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Well Linda Iam not sure what it is that you are asking, do you want to make mulberry fibre cloth or immatate it?
I have seen some really nice threads made from tree bark that was soaked in order to get rid of the pulp, it turned out to be a golden color and very fine , scary fine, with rough hands the material stuck to and abrasion a splintered even finer!
If you’d like to copy this material in modern terms any immataion suede would do.
The mulberry bark needs to be reconsidered since it’s still very do-able, I have some what of a background in making objects from “gathered” materials, so I don’t see why we couldn’t do this.
The Dooker paper has some good info. and may have more re. this Iam sure that some forms of cotton etc must have been used aswell, certqainly I have made “string ” from nettles, barks, small plants and many other materials fairly simple but I have yet to weave with it, aswell I have made coardage from buffalo hair, etc.
I really believe that the use of tanned deer skins came about as an object of wealthy, eventually replacing tree bark clothing, it’s easier to collect the bark than to get the deer hide!
Ask me again and be very specific., we can do most anything!
I’m sure it’s possible to weave, and I’d love to be able to experiement with it, but it’s not a practical task if we’re setting out to outfit half a dozen busy women with jobs and families.
Are you sure imitation suede would look like it? I was thinking it would be something like a rough linen type of fabric.
Check out links from Bark – Second Skin pages below:
Internet Links
Barkcloth making process:
http://www.siapo.com/barkcloth.html
Barkcloth design & printing techniques:
http://www.siapo.com/rubbingmethod.html
http://www.siapo.com/freehandmethod.html
Barkcloth dyes:
http://www.siapo.com/dyes.html
So they just beat the bark together, what keeps it from falling apart?
How strong is the cloth that is made in this fashion and also would it tear easily during activity?
I have heard that hemp can be made into cloth is the same methods used?
Back in the 80’s I had a windbreaker made out of a paperlike material. Was that the same type of material?
Sorry for so many questions, I am very fascinated by this process and use.
On another type of textile I have seen a News story back several years ago where a woman could take human hair and or pet hair and finger weave it into a cloth. I wonder if this same method could be used for possum hair? Some how she would twist the hairs together making a thread and then go from there much like spinninng wool or cotton.
I used to make kapa when I was a kid (Hawaiian bark cloth made from mulberry bark). My dance troupe used it for traditional outfits. It is very labor intensive, and each piece of cloth needs at least two or more layers for strength. Years later we decided it was a heck of a lot easier to order it in bulk from Tonga, were the practice is still going strong.
The Tongan stuff that I have is smooth to the touch, but since the grains go every which way, it actually feels rough when you wear it, and it is stiffer than cloth. A better name for the stuff would be bark paper, it does behave more like homemade paper than cloth. Also, the layers tend to come apart over time, it is more fragile than cloth, and use in the rain greatly lessons its lifespan. It tends to get ragged after a while, but that adds to the authenticity. We always used it by cutting up a large sheet into strips for skirts, or breechcloths for the guys, also made armbands and ties out of it.
When we wanted a substitute for kapa, we would buy light brown, tan, or light orange cotton, then we would stamp it with traditional stamp designs.
If someone wanted to make a skirt out of it, you would probably want to put a bias on the edge to prevent fraying, and then line the inside with cotton to prevent fraying from rubbing against you, and also for comfort.
I can see why deer skin would be more valuable than bark cloth, brain tan hide is smoother, stronger, and lasts longer, and I’m willing to bet its quicker to tan a hide than it is to make an equal amount of good bark cloth, (I’ve done both). I would try making kapa again, but those trees don’t grow were I live.
Hope this helps
Shad
What I’ve thought was being described was a process of breaking down the fibers, then spinning them into a thread which was then woven, as all fabrics are. Am I mistaken?
I know that’s how dogbane fibers are used.
OK, I see were it says “garments woven of mulberry bark”. I have not seen mulberry bark woven, but the inner bark seems to have a similar fineness to inner cedar bark. Northwest coast tribes still weave with cedar bark. Some of the cloth is made from very fine cedar bark thread, and they would sometimes mix other materials with it, such as other wild fibers and even goat and dog hair. I have seen some examples of pre-contact weaving that look just like Scottish tartans.
