Charter School in Chuuk Aims to Revive Loom Weaving

An innovative Charter school is reintroducing old cultural skills to local students on Weno, capital of the most populous state in the Federated States of Micronesia.

A distinctive form of backstrap loom weaving was once ubiquitous across the Caroline Islands, today’s Federated States of Micronesia. Now the intricate work of crafting these textiles endures only in the small outer islands strung distantly between Chuuk and Yap. The Akoyikoyi School is looking to change that, hoping to bring loom weaving back to Chuuk Lagoon.

The effort was made possible in part by the donation of a handcrafted warp board, backstrap looms, peripheral weaving tools, and thread from Habele. Funding was generously provided by the Matson Foundation of Hawaii.

Akoyikoyi is a tuition-free charter school accredited by the Chuuk State Department of Education. Community involvement is an important component of Akoyikoyi school so parents are required to attend PTA meetings to stay informed and involved in their childrens’ education. The school combines both Chuukese and English native speaking staff who are needed for proper bilingual instruction and cross-cultural awareness.

Habele is a nonprofit, established by former Peace Corps Volunteers, that works across Micronesia to serve students and schools. Habele’s support of cultural skills developed in Yap from its sponsorship of after school mentorship programs using traditional techniques, such as carving and weaving, to imbue students with a sense of accomplishment and community participation.

Young woman loom weavingin the Outer Islands of Yap, where the practice remains common.

Aware of Habele’s WeavingConnections program, which supports Outer Island weavers who have migrated to the United States, Akoyikoyi asked Habele for a loom of the sort still used in the Western Caroline Islands.

“This school year we started a traditional skills class,” explained Clark Graham, of Akoyikoyi. “The students are learning to weave coconut fronds for roofing. Plans call for them to learn how to weave other things, including coconut baskets to carry food and also the round basket used to carry breadfruit.

Portions of looms and tools designed by Outer Islanders of Yap, fabricated by Habele and sent to Akoyikoyi School in Chuuk.

He explained that having “a tyr (Chuukese for ‘loom’) would be another step in the learning process allowing participating students to get more in touch with their traditional arts.”

A personal connection adds further significance to the project. Graham’s son Curt’s “paternal great grandmother was the last woman in Penia to use a tyr. “When she died, the loom was placed in her grave,” recounts Graham “That marked the end of such weaving. “

Penia is a village on the northeast shore of Weno. This timeline of weaving’s decline in the Chuuk Lagoon appears consistent with published reports. In his widely cited “Material Culture of Truk,” American Anthropologist Frank M. Lebar observed that by his 1947 fieldwork “weaving had all but disappeared on Truk.” LeBar identified only eight older women among his interviewees on Romonum, a lagoon island, who “knew some or all of the processes of weaving.”

“Its great to be a small part of this,” explained Habele Founder Neil Mellen, himself a former Peace Corps Volunteer who taught in the Outer Islands of Yap. “The credit goes to the educators at Akoyikoyi, the weavers from Yap’s Outer Islands who worked with Habele to document the weaving equipment, and the Matson Foundation who had the generosity to pay for the raw materials and shipping.”

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Micronesian Looms: Weaving Connections in the US (5)

This is the fifth in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here.

Creation of Website Content

The WeavingConnections.org domain was purchased and a draft website laid out. The site was designed to offer general context on the culture of weaving within the FAS, firsthand insights to the importance women placed on weaving, a detailed accounting of all the relevant equipment and weaving tools, as well as simple, photo-based instructions for the fabrication of these items.

Based on suggestions from weavers within the US mainland, the site would also include information guiding weavers to vendors that offer the correct thread for this style of weaving. Photographs were again solicited from former Peace Corps, collectors, and anthropologists to compliment some of the more contemporary graphics with historical ones.

Launch of Website

WeavingConnections.org was launched in a beta form in December of 2020. Access was limited to a core group of contributors and participants who provided feedback, identified shortcomings, and developed revisions.

