Everyday wear of the South Pacific... "The Lavalava"

A lavalava is a rectangular shaped piece of cloth used as an everyday clothing item. The term is the short form of the Samoan words ”ie lavalava”, which means cloth that wraps around and is traditionally worn by most South Pacific nations.

This Pacific Island wrap is secured around the waist by knotting the two upper corners of the cloth. Generally, women wear ankle-length wraps while the male wrap often extends to the knees or mid-calf (depending on the occasion). Originally, the most prestigious wraps were made by wrapping the body in ”ie toga” fine mats made of pandanus leaves or ”siapo” tapa cloth pounded from paper mulberry or wild hibiscus bark.

Most men have specially tailored linen lavalava which are worn at special occasions or church. It extends to mid calf, often with pockets and ties or buckles. These wraps are always solid colours and are known as sulu (Fijian), ie faitaga (Samoan), or tupenu (Tongan). The formal, tailored linen "faitaga" originated with the Fijian noble Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna who introduced the buckled “sulu” to Fiji in 1920.

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