The word Pareo is used for wraparound skirt in Tahiti (French Polynesia). It is similar to Indonesian sarong but it has not evolved from a sarong neither a sarong has evolved from pareo. Both have their own individual designs, a wrap with Indonesian design like batik is called a sarong while with traditional Tahitian design is called a pareo.
History:
Pareo is the traditional attire of Tahiti and in olden days it was made of ti leaf, banana leaf, lauhala leaf, hibiscus bark, coconut fiber, breadfruit (Ulu) bark, and mulberry bark. Ulu bark and Mulberry bark were most commonly used for making a fabric called 'tapa', which was made by beating the bark of the tree rigorously. The art of making tapa fabric is very labor intensive and the different layers of fabric are called 'ahu'.
In ancient Tahiti women wore pareo as a garment tied around the waist that was usually knee length. In those times they often went topless but when they came into contact with the western culture, they started tying it over one shoulder, leaving the other shoulder bare. This gave a more modest look to the attire.
The common daily wear clothes were generally brown in color because of the natural brown color of the bark of mulberry or banyan trees. For Special functions, celebrations or for people of high rank and royalty, beautiful white tapa fiber derived from the bark of ulu (breadfruit tree) was made.
The change from tapa fabric to other fabrics especially cotton was not sudden but a gradual process. They were introduced to Tahitian people by western explorers. But when the Christian missionaries arrived, they began to civilize the native island people and taught them to live modestly. It was then that good quality textiles replaced the textiles made from the bark of the tree. The modern day pareo came into being in the 20th century after the Second World War.
Design:
1. Traditional designs included freehand designs of woodcarving or prints tattooed by using leaves and flowers.
2. Modern Tahitian designs are of two types-
- Tattooed using leaves and flowers on the fabric
- Hand-dyed using stencils of designs with flowers and ferns.
The fabrics used for making a pareo is usually 2m in length and generally cotton is used for making this attire because it is very soft and comfortable. Silk and Rayon are also used for this purpose. Usually very bright colors are used in manufacturing this garment.
