Ngatu

Ngatu

This information report is on Ngatu. This information report will be covering how to make a Ngatu and its significance.

I’m going to start off with a question… What is a Ngatu? Ngatu is the Tongan name given to the Tapa cloth. A Ngatu is a type of cloth/sheet made from the bark of a tutu (mulberry) tree.

Ngatu making is the job for the woman of Tonga. How does one make a Ngatu you ask? It takes a large group of people to do so. In Tonga, they use tutu trees (or mulberry trees) to make the Ngatu. First of all, they peel the bark from the tree and soak it in water for a while, then they take it out and beat it was a stick called ike on another larger stick called tutua. The soaked and beaten bark of the tutu tree is called Feta’aki. They combine 2 feta’aki together and start beating it again. Every woman in the group has a certain length of Feta’aki to make before their next gathering. Once everyone has made their Feta’aki, they bring it to the gathering and combine it together to make one Ngatu cloth.

Ngatu is one of Tonga’s most important treasures, it is an age old tradition and has been an iconic symbol for the Pacific culture. It has been treasured from generation to generation. Ngatu was similar to money back before money was introduced. It is used for many ceremonies such as the birth of a newborn to swaddle them, it lines the bed of a newly wed couple on their first night together, and it is wrapped around a loved one in death. It is also used for birthdays.

This information report has covered what a Ngatu is, how it is made and what its significance is. I hope you’ve learned how important the Ngatu is to the Tongan culture.