waist garment

human history

Manafau. Dancing skirt. Manafau are skirts worn to perform in by both men and women and children, they are made from fau (hibiscus) fibre and there are different variations of manafau depending on the maker, the wearer, and the village they hail from. The most basic manafau are made from natural coloured fau but there are others with embellishments such as dyed fau, decorated waistbands etc. This entire manafau along with its embellishments are all made from natural coloured fau. the waistband is woven out of fau strips and the weave is similar to a ta'ovala weave. The waistband is decorated with folded decorative and tasselled fau. At the bottom edge of the manafau, the strips are left to hang loose.

Accession number: 1934.199 Last Update: 10 Dec 2020
Accession Number

1934.199

Accession Date

1934

Other Id

20381.2 (ethnology)

Department

Pacific

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