Publication and Communications Outreach

WeavingConnections.org was officially launched in February of 2021. Earned, shared, and sponsored content on social media were used to raise awareness and drive initial traffic. These included posts of participants and contributors weaving, wearing Weaving Connections t-shirts, and/or showcasing warping boards, looms, and weaving tools either provided by Habele or made with Habele’s fabrication guides. In addition to efforts through social media, content was developed and distributed through the Habele blog as well as the K-Press newspaper.

Unanticipated Needs and Challenges

-Propriety of Traditional Skills

With a few outspoken exceptions, weavers made clear their strong support for the development and proliferation of guides to create weaving materials and equipment while simultaneously expressing equally passionate reservation about the documentation, publication, and distribution of guides to the practices of weaving.

The insightful analogy made by one weaver was that the warping board, frame loom, and weaving tools constituted the “hardware” upon which all weaving is based, and which must be available to as many actual and prospective weavers as possible. However, the practical applied skills of using this hardware to weave in the uniquely Remathau ways, the proverbial “software,” was not something weavers felt was appropriate to document and distribute.

While the context, concerns, and motivations are nuanced, broadly the reservation is founded on: 1. a concern that non-Remathau individuals would begin to practice – and potentially profit from – this very specific and unique form of weaving; and 2. that the oral transmission and in-person mentoring that unites generations across familial, village and islands lines would be lost, rendering the preservation and sustainment of the weaving process culturally hollow.

Though an outspoken minority initially encouraged Habele to document and distribute guides to the weaving, the larger consensus was agreed that this was not prudent, despite the fact that Habele’s application for the TAP grant specifically articulated out initial intention to “…publish videos detailing key aspects of fabrication of loom and basics of assembly and usage to compliment published specifications.” It was this “usage” that our partners and clients requested we interpret to mean installation and setup of the equipment, rather than the processes of warping and weaving, which they were passing along in-person and through video chats but did not want Habele to record and publish.

-Need for Looms among single women, and residents of GU and HI

The project proposal envisioned development and publication of a design guide, premised on the understanding that while migrants on Guam and Hawaii lived in or near extended family groups and had access to looms, migrants in the mainland US were more dispersed, but living in nuclear families (including males) who could build the boards, looms, and tools.

As noted above, Habele received a high volume of requests from younger women in Guam and Hawaii who indicated there were no relative adult males in proximity who could build them a loom. Habele also received many requests from women of all ages in the US mainland who similarly sought looms, citing a lack of male relatives within driving distance who could assemble one. While Remathau women are eminently cable of fabricating loom frames and warp boards themselves -as was clearly demonstrated throughout this project in the prototyping phase- the participating women reported without exception strong desire to adhere to the traditional distribution of labor across gender lines for the building of weaving equipment.

Though the basic premise of publishing a simple design guide was clearly working, as evidenced by feedback posted online, emails, and social media messages, it has become clear that migrants in Guam and Hawaii face many of the same obstacles as migrants in the mainland United States to sustaining and preserving their weaving traditions.

-Balance of Ease to Build and Compactness

As noted above, there is an intrinsic tension between the design and fabrication of equipment that is simple and inexpensive and those designs which are easier to transport and store. Ease of transportation and storage remains an important priority because many would-be weavers have needed to have their boards and frames fabricated by Habele and its volunteers, or other off-site relatives, and then shipped to them. These women often experience cramped living spaces and periodic relocations, making compactness and transportability of looms and boards very desirable.

-Weaving Swords

Fifteen distinct weaving tools, or peripherals, are traditionally used in in Remathau weaving. Habele was able to provide practical guidance for the purchase, fabrication, or substitution of all but one of these tools.

A weaving sword is also known as a batten or beater. In both Ulithian and Woleaian it is called the hapop. In practice, it defines and extends the sheds to allow the shuttle to pass, and it is also used to tighten and beat weft as woven.

It is a single edge shaped wooden tool that averages three feet long, 2 ¼ inches wide, and ¾ inch thick on the flat edge. The sword must be at least several inches longer than the total width of the warp so that it extends outside of the warp during weaving. There is a subtle curvature to the top face when the sword lies flat.

Weaving swords are traditionally made from very hard woods, which is essential for having a sword of sufficient weight for creating the traditional warp-faced fabric, while maintaining a sufficiently sharp edge. Specifically, they are crafted of ironwood, the Casuarina litorea L, known locally to the Remathau as weighu.

