Caratex Stamps

Tapa

Stamps of the Pacific Rim - by Barbara L Anderson

Some of the most interesting and attractive worldwide stamps are those that depict native craft traditions. Every conceivable art form has been illustrated on postal issues, including paintings, sculpture, textiles, carvings, metal work, stained glass and tapa bark cloth.

You're most likely to find stamps picturing tapa cloth from countries in the Pacific rim region, where beating tree bark into cloth and paper has a long and fascinating history. However, all stamps showing tapa cloth aren't labeled as such. Often, traditional tapa patterns are used as design elements, perhaps in a border, frame or background.

The term "tapa," coined by European and American sailors of the early 19th century, is generally considered to be the universal term to describe the traditional bark cloth made on the Polynesian and Melanesian islands of the Pacific. But other names are used depending on the country of origin. In Tonga, decorated bark cloth is called "ngatu." In Samoa, the term "siapo" is used; Fijians call it "masi."

The cloth is fashioned from the inner bark of the paper mulberry tree (Broussonetia papyrifera). The bark of breadfruit trees is infrequently used, but makes a cloth of lesser quality.

The paper mulberry tree, or wauke, is native to eastern Asia and Polynesia. Growing to a eight of 50 feet, the leaves and twigs are exceptionally rough, more so than any other plant.

For making tapa, the tree is cut down and the inner and outer bark are removed. After soaking for several days, the outer layer is scraped from the inner bark. Now soft and flexible, the wet bark is wrapped in plantain leaves and allowed to ferment for three days.

The women then arrange the pieces into a section about 30 feet long and 1 foot wide. The tapa is beaten by as many as 200 to 300 women, who are supervised by the chiefs' wives, particularly if this specific piece is to be used for ceremonial purposes.

Beating Tapa

Beaters and anvils made of wood are employed to pound the bark into submission.

Vegetable dyes are used for coloring the designs in shades of red, brown, yellow and black. Roots, bark, fruit and juices of various flora are gathered and processed.

Tapa cloth is used for ceremonial occasions, clothing, room dividers and bedding. The ceremonial uses of bark cloth include dance costumes and gifts at weddings and funerals. Any formal event, particularly if associated with royalty, calls for tapa cloth.

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French Polynesia has produced at least seven stamps featuring tapa cloth. French Polynesia issued a set of three stamps in 1988 showing paintings by Paul Engdahl (Scott 482-84). Along the bottom of each stamp is the caption "Peinture Sur Tapa," which translates to "painting on tapa." The 52-franc value is pictured on the left in Figure 1. In the following year, the island nation gave us two attractive stamps featuring tapa art of the Society Islands (508) and tapa art of the Austral Islands (509). The latter stamp is shown in the center in Figure 1.

Figure 1
Two stamps from French Polynesia and one from Western Samoa.

Samoa takes the prize for the most tapa stamps, having released at least 20 different issues relating to bark cloth. The earliest example was produced in 1935 (166). Next came a 1952 release showing a woman making "siapo" cloth, which is what they call tapa on Samoa (203). The 1952 stamp is depicted on the right in Figure 1.

Samoa achieved independence in 1962 and offered two issues related to tapa (223, 229).

The stamps were reprinted by the lithography method in 1965 and are distinguished from the earlier versions by a different watermark.As shown in Figure 2, the 1-penny value pictures a woman displaying a ceremonial mat (242), and the 1/- stamp depicts a Samoan orator wearing a tapa cloth skirt (247).

Figure 2

A lengthy set of Bird stamps issued in 1967 adds to the tapa topic. The left side of each stamp is nicely decorated with traditional tapa designs (265-74B).

Wallis and Futuna Islands make a grand contribution to the subject with a set of four 1975 airmail stamps. These large horizontal stamps all show "Motifs de Tapa," including geometric designs (C56), a village scene (C57), fish and marine life (C58) and a map and marine life (C59). The 36-franc stamp with the fish design is illustrated in Figure 3.

Figure 3

An earlier Wallis and Futuna stamp (154), designed and issued in 1960, shows two women pounding tapa cloth with the traditional beaters.

Papua New Guinea released an extra nice tapa stamp in 1974 (386). Figure 4 illustrates this stamp, which shows three pieces of bark cloth along with a left border design of tapa symbols.

Figure 4

Fiji makes a nice addition to a collection of tapa stamps with its Tourism set from 1980 (430-33).

A wide border on the left side of each stamp shows a strip of decorated bark cloth. The 6¢ Sovi Bay stamp is pictured in Figure 5 on the top. The island of Tonga commemorated the 150th anniversary of the first books printed on the island with a four-value set released for Christmas in 1981 (493-96). Tapa cloth designs are pictured in the background on each stamp, one of which is shown on the bottom in Figure 5.

Figure 5

More recently, Vanuatu offered a lively and colorful strip of four stamps displaying tapa cloth and other artifacts (668).

Last, but hardly least, the United States recently released a tapa stamp. "Where and when?" you may ask. Look at the stamp on the bottom right of the first block on the 1920s Celebrate the Century pane issued May 28, 1998. A portrait of anthropologist Margaret Mead is flanked by a piece of tapa cloth (3184) on the 32¢ stamp in Figure 6. Mead studied Samoan culture, and the result was her book Coming of Age in Samoa.

Figure 6

We've had hologram stamps, gold and silver foil stamps, self-adhesive stamps and stamps printed on silk. Could a stamp on tapa cloth be next?

A stamp collector since age 12, Barbara Anderson enjoys worldwide stamps and topicals. As a weaver-spinner, she specializes in textiles on stamps, which includes anything and everything related to textiles.

This is an edited version of Brabara's article that appeared in anissue of Linn's Stamp News.