Bag made from woven Pandarus, with two handles.
Pandanas trees grow easily in tropical and semi tropical areas of the world. The leaves are widely used in the Pacific islands to make every day and ceremonial items. The 15' pandanas tree has numerous stems each with a cluster of 6' long thin green pandanus leaves. The leaves are cut and placed in the sun to dry then boiled to bleach them white and make the manageable. During the boiling process it is possible to dye the leaves black by adding alternation branches of the dark green/purple coppermine leaf. Once cooked the pandanus leaf is scraped both sides to make it straight and pliable. Stored in tight coils they will keep for six months. Various sizes of mats and designs were woven for different events such as weddings, births and ceremonial occasions and with larger shapes and weaves used in the construction of houses, sails for canoes, and flooring for the home.
