Tupenu

Last updated
Children dressed in their best for a church festival. The boys are wearing tupenu and ta'ovala. Tupenu01.JPG
Children dressed in their best for a church festival. The boys are wearing tupenu and ta'ovala.

Tupenu is the Tongan term for a wrapped garment also called a sarong, lungi, or lava-lava, worn through much of South Asia, Southeast Asia, Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa and Oceania. It is analogous to the kilt worn in Scotland.

The tupenu worn by women is wide enough to cover the body between the waist and ankles, and long enough to wrap securely around the waist. The standard width of cloth yardage (45 inches) is generally wide enough, so a tupenu can be made in a matter of minutes by cutting and wrapping cloth from the bolt. Women wear a knee length dress, or kofu, over the tupenu. On dress occasions, women wear matching kofu and tupenu, sewn from the same yardage. Fancy tupenus are often slightly tailored, with darts sewn into the top, so that they will fit the body more closely. On ceremonial occasions, women wear a ta'ovala, or finely woven pandanus mat, over the kofu and tupenu. The kiekie, a kind of grass or string skirt, is an acceptable, comfortable alternative to the ta'ovala on most occasions. [1]

Women dressed for a funeral, cooking for the mourners Tupenu02.JPG
Women dressed for a funeral, cooking for the mourners

The tupenu worn by men is wide enough to cover the body between the waist and knees, and long enough to wrap securely around the waist. For work and casual wear, any piece of cloth will do. On dress occasions, men will wear tupenu tailored like Western wrap skirts and made from suit material. These tupenu coordinate with Western suit-jackets. Usually the formal tupenu will be covered with a ta'ovala worn as a sign of respect. The man's ta'ovala is analogous to the Western necktie.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loincloth</span> Cloth worn around the loins

A loincloth is a one-piece garment, either wrapped around itself or kept in place by a belt. It covers the genitals and sometimes the buttocks. Loincloths which are held up by belts or strings are specifically known as breechcloth or breechclout. Often, the flaps hang down in front and back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skirt</span> Clothing worn from the waist or hips

A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards. Originally made for both genders, it is currently made mainly for females.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat</span> Warming outerwear garment for men and women

A coat is typically an outer garment for the upper body, worn by any gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front, and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a belt, or a combination of some of these. Other possible features include collars, shoulder straps, and hoods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suit</span> Western business attire of matching jacket and trousers

A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of trousers. It is currently considered semi-formal wear or business wear in contemporary Western dress codes, however when the suit was originally developed it was considered an informal or more casual option compared to the prevailing clothing standards of aristocrats and businessmen. The lounge suit originated in 19th-century Britain as sportswear and British country clothing, which is why it was seen as more casual than citywear at that time, with the roots of the suit coming from early modern Western Europe formal court or military clothes. After replacing the black frock coat in the early 20th century as regular daywear, a sober one-coloured suit became known as a lounge suit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarong</span> Traditional garment of the Malay Archipelago and the Pacific Islands

A sarong or a sarung is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist, worn in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Northern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric often employs woven plaid or checkered patterns or may be brightly colored by means of batik or ikat dyeing. Many modern sarongs have printed designs, often depicting animals or plants. Different types of sarongs are worn in different places in the world, notably the lungi in the Indian subcontinent and the izaar in the Arabian Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mundu</span> Traditional draped garment for the lower body, worn in South Asia and the Maldives

The mundu is a garment worn around the waist in the Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, the Lakshadweep archipelago, and the Indian Ocean island nation of Maldives. It is closely related to sarongs like dhotis and lungis. It is normally woven in cotton and coloured white or cream. The colour is dependent on whether the cotton is bleached or unbleached. A khadaṟ muṇṭŭ is made using handlooms. When unbleached, the mundu is called nēriyatu. In modern times, two types of mundu are prevalent—the single and the double. A single mundu is wrapped only once around the waist, while the double one is folded in half before wearing. A mundu is usually starched before use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lavalava</span> Rectangular clothing traditionally worn by Oceanic peoples

A lavalava, sometime written as lava-lava, also known as an 'ie, short for 'ie lavalava, is an article of daily clothing traditionally worn by Polynesians and other Oceanic peoples. It consists of a single rectangular cloth worn similarly to a wraparound skirt or kilt. The term lavalava is both singular and plural in the Samoan language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Tonga</span>

The Tongan archipelago has been inhabited for perhaps 3,000 years, since settlement in late Lapita times. The culture of its inhabitants has surely changed greatly over this long time period. Before the arrival of European explorers in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Tongans were in frequent contact with their nearest Oceanic neighbors, Fiji and Samoa. In the 19th century, with the arrival of Western traders and missionaries, Tongan culture changed dramatically. Some old beliefs and habits were thrown away and others adopted. Some accommodations made in the 19th century and early 20th century are now being challenged by changing Western civilization. Hence Tongan culture is far from a unified or monolithic affair, and Tongans themselves may differ strongly as to what it is "Tongan" to do, or not do. Contemporary Tongans often have strong ties to overseas lands. They may have been migrant workers in New Zealand, or have lived and traveled in New Zealand, Australia, or the United States. Many Tongans now live overseas, in a Tongan diaspora, and send home remittances to family members who prefer to remain in Tonga. Tongans themselves often have to operate in two different contexts, which they often call anga fakatonga, the traditional Tongan way, and anga fakapālangi, the Western way. A culturally adept Tongan learns both sets of rules and when to switch between them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belted plaid</span> Large piece of fabric wrapped around the body, loosely gathered and belted at the waist