Hair Styles
The men rolled the hair up on each ear, or sometimes made a roll on the top of the head or at the temples. Another style was to cut the hair on one side of the head within an inch or two of the roots, leaving it standing upright. Women let their hair grow long and coiled it into a long roll at the back, which they tied with thongs or strings of beads. Both sexes used bear grease and red dye to enhance the hair; the red came from puccoon roots, brought from the mountains.
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Just wondering about these descriptions on hair styles.
When this description says the men rolled their hair on top of their head is that like a bun?
Also when it says that they made a roll at the temples is that like princes Leigha rolls? or did they actually wined the hair around their ears?
On the ladies is the coiled long roll at the back of the head looking something like what Olive Oil wore in the Popeye cartoons?
Sorry to be funny about it, but it helps me to get a better idea of what our ancestors looked like.
Thank you soooo much for this post — even though now it is old. Not sure how I missed it. Anyway, I was particularly struck by the discussion of footwear, because my great grandmother who was Cheraw from South Carolina/Georgia would NEVER wear shoes, always barefoot except going outside in winter in NY. Again thanks for all this info to you and the others who have posted.!!
well you know we ladies now days dont’ want to go to any powwow to traditional really!
so everyone needs to agree.. but I suspect bare arms/even one though closer to our ancient traditions might be an insult at some powwows.
so we have to find out that kind of stuff too.
to our local powwow .. I made a regalia to honor one of my many times grandpa who was mostly known as cherokee. I just made a cloth dress/leather colored and a smooth shiny leather shawl, punched and feathered to look like male turtle shell sheild is decorated like one too….. but it is my leather shawl poncho style like of .and brown leather tall boots and turtle purse and earrings etc.
and John at saponi made me a gorgeous bone knife I wore in my shell belt. lots of copper too.
of course a turtle was the theme ‘turtle island’ etc . I did all that and have only have worn it twice.. because it is so not like everyone elses stuff..
but I did it for my own reasons.. family reasons not for anyone elses benefit in the first place.
but for clues for my kids and grandkids , if they forget the stories maybe they will think about those clothes and the stuff I made for me and them as clues .. you know.
the problem with the mixed cloth and leather is which group do you go in with … cloth or traditional or skin ?
so mixed stuff , it created a lot of questions.
so how much flesh is legal or not an insult?
Because trust us you dont’ want some of us ladies run around in real tradtional clothing.
so now what do you do and not standout like a wannabee but all I know for sure is this big momma ain’t wearing any cherokee tear dress either..look like a dang floral tent..rotf
I knew a lot of old stuff and stories and such ..but neither grandma knew about it , so I didint’ and dont know squat about ‘powwows’. still don’t .
but I love the Mix clothing I made, and I had read where Mo saponi indians at the time of the TOT were wearing a mix of cloth and leather and skins I did what I did .. loved it because it is personal to me though I bought the boots because I wanted tall boots . but it didn’t work with the program or divisions it seemed, so I didn’t know what to do about that little problem.
I was just curious. I haven’t seen many one-shoulder dresses or tops/skirts in any pow wow photos, and certainly never seen them at any pow wows in the west where I live. I saw a couple in photos of an Occaneechi pow wow, and the Wampanoag in the northeast seem to wear the one-shoulder look sometimes.
Is the one-shoulder look considered “not modest enough” for pow wows in the west? I’m preparing a regalia outfit for my family reunion presentation about our southeast indian ancestry and I’d like to wear what the early observers wrote about seeing us wear. I’m just nervous about looking “provocative” or “indecent” since I don’t see that look at modern pow wows (at least not in California). Concerned about standing out too much and being questioned about not being enrolled. Am I making sense or do I sound paranoid? My heart is really telling me to go “one-shoulder.”
By the way, I finished my first pair of moccs – – they rock!
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