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TRADITION FROM THE AUSTRAL ISLANDS
 Since
the 60ies with the islanders moving to Papeete and the inter island
migration, plaiting became widely common throughout Polynesia. However it
remains a specialty of the Australes Islands especially from Rimatara and
Rurutu.
Since
remembrance, plaiting was done in the Australes by women. Little girls
began their apprenticeship at the age of 9 when they had to learn to roll
the pandan leaves, the raw material for this ancient handicraft. Only the
long pandanus leaved (contrary to the short pandanus leaved one which is only used
to cover houses) with leaves about 10 centimeters wide and up to 2 meters
long is used. After removing the central rib, the leaves are temporarily
plaited to dry over a period of 3 to 4 weeks. First the bundles are hung
from roofs or trees before being spread out on the earth. Once dry, the
leaves are put into rolls of about 40 cm diameter containing up to 50
leaves. It is estimated, that about 2'500 rolls of pandanus leaves are
exported yearly from Rimatara to Papeete.
It
takes about 2 years for a pandanus to produce leaves suitable for
plaiting. Despite this relative short period of growth, there is only
limited supply of this raw material to further develop this industry.
A
roll of pandanus leaves is sold at Rimatara at 750 Fcfp on the quay of
Papetee at 1,300 Fcfp and at the market at 1,500 Fcfp.
For
certain articles, also young coconut fronds (niau), local bamboo (ofe) and
a thin reed growing on Rapa the most southern island of French Polynesia
are used.
With
the development of the handicraft and tourism, Polynesian wickerwork has
increased in its diversity. Nowadays one finds wallets, fans, bracelets,
sandals, earrings etc. However carpets (peue), baskets and hats remain the
most produced articles.
PEUE
The
“standard” peue (carpet) is rectangular with a dimension of 2,5 by 2,3
meters. Other dimensions can be ordered. There are two ways of plaiting:
coarse and fine which naturally is resulting in a higher quality product
with a more esthetic appearance. The work is usually done in teams of two
to three women. To make one “peue” of standard size, one workday is
necessary. Such a carpet costs 10,000 Fcfp at Rimatara and 15,000 Fcfp
at Papeete. Round carpets with a diameter of normally 1,5 meters are also
made and cost 5,000 Fcfp at Rimatara and 7,000 at Papeete.
BASKETS
 The
Polynesian plaiters produce an indefinite number of kinds of baskets. They
like to reproduce whatever baskets they see here and there, however the
most classic and the most sold remains the shopping basket, which can be
produced in less than half an hour. Those baskets go for 1,000 Fcfp and
more sophisticated models can sell for up to 5,000 Fcfp.
HATS
 In
the old times, boaters were in fashion and with a revival of this kind of
hat different models are created and one can see hats of all kinds, some
resembling virtual pieces of art.
To
make one of those hats, about 3 days are needed. The first step consists
of making about 20 meters of plaits, the most tedious of the work, then
those plaits are sewn together. A hat made like that fetches 2,500 to 3,500
Fcfp. For a hat made of niau (ribs of the
 coconut palm) or from Rapa reed,
prices can be from 10,000 to 15,000 Fcfp. The most common hats for
daily use are made over templates and cost between 1,500 and 2,500 Fcfp. |