While swords can be made of store-bought hardwoods, such as oak, these lack the weight and density weavers require. Oak sold at home improvement stores tends to be red oak (Quercus rubra). The densest form of oak, Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana), can be purchased in the US but is not often found commercially, and only rarely in boards of appropriate size.

The only woods commonly found in North America which truly approach the hardness of ironwood are Black Ironwood (Krugiodendron ferreum), Desert Ironwood (Olneya tesota) and Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus spp), but these are either cost or shape prohibitive.

This being the case, Habele is not able to provide much practical guidance to weavers in the mainland US, all of whom must have a sword to weave. The directions currently posted on WeavingConnections.org reflect this:

“…Remathau in the mainland US seeking a weaving sword should look to friends and relatives back home to send them a hapop or contact Habele for help. Alternatively, they may try to fabricate an ersatz sword using oak, but will need to use Live Oak, also called Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) to ensure a sufficient density.”

This is the fifth in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here.

Micronesian Looms: Weaving Connections in the US (3)

This is the third in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here

Development of Initial Prototypes
First, Habele fabricated a scale model, and then a full-size initial specimen, of a warping board and a framed loom was fabricated. Similarly, each of the peripheral weaving tools was obtained, crafted, or assembled. This allowed the master weaver, now joined by a former Peace Corps Volunteer skilled in both Carolinian and Western-style weaving, to begin testing the models.

 

Habele and our craftsman carefully observed and documented the weaving process in an effort to identify the practical purpose for each piece of equipment and material identifying each context of how -and if- substitutions or alterations could be made that would not impair, and possibly improve, the weaver’s work.

 

An initial round of changes and improvements were made that allowed for stronger joints, simpler cuts, and the use of smaller (less expensive) boards for the frame. Similar adjustments were made to the board design, as well as revisions to account for varied weaver preferences in the use of the warping board on either a floor or a table top. Each of the fifteen peripheral components, or “weaving tools”, were either crafted or purchased, and substitutions, modifications, and improvements were tested by the weavers.
Review and Refinement of Designs
At this point, there emerged a bifurcation in the scope and purpose of the design:

 

On one hand, very simple designs would allow FAS migrants within the US to produce the board, frame, and most peripherals necessary for weaving themselves, even with a limited budget and few woodworking tools;

 

On the other hand, improvements to design would allow large pieces, notably the loom frame and the warping board, to be easily collapsed for storage and transportation. These were significant attributes for weavers living in more crowded housing situations and moving with some regularity (both important considerations for our target audience). A strong preference was voiced by many weavers in all locales for these traits, but the use of hinges, clasps, and threaded studs with removable wingnuts added complexity to the building of the equipment. This was at odds with our goal to simplify that process.
Broadly, Habele adopted a two-track response. Some of the initial prototypes were retrofitted for easier transportation and storage, and some of the newer prototypes were fabricated with these characteristics from the start. The designs for the fixed, standard models were revised slightly to allow for modifications at any point, allowing the builder to choose the level of complexity based on budget and access to tools and equipment.

 

This is the third in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here

Micronesian Looms: Weaving Connections in the US (1)

Micronesian Weaving of Lavalava Skirts on Backstrap LoomThis is the first in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here

Framing the Problem

Though loom weaving of skirts is central to daily life in the Caroline Islands, few FAS women who come to United States can bring or obtain, a working backstrap loom appropriate to this weaving style. This severs the centuries-long tradition of passing cultural skills from mother to daughter and aunt to niece. Additionally, because weaving and wearing these skirts is necessary within the local customs and inter-island relationships of the Caroline Islands, women who do not learn these skills are disadvantaged when they return to the FAS.

In partnership with women’s and community-based organizations within the FAS, as well as with support of US-based anthropologists, Habele planned with weavers and craftsmen in both the US and the FAS to create and distribute simple instructions for the fabrication of traditional back-strap looms among migrants in the United States. These instructions were intended to assist FAS migrants in utilizing accessible materials found within the US as substitutes for traditional ones.

