Bark Cloth Fragment

A rectangular sample of Hawaiian bark cloth (kapa) that is part of a booklet consisting of 5 fragments. One side of the kapa is dark brown; the opposite side is white. A patterned bark beater with a hoopai (parallel lines with sharp edges) motif was used in its production, leaving visible markings in the cloth. 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. From the eighteenth century onward, European collectors and scholars frequently collected kapa, often removing small samples from larger textiles to facilitate transport, study, and comparison in museum and private collections, a practice especially common during and after Cook’s voyages in the Pacific.