Clothing/Cotume of Polynesia

Some may know that I adore costuming. I looked around and couldn't find a thread pertaining specifically to (vintage and earlier) Polynesian cultural dress, so...

I came across this site which had a page dedicated to pre-1940s pacific island clothing and costume.

All the photos, including this one:

are taken from 1914 Frederick O'Brien's book, White Shadows in the South Seas, and are all specifically Marquesan peoples.

MGM made a movie with the same title in the twenties

Thank you for your post, since BigBro chastised us to research our TiKi roots this surely qualifies. Knowing who, what, and how the people of TiKi were helps us know how to create or modern day TiKi. I did not know anything about the Marquesas islands and people until your post, so I looked it up. At the time of the pictures you show, the population was down as low as 2000 from over 100,000, it was governed by the French which may have had a influence on the clothes. Think not? Check her out;

[ Edited by: bananabobs 2008-07-01 07:02 ]

Marquesan society placed great emphasis on sexuality in both secular and religious spheres. Sexual prowess an important element of religious ritual and everyday life. Public sexual play was an important part of many ceremonies, particularly those concerning the fertility of the land, circumcision and the tattooing of young males. Sexual orgies were held to stimulate the ancestors' spirits to their own sexual activity, which in turn was believed to increase the fertility of the land.

[ Edited by: bananabobs 2008-07-01 07:02 ]

[ Edited by: bananabobs 2008-07-01 07:09 ]