Story: Fijians

Making tapa cloth

Making tapa cloth

Maintaining traditional practices has been a challenge for Fijians living in New Zealand. Some skills, such as creating the intricate and distinctive Fijian tapa cloth known as masi, are maintained through craft workshops. Mereia Johnston, pictured in 1996, is stencilling a border onto the cloth, which is made of paper mulberry bark.

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Creative New Zealand: Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa
Photograph by Evotia Tamua Thomson

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How to cite this page:

Jacqueline Leckie, 'Fijians - Fijian culture in New Zealand', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/828/making-tapa-cloth (accessed 20 April 2024)

Story by Jacqueline Leckie, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 25 Mar 2015