Tivaivai - traditionally Cook Islands

What are they?

Tivaivai can be considered ceremonial cloths. The making of tivaivai, similar to cotton quilts, may be seen as the most important art and craft skill still practiced in the Cook Islands.
Set-up for a traditional haircutting ceremony with tivaivai in the background

Tivaivai replaced tapa (bark cloth), and, to a certain extent, woven mats in traditional ceremonies. Tivaivai are the most valued treasure in every household. They are not often for sale, that's why Atiu Fibre Arts Studio has specialized on making them for you.

The Cook Islands are a popular destination for romantic wedding ceremonies. How about connecting to Cook Islands tradition with a custom-made tivaivai as wedding gift, or for the renewal of vows? A unique present for a major birthday? Or just remembering your best holiday ever with a special commission?

Apart from serving as gifts connecting valued friends and family members, tivaivai decorate private homes and are used in functions such as baptisms, hair cutting ceremonies, weddings, and the unveiling of headstones. They even accompany the dead family members into their graves.

On Atiu and other outer islands of the Cook Islands, most women still sew at least one tivaivai a year to be well equipped with gifts dedicated to their children, husband, family members and friends. It is believed that the making of tivaivai was introduced to Atiu women in the early decades of the twentieth century. However, the first record of introduction of quilt making to Polynesia is from the Hawaiian Islands in 1820. Although sometimes referred to as quilts, tivaivai usually consist of only two layers of cotton fabric without padding or quilting.

There are three different kinds of tivaivai

Tivaivai taorei ~ (pronounce tah-oray)
is the most precious kind of tivaivai. A standard double bed cover is pieced together of approximately 15,000 to 32,000 fabric squares no bigger than 1" to 1.5" (2.5 cm to 3.75 cm) forming the most intricate and colourful mosaic patterns. It used to be a tivaivai taorei that accompanied a close family member into the grave. According to some sources, the only places in the world where these bed covers are made traditionally are the Cook and Society Islands! Though formerly hand-pieced by a group of 8 women, these days they are mostly machine pieced if made at all. The detail above shows a detail of a machine-pieced tivaivai taorei.

Tivaivai manu ~ (pronounce mah-nu)
consist of 2 layers of contrasting, uni-coloured fabric. The top layer is folded in fourths or eighths, cut out snowflake fashion and hand or machine stitched to the background. There are variations of more than one colour for the pattern, many variations of how the pattern is arranged on the background and several different stitches to sew it on. The designing and cutting requires great skill and is therefore mainly entrusted to specialists called taunga (pronounce tah-oongah).

Tivaivai tataura ~ (pronounce tah-taoo-rah)
combines appliqué and hand embroidery. Mainly floral designs are richly decorated with an extraordinary variety of most intricate stitches and then applied on to a plain background. They are designed and cut by a taunga (expert) and often sewn by a group of women to speed up the very time consuming handwork. The pattern is usually symmetrical. Tivaivai tataura are unique to the Cook Islands!

If you would like to own a tivaivai, don't hesitate to contact us. Find out how you can gain access to our comprehensive catalogue, from which you can select and commission us to custom-make a tivaivai just for you.