Tivaevae

File:Woman sewing a tivaevae, Rarotonga.jpg]]

Tivaevae or tivaivai ({{langx|rar|tīvaevae}}) in the Cook Islands, tifaifai in French Polynesia, is a form of artistic quilting traditionally done by Polynesian women. The word literally means "patches",{{cite book|author=Katherine Anne Giuffre|title=Collective Creativity: Art and Society in the South Pacific|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zObDf1mQj20C&pg=PA30|year=2009|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-4094-9168-2|pages=30–}} in reference to the pieces of material sewn together. The tivaevae are either made by one woman or can be created in groups of women called vainetini. The vainetini use this time together to bond, sing and catch up on village news.

Traditional uses

Tivaevae are often given on very special occasions either to important visitors, as birthday and wedding gifts or used to cover the body of a loved one who has died. They are often displayed during important events like the traditional boys' hair-cutting ceremonies, birthdays and weddings.{{cite book|author=Anita Herle|title=Pacific Art: Persistence, Change, and Meaning|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZgXLIe1lojkC&pg=RA1-PA142|date=January 2002|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-2556-0|pages=1–}}

By custom, a tivaevae is not measured by monetary value nor production cost. Its value is said to be reflected by the love and patience that the creator(s) have put into making a stunning work of art. Cook Islands women often described their tivaevae as being "something from the heart".{{cite book|author=Boundless|title=Art History, Volume II: 1400-present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ra7pAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA418|date=23 August 2013|publisher=Boundless|isbn=978-1-940464-26-8|pages=418–}} Artist Vereara Maeva-Taripo has described tivaevae as central to the identity of Cook Islands women.{{Cite book|last=Rongokea|first=Lynnsay|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48567043|title=The art of tivaevae : traditional Cook Islands quilting|date=2001|publisher=University of Hawaiʻi Press|others=John Daley|isbn=0-8248-2502-0|location=Honolulu|pages=49–54|language=en|chapter=Vereara Maeva|oclc=48567043}}

Tivaevae are rarely seen for sale on the islands. The Atiu Fibre Arts Studio on Atiu is the only place in the Cook Islands where they are commercially produced and available for purchase.{{cite book|author=Errol Hunt|title=Rarotonga & the Cook Islands|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5akbBi6sso8C&pg=PA49|year=2003|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74059-083-9|pages=49–}}

History

The tivaevae's origins are uncertain. Rongokea (1992) believes it to be an imported art form, and cites two sets of Christian missionaries in the 19th century as possible origins. While it is known that these female missionaries taught the indigenous women how to sew, it is not certain that they taught them the craft of quilting or making bed coverlets. The appliqué style of tivaevae quilting appears to have been influence by Pennsylvanian German scherenschnitte or Victorian folded paper-cutting traditions.{{cite book|author1=Brij V. Lal|author2=Kate Fortune|title=The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T5pPpJl8E5wC&pg=PA551|date=January 2000|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-2265-1|pages=551–}} Multiple origins and influences thus seem likely.

As an art form, tivaevae replaced barkcloth production in Tahiti and the Cook Islands by the late 19th century: the function and nature of barkcloth production was transferred to tivaevae.{{cite book|author=Karen Stevenson|title=The Frangipani is Dead: Contemporary Pacific Art in New Zealand, 1985-2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WUGQiQekULcC&pg=PA88|year=2008|publisher=Huia Publishers|isbn=978-1-86969-325-1|pages=88–}} Vereara Maeva-Taripo{{Cite web |date=2020-08-18 |title='Think wider, think beyond your horizon' |url=https://www.cookislandsnews.com/local/think-wider-think-beyond-your-horizon/ |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=Cook Islands News |language=en}} and Tungane Broadbent are important tivaevae artists of today from the Cook Islands,{{Cite web |date=2022-12-03 |title=Aotearoa Art Fair: A celebration of Pacific art |url=https://www.cookislandsnews.com/internal/national/features/culture/art/aotearoa-art-fair-a-celebration-of-pacific-art/ |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=Cook Islands News |language=en}} and both artists have been displayed in Queensland Art Gallery{{Cite web |date=2014-11-11 |title=Tivaevae |url=https://archive.tautai.org/tivaevae/ |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=TAUTAI - GUIDING PACIFIC ARTS |language=en-US}} and are in the collection in Cook Islands National Museum{{Cite web |date=2023-07-15 |title=Tivaivai exhibit showcases masterful needlework |url=https://www.cookislandsnews.com/uncategorised/internal/features/art/tivaivai-exhibit-showcases-masterful-needlework/ |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=Cook Islands News |language=en}} and Queensland Art Gallery,{{Cite web |title=BROADBENT, Tungane {{!}} QAGOMA Collection Online |url=https://collection.qagoma.qld.gov.au/creators/broadbent-tungane |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=collection.qagoma.qld.gov.au}} as well as Christchurch Art Gallery.{{Cite web |title=Kaute (Hibiscus) |url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/collection/2022268/tungane-broadbent/kaute-hibiscus |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz}}

References

External links

[https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/search/tivaevae/results Tivaevae in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa]
[https://www.ck/tivaevae.htm Tivaevae - Cook Islands communal art at the www.ck site]

Category:Culture of the Cook Islands

Category:Culture of Tahiti

Category:Quilting

Tivaevae

Traditional uses

History

References

Further reading

External links