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Home > SIKAIANA > SIKAIANA_IMAGES > SIKAIANA_VASA_MATS

Sikaiana: Vasa Mats

Making a sleeping mat (vasa)

During my stays in the 1980s, many Sikaiana people still slept on mats made of pandanus, although many had foam mattresses and those living in town might sleep on a manufactured mattress. The pandanus mat was women’s work and was in some senses equivalent to a canoe. Sometimes a man and woman would exchange a canoe for a sleeping mat. Mats should fold flat, and the plaiting should be straight. A woman starts a mat by collecting pandanus leaves. The spine is stripped, and the leaf is pounded flat. It is then rolled into a coil and cut into strips. The strips are then plaited.

The pandanus was harvested on Sikaiana. Sometimes pandanus coils were made into mats on Sikaiana, other times they were sent to Honiara, where the mats were plaiting. The following pictures include plaiting both on Sikaiana and in Honiara. These pictures were taken between 1980-83.

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  • Vasa Mat 01 by William Donner

    Vasa Mat 01

  • Vasa Mat 02 by William Donner

    Vasa Mat 02

  • Vasa Mat 03 by William Donner

    Vasa Mat 03

  • Vasa Mat 04 by William Donner

    Vasa Mat 04

  • Vasa Mat 05 by William Donner

    Vasa Mat 05

  • Vasa Mat 06 by William Donner

    Vasa Mat 06

  • Vasa Mat 07 by William Donner

    Vasa Mat 07

  • Vasa Mat 08 by William Donner

    Vasa Mat 08

 
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