Kapa

Description

Long fragment of a five layered kapa moe [Hawaiian sleeping cover] with one sewn edge. Bottom four layers are white with an embossed design of small squares containing a small circle. This pattern is known as "upena pupa" and is created by using a carved kapa beater during the production process. The top layer is a bright pink decorated with faint gray triangle shapes (possibly colored with charcoal). This fragment was cut from a larger sample. Kapa (the Hawaiian word for tapa) is a cloth made from the inner bark of trees and is widely used in the Pacific for clothing and bedding, as well as secular, sacred, and ceremonial uses.