79 highs and lows of life, particularly sickness and death. The dots represent resting places on a journey through mountainous terrain. Although the barkcloth itself was made by women, only men could paint the images, known collectively as kineha. In Vanuatu, the two principle areas where barkcloth is made are Ifi ra (a Polynesian settlement off Efate island) and Erromango island. The style of each is distinctive. A fi nely decorated cloth from Ifi ra island (fi g. 14) was used within ceremonial exchanges such as marriage payments and chiefl y rituals. Made of breadfruit bark, it is painted with turmeric and red and brown clay pigments then sealed with black pigment mixed from ash, giving it a shiny varnished appearance. The fringe of feathers and imported red cloth further enhances its value as a trade item. The band of painted geometric decoration along the border is similar to barkcloth designs from neighboring Polynesian islands from which this community had possibly migrated. Western Polynesian barkcloth has great signifi cance as a form of textile wealth, valued as a material made by FIGS. 7a & b (above): Mask, kavat. New Britain, Papua New Guinea. 1970s. Barkcloth, cane, acrylic pigments. H: 124 cm. British Museum, inv. Oc1982,09.1. Purchased from Mary-Clare Adam, 1982. © The Trustees of the British Museum. FIG. 8 (right): Mask, kovave. Gulf of Papua, Papua New Guinea. Early 1880s. Collected by Adolph Peter Goodwin. Wood, barkcloth, fi ber, pigment. H: 165 cm. British Museum, inv. Oc,+.2486. Donated by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks, 1885. © The Trustees of the British Museum. women. Fijian barkcloth (masi) is made in many sizes for different purposes. When presented as ceremonial gifts, long cloths of up to sixty meters were carried by lines of men and women toward honored guests. Barkcloth garments enhanced the visual impact of warriors, who paraded in their fi nery at ceremonies and before their opponents. Loincloths of barkcloth were the main garment worn by men before Christianity became widespread in the mid-1800s, after which cloth wraps worn to the knee were adopted. Men and women today still wear barkcloth or barkcloth-patterned fabric wrapped around their bodies on ceremonial occasions such as weddings. Several long, decorated Fijian cloths were shown in the exhibition. Together they illustrated the range of decorative techniques employed in different parts of Fiji, which include stenciling, rubbing, and rolling. The patterns that are created can be powerfully geometric and representative of the region in which they were created. For example, bold black-and-white designs using triangles and lozenge shapes are characteristic of barkcloth made in the Cakaudrove province, which includes the island of Taveuni and the southeastern coast of Vanua Levu (fi g. 13).
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