Gatu

Gatu. Bark cloth. Gatu were most commonly made by men in Uvea mo Futuna. It is made from the bark of the paper mulberry tree which has been stripped, beaten and patched together to create a plain textile. This is then dyed and rubbed with a natural pigment made from togo (mangrove) or kele'uli (clay), and then painted with a black dye made from tuitui (candlenut) soot. This gatu is rectangular shape and looks to be half of a bigger gatu. There is a light brown border and within that border are intricate geometric designs in black and brown ink. two of the edges are fringed with thin strips of gatu, the third is thin and thick strip fringes.