Sennit is a type of

cordage Cordage may refer to: * Rigging, cords and ropes attached to masts and sails on a ship or boat * Rope, yarns, plies or strands twisted or braided together into a larger form See also * String (disambiguation) * Cord (disambiguation) Cord or ...

made by plaiting strands of dried fibre or grass. It can be used ornamentally in crafts, like a kind of '' macramé'', or to make straw hats. Sennit is an important material in the cultures of Oceania, where it is used in traditional architecture, boat building, fishing and as an ornamentation.

Oceania

PSM V40 D217 South seas carved ceremonial stone adze

Tonga

Sennit in Tonga is called ''kafa.''

Fiji

The Fijian term used is ''

magimagi Magimagi is a fibrous product made from coconut husk. The process of weaving the husk into the traditional look is very labor-intensive. The earliest record of the unique Magimagi design is listed in the ''Narrative of the United States Explor ...

'', a craft product of the

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

Islands.

Hawai'i

The term is also used in Hawaii and throughout Polynesia for cordage made by braiding the fibers of

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

husks. It was important in attaching the ''

ama Ama or AMA may refer to: Ama Languages * Ama language (New Guinea) * Ama language (Sudan) People * Ama (Ama Kōhei), former ring name for sumo wrestler Harumafuji Kōhei * Mary Ama, a New Zealand artist * Shola Ama, a British singer * Ām ...

'' ( outrigger float) via the '' iako'' (spars) to the hull of canoes, stones to war-club handles, erecting ''hale'' (houses), etc.

Samoa

In the

Samoan language Samoan ( or ; ) is a Polynesian language spoken by Samoans of the Samoan Islands. Administratively, the islands are split between the sovereign country of Samoa and the United States territory of American Samoa. It is an official language, alon ...

, sennit is called ''afa''. It was used as cordage in the construction of traditional

Samoan architecture The architecture of Samoa is characterised by openness, with the design mirroring the culture and life of the Samoan people who inhabit the Samoa Islands.

, boat building with many other functional uses. ''Afa'' is handmade from dried

fibre from the husk of certain varieties of coconuts with long fibres, particularly the ''niu'afa'' (''afa'' palm). Sennit is mentioned in Robert Gibbings book ''Over the Reefs'' (1948)."Over the Reefs", J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd., London, 1948. He refers to its use in Samoa in 1946, where he was able to observe its being made on many occasions. He notes that its crafting was a constant occupation in Samoan villages, because so much of the material was required. A significant quote from the book, made by a village chief to Gibbings, emphasises the importance of sennit in Samoan culture: "In your country," said a chief to me, "only a few men can make nails, but in Samoa, everyone can make nails" (p. 118). He was referring to the sennit that is used to bind the structures or huts in which they lived. Sennit had a variety of other uses, including in shark fishing, where it was used as a noose that was placed over the shark's head as it came alongside the canoe. "They showed me the sennit noose they had used—five years old and as good as new. They said it would last another five years if cared for." Robert Gribbings.

References

Decorative knots Fijian culture Hawaii culture Polynesian culture Samoan culture Polynesian navigation {{knot-stub