The Lapita motif that got away

Authors

  • Wendy Elizabeth Cowling

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11157/sites-vol6iss2id121

Keywords:

Lapita people, Lapita pottery, decoration of bark cloth in Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Fatu Feu’u and ‘flower’ motif in New Zealand.

Abstract

A particular decorative motif of some antiquity is still used by Fijian, Samoan and Tongan women when dyeing and painting bark cloth. This motif (See Figure 1) has been taken into the public domain in New Zealand by individuals and groups as a representation of Pacific/New Zealand identity. The motif is popularly (but erroneously) believed to represent a Frangipani flower, a conflation of Oceanic peoples’ love of perfumed flowers and leaves, and the constant use of photographs of the flower in tourist brochures and advertisements as an identifier of Pacific island-ness.

Author Biography

Wendy Elizabeth Cowling

Senior Lecturer Department of Societies and Cultures

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Published

09-12-2009

How to Cite

Cowling, W. E. (2009). The Lapita motif that got away. Sites: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies, 6(2), 57–79. https://doi.org/10.11157/sites-vol6iss2id121

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 2 (2009): Matter in Place

Section

Articles

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