Sleeping Mat Fragment

A rectangular fragment of a pandanus leaf mat (moena). The mat is natural in color with a pattern of repeated brown (red) bow tie/fish tail (pewa) design elements. This fragment was part of a larger sleeping mat.

Hawaiian mats (moena) were differentiated by weave, texture, and placement and served numerous functions, including sleeping, eating, protecting goods, and drying food. They furnished and organized the interior of a house, covering the floors and forming beds. The bed would consist of layers of mats, with the coarser mats placed below finer mats. The quality of the uppermost mat would often indicate the prestige of the household. Mats were woven from a variety of plant materials selected according to intended function and quality, with lauhala (pandanus) commonly used for everyday mats and makaloa or ahuawa sedge (Cyperus laevigatus) reserved for particularly fine mats, while other materials such as naku produced soft surfaces. Mats were primarily produced by women, with the production involving drying, scraping, beating, splitting, and plaiting leaves into strands that were woven without looms using diagonal plaiting techniques, allowing mats to vary widely in size from small eating mats to large coverings for gatherings or canoes. In addition to their practical roles, mats functioned as forms of wealth and exchange, circulating as gifts, compensation for labor, and tribute collected during the Makahiki season (Hawaiian festival, honoring the god Lono).