Flywhisk, fue kafa, of wood and coconut fibre, from Tonga; part of the Forster collection (Forster 101; 1886.1.1370)

Flywhisk with a wooden handle, which measures 255mm from the base to the binding, which is probably of olonga fibre. The binding is 22 mm wide, and is made up of 11 turns of a two-ply plant fibre cord. The top part of the flywhisk is made up of coconut fibres; these fibres are very coarse, similar to those fibres of the outer husk of the coconut. This part measures 300 mm in length and roughly 130 mm wide. The majority of the coconut fibres have been plaited together in three plaits, with the ends of some fibres allowed to escape from the plait at each knot, thus forming the structure of the flywhisk. Some fibres are bound directly into the plant fibre binding

• Museum database entry.