Masi or Tapa Cloth 

Stenciled bark cloth produced in Fiji is known as ‘Masi’ (mar-SEE). Masi is produced in various areas throughout Fiji but is most widespread today in the Lau Group, Vatulele Island, Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Masi cloth is used for traditional marriage, birth and death rites and for ceremonies of welcome. The motifs and design on the cloth will indicate the area from which it originates.

When the paper mulberry tree (broussonetia papyrifera) reaches maturity (2-3 years), its bark is stripped in as long strips as possible. These strips are coiled and steeped in water for several hours to separate the inner white bark from the center bark, which is scrapped away with a sea-shell. The inner bark is then soaked again to make it more pliable and toughens it for beating into a cloth of the desired length and texture. Layers of the cloth are generally beaten together with a mallet called ike (ee-kae) and the resin in the bark acts as adhesive to hold them together. The edges are also adhered with starch obtained from a root called yabia (yah-BEER) or arrowroot. When the desired size and texture is achieved the cloth is sun-dried until it has white muslin like appearance. (this stage (unstained), the cloth is known as tapa.) The cloth is then stained with stencil designs (cut from Vutu leaves (VOO-two) and also banana leaves) using natural dyes of black and brown hues. The black dye is obtained from soot deposits while the brown dye is obtained from red clay . These dyes are mixed with sap wrung from the bark of the mangrove tree.