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1886.1.255

Woven banana fibre sash known as a tor [ZM 6/6/2016]

On display

1886.1.255

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Collection type
Object
Description
Woven banana fibre sash known as a tor [ZM 6/6/2016]
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1878
Date collected
By 1878
Acquisition information
Transferred: 04/03/1886
Materials and processes
Material Banana Wood Plant, Material Pigment, Process Woven, Process Dyed
Dimensions
Width: max 135 mm, Length: max 1835 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1886.1.255
Research and responses

Related Documents File - Further information from Don Rubinstein from the University of Guam: 'Sash called "tol" or "Tor" worn by men, usually titled chiefs, made from the ... banana stalk, warp is mainly a deep red, weft is both dyed red (ground weave) and undyed (supplementary weft). Three sections of undyed warp tied in (knotted warp technique). Considerable fading of red dye on one side. Note that this object is not mentioned in Collectors VIII Ramsden [AP 21/7/99]

Examined on 5 July 2016 by Helen Alderson as PhD student from Cambridge University researching Micronesian loincloths who noted that these sashes can either be called dohr or tor. [ZM 30/8/2016]

Tor are discussed on page 100 of Barbara Wavell, Arts and Crafts of Micronesia Trading with Tradition, (Honolulu: Bess Press, 2010). The author notes: 'In Pohnpei, a finely woven textile called a tor was used as a sash mainly by high-ranking or prominent men. It was woven on a backstrap loom from banana or possibly hibiscus fiber...tor continued to be made into the first decade of the twentieth century. Early examples were said to have had rows of pink, white, and grey shell beads incorporated into the weaving...Later examples can be identified by the inclusion of western materials such as yearn into the weave. The sash is generally a dark red with intricately patterned stripes at intervals.' [ZM 30/8/2016]

Search terms: Clothing Textile, Status, Sash Belt, Waist Ornament, Status Object

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