ART on view 82 rounding squares with crossed lines are a motif named manulua, related to the intermarriage of chiefl y lineages that underpin the right to rule. Polynesian tunics belong to a particular chapter of Pacifi c history, where foreign and then indigenous missionaries infl uenced the clothing styles of new Christian converts. The tiputa was fi rst encouraged by indigenous missionaries from the Society Islands during their work in the Cook Islands and Samoa in the early 1800s. In turn, Samoan missionaries introduced the tiputa to the western Polynesian island of Niue (fi g. 16). In each location, new decorative devices proliferated in the form of painted motifs, fringes, and cutout designs. Little is known about Niuean barkcloth before the practice was reintroduced by Samoan missionaries in the mid 1800s, but by the 1880s, barkcloth making was fl ourishing on the island. A unique local design system included motifs such as stars, fi sh, and even human fi gures and written text. Eastern Polynesia encompasses the area between Hawaii, Rapa Nui, and New Zealand. There are strong cultural affi nities between the islands, and where barkcloth is made, multiple layers are beaten together using the shared technique of felting. Each island group is distinguished by the vastly contrasting designs applied to the cloth, often using black, red, and yellow pigments. In the southern Cook Islands, plain white barkcloth could be painted with sharply rendered black patterns, creating a somber effect, although colored patterns were also known. Hawaiian makers have long used the widest range of colors, including pinks, greens, and lavenders, rarely seen elsewhere. Black-patterned paper mulberry barkcloth adds to the dark splendor of a unique feather FIG. 15 (left): Barkcloth, ngatu. Tonga. 1940s–1960s. Barkcloth, pigment. 315 x 226.5 cm. British Museum, inv. Oc1993,04.1. Purchased from Gwyneth Lloyd, 1993. © The Trustees of the British Museum. FIG. 16 (right): Tunic, tiputa. Niue, western Polynesia. 1860s. Barkcloth, pigment. 109 x 79 cm. British Museum, inv. Oc.4252. Purchased from Rev. Thomas Powell, 1866. © The Trustees of the British Museum.
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