Tupenu is the Tongan term for a wrapped garment also called a

sarong A sarong or a sarung (, ) is a large tube or length of textile, fabric, often wrapped around the waist, worn in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Northern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric often ...

lungi The lungi is a clothing similar to the sarong that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The lungi, which usually multicoloured, is a men's skirt usually tied around the lower waist below the navel. It can be worn as casual wear and night wear. ...

, or lava-lava, worn through much of

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

and

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

. It is analogous to the

kilt A kilt ( ) is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first r ...

worn in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The tupenu worn by women is wide enough to cover the body between the waist and ankles, and long enough to wrap securely around the waist. The standard width of cloth yardage (45 inches) is generally wide enough, so a tupenu can be made in a matter of minutes by cutting and wrapping cloth from the bolt. Women wear a knee-length dress, or ''kofu'', over the tupenu. On dress occasions, women wear matching kofu and tupenu, sewn from the same yardage. Fancy tupenus are often slightly tailored, with darts sewn into the top, so that they will fit the body more closely. On ceremonial occasions, women wear a ta'ovala, or finely woven

pandanus ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with about 578 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. Common names include pandan, screw palm and screw pine. The genus is classified ...

mat, over the kofu and tupenu. The kiekie, a kind of grass or string skirt, is an acceptable, comfortable alternative to the ta'ovala on most occasions. The tupenu worn by men is wide enough to cover the body between the waist and knees, and long enough to wrap securely around the waist. For work and casual wear, any piece of cloth will do. On dress occasions, men will wear tailored tupenu like Western wrap skirts made from

suit A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit, is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt su ...

material. These tupenu coordinate with Western suit-jackets. Usually, the formal tupenu will be covered with a ta'ovala worn as a sign of respect. The man's ta'ovala is analogous to the Western

necktie A necktie, long tie, or simply a tie, is a cloth article of formal neckwear or office attire worn for decorative or symbolic purposes, resting under a folded shirt collar or knotted at the throat, and usually draped down the chest. On rare o ...

References

{{Reflist Polynesian clothing Skirts History of Oceanian clothing