Lavalavas

Just to prove that I'm not just trolling Apia looking for handsome carvers, I thought I'd include some photos of the family I met when I bought some of their lavalavas.

A lavalava is like a sarong.  It's just a simple piece of cloth - always 3 yards long.  It is used as clothing, primarily, but is also handy as a blanket for when it gets chilly, to wrap and carry bowls of food, to wrap up laundry and a hundred other uses.

I bought some of these for my friends as well.  I think they are the most beautiful and unique that I've seen in my two years here.  Plain white fabric is died in layers with different colors of ink, using a carved wooden boards to create the patterns.

The woman on the left makes the lavalavas.  Here's she was in the process of putting the first layer of color on.  She has a lot of family in the USA and hopes to visit one day.

Some of the finished products hanging up for sale.

Is there anything more beautiful than a Samoan teine?

I broke all cultural norms by bringing this guy my leftover fish and chips from lunch.  Children normally are fed last and receive the food not eaten by the parents, so they usually get the basics, not goodies.  Except on White Sunday, which is coming up soon.  That's the one day of the year when they are fed first and get all the good stuff.