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Lavalava
A lavalava, also known as an ''ie'', short for 'ie lavalava, is an article of daily clothing traditionally worn by Polynesians and other Oceanic peoples. It consists of a single rectangular cloth worn similarly to a wraparound skirt or kilt. The term ''lavalava'' is both singular and plural in the Samoan language. Customary use Today the fashion remains common in Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga and parts of Melanesia and Micronesia. It is worn by men and women in uses from school uniforms to business attire with a suit jacket and tie. Many people of Oceanic ethnicity wear the ''lavalava'' as an expression of cultural identity and for comfort within expatriate communities, especially in the United States (notably Hawaii, Alaska, California, Washington, and Utah), Australia, and New Zealand. Attire The ''lavalava'' is secured around the waist by an overhand knotting of the upper corners of the cloth; women often tuck the loose ends into the waistband, while men usually allow them to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); and several smaller, uninhabited islands, including the Aleipata Islands ( Nu'utele, Nu'ulua, Fanuatapu and Namua). Samoa is located west of American Samoa, northeast of Tonga (closest foreign country), northeast of Fiji, east of Wallis and Futuna, southeast of Tuvalu, south of Tokelau, southwest of Hawaii, and northwest of Niue. The capital city is Apia. The Lapita people discovered and settled the Samoan Islands around 3,500 years ago. They developed a Samoan language and Samoan cultural identity. Samoa is a unitary parliamentary democracy with 11 administrative divisions. It is a sovereign state and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Western Samoa was admitted to the United Nations on 15 December 1976. Because ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skirt
A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards. At its simplest, a skirt can be a draped garment made out of a single piece of fabric (such as pareos). However, most skirts are fitted to the body at the waist or hips and fuller below, with the fullness introduced by means of darts, gores, pleats, or panels. Modern skirts are usually made of light to mid-weight fabrics, such as denim, jersey, worsted, or poplin. Skirts of thin or clingy fabrics are often worn with slips to make the material of the skirt drape better and for modesty. In modern times, skirts are very commonly worn by women and girls. Some exceptions include the izaar, worn by many Muslim cultures, and the kilt, a traditional men's garment in Scotland, Ireland, and sometimes England. Fashion designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, Kenzo and Marc Jacobs have also shown men's skirts. Transgressing social codes, Gaultier f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its west by Nevada. Utah also touches a corner of New Mexico in the southeast. Of the fifty U.S. states, Utah is the 13th-largest by area; with a population over three million, it is the 30th-most-populous and 11th-least-densely populated. Urban development is mostly concentrated in two areas: the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state, which is home to roughly two-thirds of the population and includes the capital city, Salt Lake City; and Washington County in the southwest, with more than 180,000 residents. Most of the western half of Utah lies in the Great Basin. Utah has been inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous groups such as the ancient Puebloans, Navajo and Ute. The Spanish were the first Europe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chuuk State
Chuuk State (; also known as Truk) is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The other states are Kosrae State, Pohnpei State, and Yap State. It consists of several island groups: * Namoneas * Faichuuk * Hall Islands * Namonuito Atoll (Magur Islands) (northwest) * Pattiw (Western Islands) * Mortlock Islands Chuuk is the most populous state of the FSM with 50,000 inhabitants on . Chuuk Lagoon is where most people live. Weno Island in the lagoon functions as state capital and is FSM's biggest city. It is scheduled to possibly vote for independence as proposed. History Indigenous settlement Chuuk was first settled by Austronesians, believed to be from the Lapita culture of Island Melanesia. Archaeological evidence indicates that islands of Feefen and Wééné Islands had human settlements in the first and second century BC. Later evidence indicates that widespread human settlements appeared in Chuuk during the 14th century AD, as the Chuu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malu
is a word in the Samoan language for a female-specific tattoo of cultural significance. The covers the legs from just below the knee to the upper thighs just below the buttocks, and is typically finer and delicate in design compared to the , the equivalent tattoo for males. The takes its name from a particular motif of the same name, usually tattooed in the popliteal fossa (sometimes referred to as the kneepit, or poplit) behind the knee. It is one of the key motifs not seen on men. According to Samoan scholar Albert Wendt and tattooist Su'a Suluape Paulo II, in tattooing, the term refers to notions of sheltering and protection. Samoan women were also tattooed on the hands and sometimes the lower abdomen. These practices have undergone a resurgence since the late 1990s. Changing significance In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, only the district Paramount Chief's daughter was eligible to wear the , which was applied to these young women in the years following pubert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor percentages of waxes, fats, pectins, and water. Under natural conditions, the cotton bolls will increase the dispersal of the seeds. The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Africa, Egypt and India. The greatest diversity of wild cotton species is found in Mexico, followed by Australia and Africa. Cotton was independently domesticated in the Old and New Worlds. The fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable, and durable textile. The use of cotton for fabric is known to date to prehistoric times; fragments of cotton fabric dated to the fifth millennium BC have been found in the Indus Valley civilization, as well as fabric remnants dat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calico (textile)
Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than canvas or denim. However, it is still very cheap owing to its unfinished and undyed appearance. The fabric was originally from the city of Calicut in southwestern India. It was made by the traditional weavers called cāliyans. The raw fabric was dyed and printed in bright hues, and calico prints became popular in Europe. History Origins Calico originated in Calicut, from which the name of the textile came, in South India, now Kerala, during the 11th century, where the cloth was known as "chaliyan". It was mentioned in Indian literature by the 12th century when the polymath and writer Hemachandra described calico fabric prints with a lotus design.''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (2008)"calico" Calico was woven using Gujarati cotton from S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hibiscus
''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species are renowned for their large, showy flowers and those species are commonly known simply as "hibiscus", or less widely known as rose mallow. Other names include hardy hibiscus, rose of sharon, and tropical hibiscus. The genus includes both annual and perennial herbaceous plants, as well as woody shrubs and small trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek name ἰβίσκος (''ibískos'') which Pedanius Dioscorides gave to '' Althaea officinalis'' ( 40–90 AD). Several species are widely cultivated as ornamental plants, notably '' Hibiscus syriacus'' and ''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis''. A tea made from hibiscus flowers is known by many names around the world and is served both hot and cold. The beverage is known for its red colou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paper Mulberry
The paper mulberry (''Broussonetia papyrifera'', syn. ''Morus papyrifera'' L.) is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae. It is native to Asia,''Broussonetia papyrifera''. Flora of North America. where its range includes , China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, , and India. It is widely cultivated elsewhere and it grows as an in parts of Europe, the United States, and Africa. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tapa Cloth
Tapa cloth (or simply ''tapa'') is a barkcloth made in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, primarily in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, but as far afield as Niue, Cook Islands, Futuna, Solomon Islands, Java, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Hawaii (where it is called '' kapa''). In French Polynesia it has nearly disappeared, except for some villages in the Marquesas. General The cloth is known by a number of local names although the term tapa is international and understood throughout the islands that use the cloth. The word tapa is from Tahiti and the Cook Islands, where Captain Cook was the first European to collect it and introduce it to the rest of the world. In Tonga, tapa is known as ngatu, and here it is of great social importance to the islanders, often being given as gifts. In Samoa, the same cloth is called siapo, and in Niue it is hiapo. In Hawaii, it is known as kapa. In Rotuma, a Polynesian island in the Fiji group, it is called ‘uha and in other Fij ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_LACMA_M.2010.160.jpg "Click for more on -> Tapa Cloth")