On the south east coast of Upolu Island lives an elderly woman with a unique knowledge and skill in weaving a traditional tapito.

A tapito is a traditionally woven mat that has various colourful patterns which originated from the village of Poutasi, Falealili. It is also considered a treasure that is presented as gifts by Poutasi villagers to its guests.

The President of the Women’s Committee of Poutasi Falealili, Mataomanu Meleisea Seti is known in her village for being the only woman that possesses knowledge in the making of the tapito.

She said that she was taught by women of her village who were part of a falelalaga in days gone by but have since passed away. 

The mother of nine decided to revive the tradition by weaving four tapito to sell at their women’s committee market day on Saturday. 

“It took me three days to weave one tapito but I am not well, I face problems with my legs but I still tried and overall, I made four for the market day,” she told the Samoa Observer.

The 80-year-old added that while she was weaving, “I did struggle a little because if the patterns do not stand out, I would do it again and maybe if I continued it, I would start to remember more knowledge of making these.” 

“For the tapito it is unique for its different patterns and colors, it can be any color. Other than gifting the tapito to honoured guests it is also used to decorate homes to welcome guests. 

“I sell one tapito for $80 for the large sized ones while the small ones can be $30.

“Being part of the market to promote our women’s products and creativity is very significant because it is about sharing ideas to economically empower them to support their support their families financially.”

She also said that she hopes to teach other women in her village the art of making tapito so that it can be passed down to the future generation to ensure that the ancient cultural knowledge is not forgotten.

“But I understand that most of the women have been more focused on weaving Samoa’s traditional fine mat because it was a directive from Government to help preserve Samoa’s national treasures," she added. 

When asked if she knew when their village first started weaving tapito she said that while growing up women in the village learnt it from their ancestors and it was passed down through the generations. 

Another representative of the Poutasi Women’s Committee, Pouliotaua Meleisea told this newspaper that it has been many years since they have seen a tapito in their village.

“But Mataomanu is the only woman in our village with the knowledge and skills to weave this treasure. The tapito is like a trademark or a treasure belonging to our village," she said. 

“We are grateful that it was through our market day that we were able to revive and sell this.”