Fruit)

Yellow

Endemic         

 

Naupaka Kuahiwi (Fruit)

Purplish/Black

Endemic

 

Noni (Inner Bark of Root)

Yellow

Polynesian Introduction

 

Noni (with Lime) (Inner Bark of Trunk)

Red

Polynesian Introduction

 

Noni (Roots)

Yellow / Red

Polynesian Introduction

 

‘Ōhi‘a ‘Ai (Inner Bark of Trunk)

Brown

Polynesian Introduction

 

‘Ōlapa (Fruit, Leaves, Bark, Roots)

Bluish-Black

Endemic

 

‘Ōlena (Underground Stem - Rhizome)

Yellow / Gold

Polynesian Introduction

 

Pā‘ihi (Stem Bark)

Black

Polynesian Introduction (or Indigenous)

 

Pala‘ā (Older Leaves)

Brownish-Red

Indigenous

 

Pili (Charcoal from Blades)

Black

Indigenous

 

Pōpolo (Fruit)

Blackish-Purple

Indigenous

 

Pōpolo (Leaves)

Green

Indigenous

 

Pōpolo Kū Mai (Fruit)

Dark Purple

Endemic

 

‘Uki‘uki (Fruit)

Purple/Blue

Indigenous

 

‘Uki‘uki (with Lime) (Berries)

Blue

Indigenous

 

‘Ūlei (Fruit)

Lavender/Purple

Indigenous

 

‘Ulu (Male Flower)

Yellow/Brown

Polynesian Introduction

 

‘Ulu

Blue

Polynesian Introduction

           

Wana (Invertebrate - Sea urchin (Diadema paucispinum))

Blue

Indigenous

 

Plants Used to Scent

Kapa Barkcloth

 

Plant (Part of Plant Used for Scent)

Origin        

 

‘Awapuhi Kuahiwi (Underground Rhizomes)

Polynesian Introduction

 

Hala (Male Flower – Hīnano)

Indigenous                 

 

‘Iliahi (Powdered Wood)

Endemic

 

Kamani (Flowers)

Polynesian Introduction

 

Laua‘e Fern (Fronds)

Post-Contact Introduction)

 

Maile (Leaves)\

Endemic

 

Mokihana (Seed Capsules and Stems)

Endemic

 

‘Ama‘u Tree Fern (Sap – Sprinkled on During Beating Process)               Endemic

Uses of Kapa

Kapa had many uses in ancient Hawai‘i.  Kapa was used to make clothing as well as sleep coverings (kapa moe).  A sleeping cover might consist of several layers of kapa sewn together, with the upper layer (kilohana) often beautifully decorated. 

Women’s wrap-around skirts (pā‘ū), were also made of kapa, and could be up to ten layers thick.  The loin cloth (malo) worn by males was often stamped with two different designs, and then folded lengthwise so that both designs showed. 

[Illustration or photo: pā‘ū, malo]

Hawaiians also used a triangular kapa strip (puela) on canoes.  A kapa-covered stick (pūlo‘ulo‘u) was carried in front of chiefs to signal kapu.  Sap of ‘ulu (Artocarpus altilis, breadfruit) was sometimes painted onto kapa to give it a shiny appearance.

  Modern attempts to replicate the traditional kapa-making techniques have only approximated the high quality kapa produced by the early settlers of the Hawaiian Islands.  Rediscovering the methods used by ancient Hawaiians has given modern crafters a renewed appreciation for this ancient art.

[Photograph: Kapa barkcloth with geometric designs]