Iliili

Iliili. Fan. This is a handwoven iliili. A length of coconut palm wood has been fashioned into a handle with an oval cross-section at its base end. A third of the handle has been left exposed. Its central area has been encased with lau fā (pandanus leaf) and lashed down in even sections with the use of pulu cordage made from coconut sennit fibres). The last section of the handle has been encased by the woven blade of the iliili. The central part of the blade is made entirely from kāniu (the young white leaf of the coconut frond). The outer areas of the blade has been constructed by a framework of lau niu (coconut midribs) which have also been woven over with kāniu. The blade is triangular in shape and flat in form. Its sides curve inwards and finish with a serrated top. An open woven border lines the curved sides of the blade.