Mat Weaving In Fiji

It was about the art of mat making.

Mat weaving in fiji. Mat basket weaving interest in weaving from visitors helps keep the skills alive courtesy daku resort whereas pottery is a skill shared by very few villages basket and especially mat plaiting is a universally practiced art every village girl has learned how to weave a mat or ibe by the time she is 10 years old. Most mats are bordered with highly decorative and brightly coloured wool. One well known fijian mat is the kuta made by women in vanua levu particularly bua. The fiji times online recently ran an article written by sikeli qounadovu titled passing on a dying art that i found interesting and would like to summarize for you.

We don t depend on the sea for a living because there is not much fish to sell. Voi voi known also as pandanus leaves is another popular weaving material though preparing the leaves can take longer than the actual weaving. However it takes three to four years before it can be harvested and that s why they are weaving mats. Finally the mat edges are locked off with a special weave or in some cases with a heavy thread.

In fiji mats were considered an important element in the wealth of the fijian family and were traditionally given at weddings funerals or during the visits of high chiefs. It is not uncommon to see people weaving hats mats and other materials from durable coconut palm fronds. Today the 40 year old professional art weaver sells her merchandise from a stall at suva s local handicraft centre where she and her mother continue this proud tradition of weaving beautiful hand made mats and hand bags for their many.