Ngatu (tapa cloth)

About this item

Title

Ngatu (tapa cloth)

Content partner

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Collection

Te Papa Collections Online

Description

This is a fragment of a large ngatu (tapa cloth) from the islands of Tonga. It is decorated with motifs depicting a crescent moon, stars and a comet. Ngatu is highly valued in Tongan society, and used for special occasions such as wedding and funeral ceremonies. Astronomical observations In Tonga as in many other countries, historical events are sometimes recorded on tapa, and this rare  example of ngatu depicts Halley's comet which appeared in 1910. According to astronomers, Halley's comet ...

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Format

Image

Date created

circa 1911

URL

https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/977961

Related subjects

Comets / Tonga / Sāmoa / Tongan / Events / bark / dye / textiles / Polynesian / Oceanic / space / beating / Cecil Clark

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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

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