Once simple, actionable, and accurate guides were created, Habele intended to use these guides to create looms as a proof of concept, and provide them to mentors in the United States who can teach weaving skills to younger FAS migrants and their daughters.

Habele further intended to develop, publish, and distribute detailed guides for assembly of looms from the published specifications for FAS citizens in the US. It was anticipated this might further entail development of ready-to-assemble kits for those with limited access to tools needed to fabricate looms. In September of 2020, Habele was awarded a grant by Office of Insular Affairs, to implement the project.

Literature and Collection Review

Habele began with a thorough analysis of the limited number of references to the design and use of Caroline Island backstrap looms in published academic studies, books, and online museum and archive collections. In most cases there were brief, paragraph-length mentions of the social and cultural significance of woven skirts situated in larger treatments of the arts and crafts of the Micronesian region. Alternatively, several brief mentions of Carolinian weaving practices and equipment were found in larger studies dealing with looms in a more general regional or global sense.

A very small number of publications were identified that dealt in depth with the skirts produced on Carolinian backstrap looms, but these made little mention of the specific materials and tools required for fabrication, focusing rather on the finished garment and its social context and significance. Two looms were identified in museum collections, as were a handful of peripheral weaving tools, but little context or analysis was provided beyond names and dates of artifact collection.

Community and Returned Peace Corps Input

Habele solicited photographs, drawings, and videos directly from weavers in Yap State, those who have relocated elsewhere within the FSM, migrants who have moved to Guam and Hawaii, as well as Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who lived and served in Yap State. Requests were also sent to collectors and anthropologists. These requests resulted in many photos and videos submitted, as well as a few additional leads on relevant literature.

Weaver and Carver Engagement

A master weaver from the Island of Fais, and her husband, a master carver and navigator from the Atoll of Lamotrek who is an adjunct professor at the University of Guam, travelled to Columbia, South Carolina, to serve as technical leads for the project. During the course of their travel and quarantines, Habele contacted additional weavers in the Outer Islands, Yap Proper, Guam, and Hawaii through mail, email, and social media to solicit further design ideas and photographs of specific variables in the fabrication of loom frames and warping boards (used to prepare thread for weaving), which initial reviews identified as important characteristics.

This is the first in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here

“Weaving Connections” supports Micronesian Weavers in US Mainland

Beautiful loom-woven textiles of Micronesia display an artistry and technical virtuosity unrivaled elsewhere in the Pacific. Chief among them is the lavalava, a woven skirt from the Outer Islands of Yap State, situated in the Western Caroline Islands.

A new website aims to ensure this important cultural skill is preserved among weavers who have moved far from home.

Weaving these skirts requires tremendous skill, work and patience. It also requires a special type of backstrap loom. The size and weight of these items are such that few women who move off island for health, education, or employment are able to bring a loom with them.

Many migrants are young women, who depart the islands to further their education at an age by which they may not have completely mastered weaving skills. Once in the United States they are often in proximity to other Outer Islanders with expertise, but who similarly lack looms. It is at this point –when young women who lack weaving skills arrive in the US, or women who can weave but lack access to looms give birth to daughters in the US- that the link in transmission of weaving skills is fatally severed.

Habele’s WeavingConnections.org was created to help sustain the tradition among migrants in the mainland US. The site offers context on the lavalava and the cultural tradition in which it is situated. The project provides details about the parts of the loom used to weave lavalavas. Most importantly, Weaving Connections offers simple Do-It-Yourself instructions for Remathau in the mainland US to make looms from easily obtainable materials.

“The site is a labor of love,” explained Habele Founder Neil Mellen. “So many passionate skilled women in the Outer Islands, Yap, Guam, Hawaii and the mainland have given generously of their time and expertise. It is clear to them all how fragile the transmission of these skills really is as Micronesian migrants fan out far from their home islands.”

Weaving Connections” is an initiative of the Habele Outer Island Education Fund, a nonprofit established by former Peace Corps who served in Micronesia. Since 2006, Habele has provided direct support to students, schools and communities across the FSM through book donations, tuition scholarships, high school robotics and the support of traditional mentorship programs.