The belted plaid is a large blanket-like piece of fabric which is wrapped around the body with the material pleated or, more accurately, loosely gathered and secured at the waist by means of a belt. Typically, a portion of the belted plaid hangs down to about the knees or ankles with the rest of the material being wrapped up around the upper body in a variety of ways and pinned or otherwise secured to keep it in place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serbian traditional clothing</span>

Serbian traditional clothing, also called as Serbian national costume or Serbian dress, refers to the traditional clothing worn by Serbs living in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and the extended Serbian diaspora communities in Austria, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, North Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, United States, etc. Like any traditional dress of a nation or culture, it has been lost to the advent of urbanization, industrialization, and the growing market of international clothing trends. The wide range of regional folk costumes show influence from historical Austrian, Hungarian, German, Italian, and Ottoman Turkish presence. Nonetheless, the costumes are still a pinnacle part of Serbian folk culture. From the 19th century and onwards, Serbs have adopted western-styled clothing. This change has started in larger settlements such as cities and towns, although it was not uncommon to see rural women in traditional working costumes all the way until the end of 1970s. Today, these national costumes are only worn by some elderly in rural areas but are most often worn with connection to special events and celebrations, mostly at ethnic festivals, religious and national holidays, weddings, tourist attractions, and by dancing groups who dance the traditional Serbian kolo, or circle dance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiekie (clothing)</span>

A kiekie is a Tongan dress, an ornamental girdle around the waist, mainly worn by women on semiformal occasions, but nowadays also sometimes by men. At highly formal occasions both gender will settle for a taʻovala. At casual occasions no girdle is needed for any gender, although women may continue wearing a kiekie even then, as it is considered an easy sitting, nice looking decoration, with which one can show off..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taʻovala</span> Tongan traditional woven garment

A taʻovala is an article of Tongan dress, a mat wrapped around the waist, worn by men and women, at all formal occasions, much like the tie for men in the Western culture. The ta'ovala is also commonly seen among the Fijian Lau Islands, and Wallis island, both regions once heavily influenced by Tongan hegemony and cultural diffusion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaysian cultural outfits</span> Malaysian clothing

Pakaian is the term for clothing in Malaysia's national language. It is referring to things to wear such as shirts, pants, shoes etc. Since Malaysia is a multicultural nation: Malay, Chinese, Indian and hundreds of other indigenous groups of Malay Peninsula and Borneo, each has its own traditional and religious articles of clothing all of which are gender-specific and may be adapted to local influences and conditions. Previously, traditional clothes were worn daily. However, by excluding Baju Melayu, Baju Kurung many are now only worn on special occasions such as marriage ceremonies and cultural events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Men's skirts</span> Skirt-like garments worn by men and boys

Outside Western cultures, men's clothing commonly includes skirts and skirt-like garments; however, in the Americas and much of Europe, skirts are usually seen as feminine clothing and socially stigmatized for men and boys to wear, despite having done so for centuries. While there are exceptions, most notably the cassock and the kilt, these are not really considered 'skirts' in the typical sense of fashion wear; rather they are worn as cultural and vocational garments. People have variously attempted to promote the fashionable wearing of skirts by men in Western culture and to do away with this gender distinction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khmer traditional clothing</span> Traditional clothing of the Khmer people

Khmer traditional clothing refers to the traditional styles of dress worn by the Khmer people throughout history. Tracing their origins back to the early Common Era, the customary styles of dress worn by Khmer people predate the indianization of Southeast Asia. The evolution of these clothing customs can be traced through archaeological artifacts from the 6th century to the post-Angkorian period, evolving from the simple pre-Angkorian Sampot to vibrant and intricately embroidered silk garments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1100–1200 in European fashion</span> Clothing in the period 1100-1200

Twelfth century European fashion was simple in cut and differed only in details from the clothing of the preceding centuries, starting to become tighter and more similar for men and women as the century went on, which would continue in the 13th century. Men wore knee-length tunics for most activities, and men of the upper classes wore long tunics, with hose and mantle or cloaks. Women wore long tunics or gowns. A close fit to the body, full skirts, and long flaring sleeves were characteristic of upper-class fashion for both men and women.

A man's suit of clothes, in the sense of a lounge, office, business, dinner or dress suit, is a set of garments which are crafted from the same cloth. This article discusses the history of the lounge suit, often called a business suit when featuring dark colors and a conservative cut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrap (clothing)</span> Simple length of fabric worn as clothing

In the context of clothing, a wrap is

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traditional Thai clothing</span> National clothing of Thailand

Traditional Thai clothing refers to the traditional styles of dress worn by the Thai people. It can be worn by men, women, and children. Traditional clothing for Thai women usually consists of a pha nung or a chong kraben, a blouse, and a sabai. Northern and northeastern women may wear a sin instead of a pha nung and a chong kraben with either a blouse or a suea pat. Chut thai for men includes a chong kraben or pants, a Raj pattern shirt, with optional knee-length white socks and a sabai. Chut thai for northern Thai men is composed of a sado, a white Manchu-styled jacket, and sometimes a khian hua. In formal occasions, people may choose to wear a so-called formal Thai national costume.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fashion and clothing in the Philippines</span> Fashion and folk costume of the Philippines

The clothing style and fashion sense of the Philippines in the modern-day era have been influenced by the indigenous peoples, Chinese waves of immigration, the Spaniards, and the Americans, as evidenced by the chronology of events that occurred in Philippine history. At present, Filipinos conform their way of dressing based on classic fashion or prevailing fashion trends.

References

  1. "Cultural Practices & Protocols" (PDF). Ministry for Pacific Peoples. Retrieved 12 Nov 2021.