Samoan Barkcloth — the Fabric of a Culture
Samoan siapo and elie express a Polynesian heritage
The syrupy “Oldies” tunes in the white wedding tent stopped. Relatives and friends, gathered in the glorious Virginia garden, clinked glasses. Soft conversations hummed. Like a thunderclap, Polynesian drumbeats began. A young woman burst from the back of the tent and barreled upfront to the dance floor. Her short dress flashed like a brilliant tropical bird in the dim light. Barefoot, crowned by a wreath of flowers and circlets of greenery at her ankles, she accented each beat of her dance with a hip poke to the right or to the left. The teenage boys stopped horsing around to stare slack jawed as the music pulsed.
Earlier, the bridal party had floated down a grass path surrounded by the spicy scent of ancient boxwood. Vivid blue columns sheathed the bridesmaids. Bare-shouldered, the women’s dresses echoed the lines of a lavalava, the traditional sarong-like wrap worn by Samoan men and women. I envied them as I reflected back to my days as a bridesmaid swathed in a series of frou-frou dresses. The groom’s mother later explained the striking fabric, printed with tropical flowers, had been brought over from her homeland, Samoa. I liked it — a lot — and was impressed that a land no bigger than Washington, DC could manufacture their own unique textiles.
