Clothing

Bark Cloth

A white, rectangular Hawaiian bark cloth (kapa) made of the inner bark of a tree. The surface decoration is bands of multiple black wavy lines with interspersed black parallelograms. The designs were created with bamboo stamps (‘ohe kāpala). The kapa resembles a woman's skirt (paʻu).

On one end of the kapa the words 'American Philisophical Society. Native Cloth from Sandwich Islands. Presented by Sylvanus Godon' is written.

Kapa cloth is produced from the inner bark of a tree, typically wauke (paper mulberry), which is cultivated, harvested, and processed through soaking, scraping, fermenting, and repeated beating to form and refine the cloth. Patterned beaters may be used during production to create watermarks that can reflect regional styles or maker affiliations. After drying, the cloth is decorated using natural dyes and bamboo implements.

Finished kapa was utilized in various ways, most prominently as clothing items. This includes pāʻū (skirts) for women and malo (loincloth) for men. Kapa was also used as kapa moe (bedding), and for presenting to family members, friends, and individuals of higher social rank.

Paʻu are skirts worn by women, typically constructed from bark cloth. They are generally long garments, worn by wrapping a single length of bark cloth multiple times around the body.