tappa

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris

n.


South-sea Island word. A nativecloth made from the bark of the Paper-mulberry, Broussonetiapapyrifera, Benth.

1886. `Art journal: Exhibition Supplement,' p. 24:

«The Tappa, or native cloth [of Fiji], made from the bark of atree. . . Has been extensively used in the draping of thecourt.»

1888. H. S. Cooper, `The Islands of the Pacific,' p. 9:

«Tappa, a native cloth of spotless white, made from the barkof the mulberry-tree.'